Milos Teodosic and the NBA

[Freaknick]

He's never been drafted, his rights are held by nobody and he's always been tabbed as too slow, or not defensively oriented enough to make it in the NBA. I no longer buy all of that. There comes a time when a ballplayer's a ballplayer, and a scorer's a scorer. I have a feeling his agent Marc Cornstein might be fielding some calls pretty soon as more GM's have taken notice of Milos Teodosic.

I think he's better off staying in Europe where he can continue to add to his rapidly improving reputation. Article on ELA:

Milos Teodosic doesn't need the NBA

What does everyone else think?

[softice]

Now he is teammate of Spanoulis.
I'm sure that Spanoulis he will not tell him the best things about NBA

[honeybadger]

He doesn't need the NBA.
What's he gonna do there, lift weights all day, and warm the bench for other players? I really hope that none of our players go to NBA, they're doing just fine in Greece & Spain.

[Luíz for 3]

He doesn't need the NBA.
What's he gonna do there, lift weights all day, and warm the bench for other players? I really hope that none of our players go to NBA, they're doing just fine in Greece & Spain.

100% agreed!!

[Earendil]

I dont want any of our players goin in NBA seems when they go there they forget all about basketball they learned here. Ex-Yugoslavian ( Serbian) basketball school is alot different than NBA one. Not to mention that all that money they are recieving there is bad for young players like ours. 5 years ago we had erm let me count Milicic, Jaric, Radmanovic, Stojakovic and maybe few more of nba players and they all sucked balls. Greece, Italia, Spain, Russia and domestic league is right place for our players

[Buzissa]

Teodosic can try the NBA, but without waste his European career. To be a bench warmer, there's no need to go to the States. Even the contract isn't a motive, since he probably earns more on Olympiakos. He plays at the highest level, on a powerhouse, is completely established as one of the top players in Europe.

[Red 7]

Agreed. He has no need of the NBA. His contract with Olympiakos ends this next summer, however, with Ivkovic on the bench I see a new 3-4 year contract being signed. Olympiakos won't let him go, and he has never showed an indication of wanting to leave. Also, he has stated that he is not interested in the NBA.

[lntrud3r]

i am also against european guards trying the nba adventure.. the european big guys do work there, because of their differences against american centers (ball handling, shooting, passing, assists..) but european guards dont work out as good as the big ones.. because imo they never get the time they need to show their class.. nba coaches think oh ok i have this guy from europe he is known to be a good shooter and when the game is tight in the 3rd or 4th they play them thinking immediately they will make a miracle and when it doesnt happen that way, there you have 5-6 mpg for euros.. i think if a high talented european guard would be let play 10 games 30+ minutes in nba, i dont think there is a chance not to succeed.. well if you think about it in an average good european league game in spain, greece, serbia, those guys are playing against better defense compared to an average nba game.. if they are going to get their minutes, ok, since they wont.. no need to watch the game from sideline, where you can be "the one" across the ocean..

[Richey666]

Freaknick, so you say Euroleague MVP is only good for NBA bench? Didn't know that you'd agree with argument, that NBA is still light years ahead!

Seriously, Teodosic probably wouldn't succeed in NBA, because he simply cannot play man-on-man defense on NBA level. In Euroleague it isn't that much of a problem, cause there's not many athletic slashers anyway and there's a monster under the basket waiting, but there it's big disadvantage.
Jasikevicius had pretty much the same issues and Spanoulis proved being "European Tracy McGrady" ain't quite enough, when you turn it over against any athletic defender.

Sure, Steve Nash is a defensive liability too by now, but he's was pretty decent defender before, definitely better than Teodosic.

I actually rate him better than Freaknick, i think Teodosic could be starter for defenseless All-Euro NBA team like Raptors this season.
And of course, I agree that Teodosic is a great player and he may beat NBA stars in FIBA tournaments in the future, but he's never gonna be NBA superstar himself. Rose or Westbrook would eat him alive there.

And it's simply stupid to argue, that European guards cannot make it in NBA, because of NBA coaches attitude. Ginobili and Parker were superstars, Calderon starter for a play-off team, hell even Beno Udrih started lot of games!

[Justin in AZ]

I think it is sad to see Euro players come to the NBA to never play. NBA loves one thing: leaping up high, which they call athleticism. NBA rules code has one imperitive: get defense out of the way so leapers can dunk.

Players like Navarro or Jascevicious have no chance whatsoever. At the SG position, if you aren't a 6'6 slashing dunker, don't bother to apply. The generation of Jeff Hornacek is long gone.

Even a player like Rudy, who monster dunked over Superman Dwight Howard in a real game, can't seem to get minutes in the NBA.

What is the point? What sane person would attempt it?

[GustavoGanso]

Marcelinho Huertas and NBA....

for me, best point guard on this WC.

[CKR13]

On the lighter side...

Great article Freaknick, shared it on my twitter if you don't mind.

On Milos Teodosic, I agree, he should not be on the NBA but rather play on for Olympiakos and establish himself as one of the brightest stars in the Euroleague. I wouldn't want the NBA having the further reputation of hoarding stars in Europe.

[Freaknick]

Great article Freaknick, shared it on my twitter if you don't mind.

On Milos Teodosic, I agree, he should not be on the NBA but rather play on for Olympiakos and establish himself as one of the brightest stars in the Euroleague. I wouldn't want the NBA having the further reputation of hoarding stars in Europe.

I don't mind in the slightest. And thanks for everyone's comments. I read them all and it seems that we're all in agreement, yes? With exception, of course, to slight alterations here or there.

[NorCal]

I think it is sad to see Euro players come to the NBA to never play. NBA loves one thing: leaping up high, which they call athleticism. NBA rules code has one imperitive: get defense out of the way so leapers can dunk.

Players like Navarro or Jascevicious have no chance whatsoever. At the SG position, if you aren't a 6'6 slashing dunker, don't bother to apply. The generation of Jeff Hornacek is long gone.

Even a player like Rudy, who monster dunked over Superman Dwight Howard in a real game, can't seem to get minutes in the NBA.

What is the point? What sane person would attempt it?

You've got to be joking. Now, I know there are some teams in the NBA that play very little defense but you can't make blanket statements like 'NBA loves one thing: leaping up high which they call athleticism' and 'NBA rule code has one imperative: get defense out of the way so leapers can dunk'.

I value and am a fan of NBA, Euroleague and NCAA ball for different reasons and I will admit that certain skill sets are valued more highly in one league than another. That does not mean that if you aren't 6'6" and can't slash and dunk you can't find a home in the NBA.

As for Rudy, he's had a difficult situation in Portland because he plays behind Roy but a helluva lot of players have come into the NBA with a star in front of them. And most of them didn't bitch and whine when they didn't get the playing time they thought they deserved. Rudy's numbers weren't exactly stellar last year when he did get in the game so that pretty much speaks for itself. I really wanted to see Rudy flourish and he had a good rookie year but its been downhill from there. He can still find a home in the NBA or elsewhere if he wants.

I'd like to see Teodosic come over mostly because I think he could do well over here but if he stays in Europe I'm happy too, I still get to see him play. Its just fun to see guys make transitions to other leagues to see if their skill sets translate or not.

[Justin in AZ]

You've got to be joking. Now, I know there are some teams in the NBA that play very little defense but you can't make blanket statements like 'NBA loves one thing: leaping up high which they call athleticism' and 'NBA rule code has one imperative: get defense out of the way so leapers can dunk'.

Of course, friend, individual coaches attempt to play defense, to a lesser or greater degree. But the league itself has written the rules that way.

Why else have a "defensive 3 second violation"? Why else did they get rid of hand checking on the perimeter? Why else have a "circle under the basket"? Why else do players have to "have their feet set" to draw a charge?

The NBA is an entertainment product, and a business. They are there to make money, not "promote basketball excellence", whatever that would mean.

Long ago they realized that the best selling product involves lots of scoring, which means, getting the defense out of the way. The rules they have innovated specifically accomplish that one goal, forcing the defense to get the hell out of the way and not even touch the offensive player, or a foul will be called.

These are undeniable facts.