Obradović and Maljković against European talent waste in the NBA

[rikhardur]

EUR - Top European coaches want curb on NBA talent drain

ATHENS (Euroleague) - Two of Europe's legendary basketball coaches on Thursday called for action to prevent the continent's leading youngsters from leaving too early for the NBA.

Tau Ceramica coach Bozidar Maljkovic and Panathinaikos boss Zeljko Obradovic, speaking ahead of their Euroleague Final Four games, expressed frustration over the stymied development of players who left Europe and received little or no playing time in North America.

"Some players go to the NBA without having a good career in Europe, with their talent not at full potential," Maljkovic said.

"Players don't enjoy and instead leave too early, and it's a shame. It's is a problem that European basketball and the NBA must solve, but I prefer the Euroleague compared to the NBA, where serious basketball is not played until it is play-off time."

Among the youngsters whose careers have not taken off are Carlos Delfino of Argentina and Darko Milicic of Serbia.

Delfino, 24, was one of European basketball's brightest talents at Fortitudo Bologna in Italy but signed for Detroit and in two seasons has struggled to get minutes on the floor and hardly made an impact.

Darko Milicic, a seven-footer, was drafted by Detroit second overall in the NBA draft behind LeBron James in 2003 but spent most of his rookie year on the bench. He was traded to Orlando last year but has yet to develop into a force.

Obradovic, who led Yugoslavia to the world title in 1998 and coached them at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said: "Some players decide to go to the NBA, but some young players miss the opportunity to be in our teams. The Euroleague is an excellent competition, I really believe it."

Zoran Planinic, the Croatian national team point guard, spent a few seasons in the NBA with New Jersey but returned this year.

He said he valued his experience.

"I think it is a different situation for every player," he said. "For me, it was good to go, I didn't play a lot of minutes but I played behind one of the greatest point guards in Jason Kidd.

"I wanted to come back to Europe and show what I can do. I am still young. I am here in Tau with a good coach and I can still learn.

"For every player it's different. Some go and do well; some fail."

Last year, the NBA raised the minimum age requirement for the draft to 19, a move principally aimed at ensuring that American players spent at least one season in the college system rather than going professional straight from high school.

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/18994/arti.html

I couldn't agree more with both of them. I'm sure Matiz agrees as well

[Joško Poljak Fan]

what makes you feel that

[woma]

Instead of speaking about NBA, Maljkovic should first think about not wasting the talent he has in his own roster .

And saying that in NBA you don't play serious before play-offs it's maybe true, but at least their most important games are watchable, unlike today's semifinal games we saw from Athens .

[rikhardur]

Instead of speaking about NBA, Maljkovic should first think about not wasting the talent he has in his own roster .

And saying that in NBA you don't play serious before play-offs it's maybe true, but at least their most important games are watchable, unlike today's semifinal games we saw from Athens .

Good point woma.

[theblackswans]

what makes you feel that

I agree with most of what he said. Guys like Tony Parker though can come over as a teenager and make an impact. Most guys though need to gain some experiance before coming over. People will always follow the money though. A lot of young guys come to Spain and rot on the bench instead of getting minutes in there own country as well though.

if Darko would have played in Serbia the last few years he never would have gotten the same check. Ditto "Skid mark" Skita.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

I agree with most of what he said. Guys like Tony Parker though can come over as a teenager and make an impact. Most guys though need to gain some experiance before coming over. People will always follow the money though. A lot of young guys come to Spain and rot on the bench instead of getting minutes in there own country as well though.

if Darko would have played in Serbia the last few years he never would have gotten the same check. Ditto "Skid mark" Skita.

people are often giving Parker as an example of young player coming to NBA and succeding, but at the time he came there he had the physical intangibles to cope with other PG's, while with 90% of those players it's really easy todetermine they have nothing to search for in NBA- scouts know it, managers know it, players know it, but still heading to NBA.

In the list of europeans to get drafted, unlike Rudy, and Splitter, maybee 1 or 2 more, no other payer has anything to search for in NBA next year...

Darko wouldn't get the same paycheck in Serbia and Skitta admited he went to NBA for money. But they were drafted at no.2 and no.5 (or 6 , forgot), most player don't have that luck and that hype so they pretty much earn the same ammounts as they could in europe potentially

[pablonis]

According to Basketnews.lt, 5 NBA teams are interested in Jonas Maciulis (22), who still has a year contract in Zalgiris. Maciulis though said, that he's not atracted to NBA at all and he's the second potential Lith' NBA'er after Kalnietis to say that. Hopefully the tendention will continue.
________
affair Cams

[Joško Poljak Fan]

According to Basketnews.lt, 5 NBA teams are interested in Jonas Maciulis (22), who still has a year contract in Zalgiris. Maciulis though said, that he's not atracted to NBA at all and he's the second potential Lith' NBA'er after Kalnietis to say that. Hopefully the tendention will continue.

Maciulis just got himself a new fan...

[HIGHLANDER]

I think what the coaches are saying here is quite right..
Even all though the Euroleague is a great competition in its own right with some great basketball played, many of the players feel they have to go to the NBA to test themselves.
Ok, this is what i think we need to counter the problem in the future. In Europe we need our own league similar to the NBA. Now i don't mean NBA rules, keep the same International bball rules but perhaps have a exciting league where there is one big team from each country with say a Northern and South League with playoffs at the end.
For example, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, ect, then Athens, Barcelona, Rome, and so on.
I don't think this would ever happen because it would threaten the existence of old teams such as Panathanikos..

[LuDux]

Ok, this is what i think we need to counter the problem in the future. In Europe we need our own league similar to the NBA. Now i don't mean NBA rules, keep the same International bball rules but perhaps have a exciting league where there is one big team from each country with say a Northern and South League with playoffs at the end.
For example, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, ect, then Athens, Barcelona, Rome, and so on.

That would certainly add excitement

♪♫ I couldn't make a free throw and now I know why
because i got high, because I got high, because i got high ♪♫

[ArkadiosV2]

It won't happen because there aint no $$$ in it for Bertomeu.
Such a league would make Panathinaikos life easier since they would face a 'northern' team in the final. And the best teams from there are German, which are amongst Euroleague's worst.