EuroLeague and International Basketball Big Board, 2.0: Every player on the NBA radar
EuroLeague & International Basketball Big Board - Overseas Stashes
0. Tristan Vukcevic - Stretch big
Age: 21
Current team: Washington Wizards
Physicals: 6-foot-10, 220 pounds, 7-foot-2 wingspan
Stats (All Comps): 7.73 points per game, 3.`7 rebounds per game, 0.60 assists per game. 54/43/84 shooting splits.
Let’s start this section with the guy who is no longer a stash, Tristan Vukcevic, who decided to make the surprising move of signing with the Washington Wizards this late in the NBA season! Congrats to Tristan on a move that seems to be the right one for his development. Playing time was hard to come by at Partizan Belgrade but with the rebuilding Wizards, he should have ample room to experiment and grow.
1. Tarik Biberovic - Shooting wing
Age: 23
Current team: Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (BSL - Turkey, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Memphis Grizzlies
Physicals: 6-foot-7, 218 pounds, 6-foot-11 wingspan
Stats (All Comps): 8.5 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, and 1.07 assists per game. 54/50/93 shooting splits
Biberovic continues to shoot the lights out for Fenerbahce and has played even better under new head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius. With his body and shot (look at how quick his release is!), he’s ready for the NBA whenever he and the Memphis Grizzlies decide the time is right.
2. Gabriele Procida - Athletic wing
Age: 21
Current team: ALBA Berlin (BBL - Germany, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Utah Jazz
Physicals: 6-foot-6, 191 pounds, 6-foot-8 wingspan
Stats (All Comps): 8.85 points per game, 1.73 rebounds per game, 1 assist per game. 45/34/80 shooting splits.
Even with ALBA Berlin’s struggles, Procida continues to impress. His three-point shooting has stabilized throughout the season as has his production overall. The Utah Jazz acquired Procida’s rights in a trade that sent fellow Italian wing Simone Fontecchio (who also played for ALBA Berlin) to the Detroit Pistons. Procida is on track to win the EuroLeague Rising Star award, is getting better every day, and with his length, athleticism, and skill he looks destined for an NBA debut sometime in the next few seasons.
3. Rokas Jokubaitis - Defense first point guard
Age: 22
Current team: Barcelona (ACB - Spain, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: New York Knicks
Physicals: 6-foot-4, 182 pounds, 6-foot-9
Stats (All Comps): 6.84 points per game, 1.92 rebounds per game, 3.25 assists per game. 49/40/71 shooting splits.
Jokubaitis continues to fill a bench point guard role for Barcelona. Left-handed, tough as nails, good in the pick-and-roll, passable shot, and a player who prides himself on his defense he genuinely seems tailor-made for this Tom Thibodeau Knicks squad should both parties pursue bringing him over. Until then, we’ll continue to enjoy watching him in EuroLeague.
4. Matteo Spagnolo - Wing floor general
Age: 21
Current team: ALBA Berlin (BBL - Germany, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Minnesota Timberwolves
Stats (All Comps): 7.8 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, 3.7 rebounds per game. 41/27/81 shooting splits.
Physicals: 6-foot-6, 196 pounds, 6-foot-8 wingspan
Spagnolo has improved throughout the season just like his teammate, Procida, and is still a year younger. The three-point shot isn’t where you want it to be, but it’d be nice if he could get a higher proportion of his attempts in catch-and-shoot instead of creating many of them on his own. Spagnolo plays point guard at times for ALBA, which is helping him learn and driving improvement in plenty of beneficial skills - but not as a shooter. We’d like that to change for the betterment of his career.
5. Vanja Marinkovic - Shooting wing
Age: 27
Current team: Baskonia (ACB - Spain, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Brooklyn Nets
Physicals: 6-foot-6, 194 pounds, 6-foot-6 wingspan
Stats (All Comps): 10.94 points per game, 2.1 rebounds per game, 1.23 assists per game. 43/38/76 shooting splits.
At 27 it continues to look like Marinkovic will never come over but he continues to have a great season for Baskonia and has benefitted from the Dusko Ivanovic boost. Marinkovic is a very good movement shooter, and could easily help the flailing Brooklyn Nets. Who knows, maybe Brooklyn can convince him and fellow Serbian Nikola Milutinov to come over in a package deal.
6. Yam Madar - Defense first point guard
Age: 23
Current team: Fenerbahce (BSL - Turkey, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Boston Celtics
Physicals: 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, 6-foot-5 wingspan
Stats: 6.98 points per game, 2.37 rebounds per game, 3.56 assists per game. 53/40/86 shooting splits.
Nick Calathes resurgence under Sarunas Jasikevicius has pushed Yam Madar out of favor and at times almost entirely out of the rotation. With Calathes and Scottie Wilbekin playing the way they are, there’s not much he can do besides wait for the opportunity to prove himself.
7. James Nnaji - Athletic big
Age: 19
Current team: FC Barcelona (ACB - Spain, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Charlotte Hornets
Physicals: 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, 7-foot-7 wingspan and 9-foot-4 standing reach
Stats (All Comps): 2.41 points per game, 1.84 rebounds per game, 0.32 blocks per game.
Still very young, we took a deep dive into Nnaji’s game this past summer after the Hornets drafted him. Nnaji continues to be absent from head coach Roger Grimau’s plans, even when Barcelona’s paint defense has looked awful this season. Nnaji may be better suited by joining the Hornets sooner rather than later and getting on a player development plan with them if Barcelona continues to bench him.
8. Balsa Koprivica - Old school big
Age: 23
Current team: Partizan Belgrade (Adriatic League - Serbia, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Los Angeles Clippers
Physicals: 7-foot-1, 240 pounds, 7-foot-3 wingspan, 9-foot-1 standing reach
Stats (All Comps): 6.32 points per game, 3.89 rebounds per game, 1.3 blocks per game. 66/0/59 shooting splits.
Partizan’s disappointing season continues and a big part of why they have been so underwhelming has been their inability to find a reliable center. Koprivica is a part of the problem there and has not capitalized on his chances to lock down a regular rotation spot this season.
9. Ismael Kamagate - Athletic big
Age: 23
Current team: Bertram Tortona (Lega A - Italy, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Los Angeles Clippers
Physicals: 6-foot-11, 220 pounds, 7-foot-3 wingspan
Stats (All Comps): 6.6 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 1.6 blocks per game. 81/0/50 shooting splits.
An in-season move to Tortona has seen the French center get more consistent playing time. It’s too small a sample size to glean anything from, but a welcome change in a very quiet season before this.
10. Khalifa Diop - Athletic big
Age: 21
Current team: Baskonia (ACB - Spain, EuroLeague)
NBA rights: Cleveland Cavaliers
Physicals: 6-foot-10, 231 pounds, 7-foot-2 wingspan
Stats (All Comps): 3 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game, 0.2 blocks per game. 50/0/67 shooting splits.
Diop is getting zero playing time under Dusko Ivanovic, making it impossible to make any real assessment of his game. Finding a new home in the summer would benefit him greatly.