Every Wednesday during the NBA season, Interbasket takes a closer look at ten international NBA players that has caught our eye. (This week is for period 01/30/2008- 02/05/2008)

Pau Gasol + Kobe + Bynum Shakes Up the West
After months of mild media speculation and uninspired play by Spanish superstar, world champion, and NBA all-star Pau Gasol, the Grizzlies shipped the unhappy Gasol tot he Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Javaris Crittenton, Kwame Brown and two first round draft picks.

The move left many GMs around the league with their jaws dropped and scratching their heads. Much like how I envision an orangutan. “They got Pau Gasol for how much?!” seemed to be the consensus.

And it’s true, it may have made sense on paper, salary-wise, but it didn’t make sense in any other type of logic. The Lakers got themselves a bargain. It was like the Lakers had a NBA-sanctioned 70% off coupon that could applied to the trade without restrictions. “Oh you want us to also throw in Jordan Farmar, Ronny Turiaf, $3,000,000 and an iPhone? Sure, but I have this discount coupon here so you only get Kwame, Crittenton, and the rights to Pau’s slower, awkward brother, Marc.”

Pau Gasol played his first game in the Laker’s purple and gold Monday night and made quite the impression. Despite being hit with three quick personal fouls in his first twelve minutes of action, Pau ended the game with 37 minutes, 24 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists.

And the important thing is that the Lakers won despite Kobe scoring only 6 points in the game. It’s always great to work in a new player and have them perform well in their first game, it’s even better if it ends in a win. Nothing gels a team like winning; little mistakes, personal nuances, a missed passes are muted significantly when the game ends in a win. not to mention the confidence it builds in the new makeup of the team.

Up and Down Week for Hedo Turkoglu
Hedo Turkoglu was snubbed for the all-star reserves last week. That didn’t stop the 6-9, 28-year old Turk from being honored as the NBA player of the week for week ending January 27th.

And on Monday night, Hedo recorded the first triple-double of his career 13 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds in a loss against the Mavericks. Previous to that game, Turkoglu was really pushing for an all-star berth with his performances in eight straight games where he scored 20+ points — for averages of 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists.

Beno Udrih Back to the Bench
I feel for Beno Udrih. Never given the chance to play much in San Antonio, then after being released by the Spurs before the season, Beno got the opportunity to take over for the Sacramento Kings with an injury to Mike Bibby.

Beno signed with the Kings and immediately seeing time on the court.  He played well in Bibby’s absence, and was able to show the haters why, year after year, he was on the bench in San Antonio.

The reason why was that Beno Udrih had potential, but was playing behind Tony Parker and Beno’s style not aligning with Popovich’s equated to little or no minutes. With Mike Bibby back, after Beno started 27 consecutive games, Udrih is riding the pine again.   Now at least the left-handed Slovenian is still getting 15 minutes of burn every night, a lot more than he was getting in San Antonio.  The question is whether Udrih is happy playing backup in Sactown or is he going to use his recent accomplishments to see if the grass is greener elsewhere?

So Which International NBA Players Have Next?
We all know about perennial international superstars Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, and Yao Ming, but who are the up and coming international players? With the all-star game reserves being named last week, it got me thinking. Who are the international potential all-stars in the NBA?

The only requirements is that they haven’t played in an all-star game (eliminating Tony Parker, Andrei Kirilenko, and Memo Okur), and are 26 years old or under. Oddly enough, that leaves out two promising rookies, the 27 year-old Luis Scola and Juan Carlos Navarro. I listed the players in their likelihood of making an all-star team…

Luol Deng – Lost in the Bull’s disappointing season and recent injuries, when Luol Deng is on the court, he is the face of consistency. Sweet mid-range game, high basketball IQ, long arms, and a demeanor that reminds me of Tim Duncan, Deng has the potential to be a NBA superstar.

Andris Biedrins – If you read this column anough, you know I really have high hopes for Andris Biedrins potential. The fact that he is averaging around a double-double when no plays are called for him, and leading the league in FG% shows the potential this Latvian has. Here’s hoping the addition of Chris Webber doesn’t negatively affect Biedrins…. well, effectiveness.

Linas Kleiza – The question with this 23-year old Lithuanian bull is how much he is benefiting from the system and the looks he gets brought by the power-scoring duo of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. I don’t think that that should be a question at all, I tend to take the other side of it. To be the third-leading scorer (12.7) on this Denver team and doing it in only 25 minutes only highlights how much of a tough cover Kleiza is.The 6-8, 245lb Kleiza is strong, hits the boards, runs the break, attacks the basket off the dribble and gets to the line three times a game in limited minutes… the way he is built and his aggresiveness reminds me of a Karl Malone and without the elbows and kicks to the groin, but with a three-point shot you have to respect (Kleiza is shooting 35% from beyond the arc).

Yi Jianlian – If his recent performances are any indication, Jianlian is slowing down. Even then, he has shown enough skill and athletic ability to become an NBA all-star. He surprised many with his midrange game. All of those traits allow Yi Jianlian to be so high up on this list. “He’s expanding his game. I like the fact that he’s aggressive taking it to the basket. I like the fact that he’s offensive rebounding and trying to go up there. The strength factor and conditioning and getting used to 17 games in a month, that just comes with experience.” said Larry Harris, the Buck’s GM.

(Speaking of Yi Jianlian, remember when yao ming was being voted into the all-star game and everyone was complaining about how he only got into the game because of all the Chinese voters? Well, where are all those people now? If that theory was true back then, which it wasn’t, why isn’t it true now? According to that logic, wouldn’t Yi Jianlian be the starting forward for the east for the rest of his life?)

Jose Calderon – The emotional Jose Calderon is the face of consistency and efficient point guard play. He’s more John Stockton than he is Jason Kidd — no, not because of that, but because you’re not very likely to see behind the back pass from Calderon, yet he’ll end the game 12 assists. The Spanish PG leads the NBA in assist-to-turnovers at 5.62, way ahead of second-place Brevin Knight (4.41), fourth-place Chris Paul (4.06), Chauncey Billups (3.44), Brandon Roy (3.05), and Steve Nash (3.04).

On top of that, Calderon is one of those rare players that is shooting better than 50% from the field (52.9%), 40% from three (44.6%), and 90% from the line (91.6%) this season. If he can finish the season above those marks, while maintaining the minimum requirements, Calderon will join a very-select group of players to have ever accomplished that — Larry Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller and Steve Nash. Not bad at all.

Andrew Bogut – Bogut is having a quiet season only because he plays in Milwaukee. If he played in New York, we’d be talking about the young Aussie’s promise. Seriously, is there any other team in the NBA that no one cares about more than the Milwukee Bucks?
Bogut is putting up similar yet decent numbers up for the second straight season, on a team where perimeter guys like Michael Redd, Mo williams, Bobby Simmons and Charlie Bell get up a lot of shots. Currently putting up about 13-14 points, 8-9 rebounds, 2-3 assists on 52% from the field, Andy needs to assert himself offensively because he certainly has the potential to be a 20-10-4-2-blocks guy given more of an opportunity.

Leandro Barbosa – The quiet sixth man is this era’s Vinne Johnson in the sense that both come off the bench and can heat things up immediately. The Brazilian Microwave utilizes his speed and awkward three-point shot to the tune of roughly 17 points a game for the high-scoring Suns.

If Barbosa were in a different situation, one that saw him starting on a non-contender, it’s not out of the question that he could easily put up 25 a night. What? 25 a game, Stuart he is playing 30 minutes a game as it is! Yes, the Blur from Brazil is averaging 16.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 steals in just over 30 minutes a game, but he is doing that sharing the basketball with Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, and Shawn Marion (now, Shaquille O’Neal).

Kelenna Azubuike – Azubuike dominated the NBDL and it was plainly obvious that he belonged in the NBA. And you can tell with some guys that come up from the developmental league if they’re ready. I believe that not only is Kelenna ready, but he can easily be a 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assist guy given the minutes. And with his ability to not only get to rim, but finish at the rim and shoot the three, Kelenna has the potential to be a dangerous offensive threat. Unfortunately, at 6-5 Azubuike is a tweener (or in laymans terms shooting guard/small forward) and finds himself playing behind the faster Monta Ellis, the bigger Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, and fighting for time with another international Warrior that is similar in size and skillset, Frenchman Mickael Pietrus. It’s crowded in Golden State, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Azubuike, much as what I think Beno Udrih will do, leverage his performance this year into a better (individual) situation where he’ll see more court time.

Sources: Hedo Turkoglu, Al Jefferson Named Players of the Week (NBA.com), Yi Taking Road to Stardom (JSOnline.com), NBA Assist-to-Turnover Leaders (ESPN), Only Players to accomplish 50-40-90: Steve Nash Wins MVP (Nba.com)