Spanning the Globe with Tim Shea
Posted: June 20, 2003
For the second consecutive year, Suns.com met with Suns International Scouting Consultant Tim Shea to talk about the impressive collection of foreign players available in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
Shea, who currently lives in Lugo, Spain, has been the eyes and ears of the Suns overseas and has personally scouted many of this year’s top foreign prospects. A longtime coach in Europe, Shea spent fives seasons as the Director of International Scouting for the New York Knicks.
In an in-depth interview conducted across the street from America West Arena at the Alice Cooper’stown restaurant, the Brooklyn native talked about the advantages foreign players have over American players and this year’s top international prospects, including Darko Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Boris Diaw, Maciej Lampe and Zarko Cabarkapa, to name just a few.
Suns.com: Last year there were six international players taken in the first round. What’s your initial assessment of this year’s foreign crop of prospects?
Tim Shea: I think there were some mistakes made last year and I think that trend will continue. Depending on who pulls out, there are between eight to 12 internationals that might get into the first round this year.
Suns.com: We’ve heard as many as 13. Is that total too high?
Shea: If there are, there will be a lot of mistakes made. It depends on who pulls out.
Suns.com: One of the international prospects rumored to be undeclaring for the draft is Brazilian forward Anderson Varejao, who perhaps, is most famous for his carrot-top haircut (since this interview Varejao withdrew his name from the list of early-entry candidates).
Shea: Anderson Varejao will pull out. He never should have even went in. For instance, you look at (ESPN Insider's) Chad Ford and he’s talking about this kid all year that he’s going to be the cat’s meow and yet no one in Europe is even talking about this kid. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, there is a lot of speculation, almost misinformation about who, where, when, how, what and how much. That’s why (Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo) pays me as well as other GMs pay guys to know who is doing what. Believe me Anderson Varejao was never on our list. Not for this year, but we think he’s a cute, good-looking kid (laughs).
There are a lot of kids that in a few years with a good work ethic could become very interesting players in the NBA. What I think is happening is a lot of teams are thinking they are going to draft these kids and immediately bring them over. That is not the best thing to do from where I look at it because they are going to get much more training over there. They practice more. They are going to practice twice as much in a month as an NCAA team does. They are going to practice a whole lot more than an NBA team does because NBA teams don’t practice. They have to play.
Suns.com: Do you think the Suns are a team that is willing to spend a first round pick on a foreign player and let him continue to work on his skills overseas for a year or two?
Shea: I think the vision of our club and our leader, in this case, Bryan Colangelo, is to keep taking baby steps toward a destination. Taking small steps toward a destination. I won’t speculate. Bryan has to know what’s best for the team, but my feeling is he is going to continue to try to improve the team little by little and not do anything drastic that would upset the chemistry. We have a great coaching staff put together. Obviously we added Amaré (Stoudemire). Casey (Jacobsen) came in last year and needs time to develop and fit into the NBA. When you don’t have the athletic skills, tools that Amaré has, it takes time to adjust to what is going on. The team is young. Stephon Marbury, if Jason Kidd leaves (New Jersey), then we’ve got the best end of the deal so I think time always tells.
I think Bryan has a plan, a vision to have the team increase its capabilities both tactically and technically over the next couple of years. Do I think he would take our pick and leave him over there? Probably not, but there’s always that possibility. There is no obligation that the player picked has to stay here or go back. That’s something you talk about and negotiate.
Suns.com: There have been some rumors linking the Suns and Yugoslavian forward Zarko Cabarkapa after he came in for a visit. We just read that he may choose to stay in Europe for one year because his mother is ill. Do you have any updated information on that?
Shea: I would have to pick up my phone and call my contacts in Yugoslavia, but even then, a lot of things happen. My philosophy is ask no questions and you won’t tell me any lies. These are things that could be possible. He’s an interesting kid. He’s good on our board, but there are other kids on our board that I really like personally. Maybe not what the team may or may not need. We are still talking about it. We had a meeting (Tuesday). We have another meeting (Friday) right after the deadline to pull out. We’ve got a lot of meetings. I think it’s evolving in a good way.
Suns.com: Do you have a gut feeling on whether or not the Suns will draft a foreign prospect this year?
Shea: No. There are a lot of guys at 17 that could be available. I don’t know. I don’t think we have a direct desire to go internationally. You pick the best player that fits into what you want to do so if a guy is international – good. Maybe you’ll have a problem if he doesn’t speak English good or whatever. Some of the foreigners speak better English than we do. We speak American. We don’t speak English. I don’t even speak American. I speak Brooklyn (laughs). I think it’s just a question of the best player for what we want to do. I don’t think it has a bearing international or not international.
Suns.com: Of the top international prospects that likely won’t be available when the Suns pick 17, who do you like the most?
Shea: Darko Milicic. Boris Diaw is a tremendous athlete. Michael Pietrus is a tremendous athlete. If we are going in order we should put Michael before Boris Diaw, who is a very versatile player. (Diaw's) kind of a player that as a baseball fan, he’s a utility guy who can do a lot of things. Basketball coaches like to have that, too. A guy that can just go in and pick up. If Shawn Marion got three fouls, boom, you have somebody who can back him up. He can play point guard for a couple of minutes. He can do a lot of things and defend a lot of people. Michael Pietrus, on the other hand, is a tremendous offensive threat. Tremendous athlete. Unbelievable body, a little baby Michael Jordan. (Sofoklis) Schortsanitis I think is interesting. Zarko (Cabarkapa) is interesting. (Alexsandar) Pavlovic is interesting. Hey, there are some kids, just the internationals, that are not going to hurt us in any way shape or form, and being that they are young in two or three years can be very important for the Suns' organization.
Suns.com: Knowing that Yao Ming and Nene Hilario came out of last year’s international draft class, where does this year’s class rank in comparison to last year’s?
Shea: Maybe not so superstar oriented except for Milicic. I don’t know if Milicic will be a superstar right away, but he’ll be a good solid contributor. He’s going to be in Detroit and you don’t really have stars in that system. You have workers, blue-collar guys. Already he’s a blue-collar kid. He’s a hard worker. Besides Milicic, you have middle-of-the-road quality stuff there, but I think you’ll have to wait on a lot of it. Like a lot of teams took players in the top part of the draft and had to wait. These kids should have gone back to Europe and played instead of sitting on the bench in the States.
Suns.com: Such as?
Shea: (Golden State guard) Jiri Welsch, (Houston forward Bostjan) Nachbar, (Denver forward Nikoloz) Tskitishvili. What was the phrase from Sherlock Holmes? “Elementary Watson.” These kids should have been back there playing, working on their game, working on their skills, practicing 50 hours per week and getting experience. The clubs over here kept them. I don’t know why. It’s really against what I think would be good for any franchise.
Suns.com: Looking at the Suns’ situation, would the Suns be better off doing that, too?
Shea: It depends on how far along you think the kid is. There are a couple of kids playing in Europe, I’m not going to mention names, but right now they would be better off playing in the NBA than they are (in Europe). For instance, Nachbar played quite a bit last year, but not a tremendous amount, plus he’s young. Tskitishvili didn’t play at all, Jiri Welsch didn’t play, but Jiri Welsch had to work on his weight and had to do some other things. But the first two, Nachbar and Tskitishvili, being that they didn’t play a lot, they should have gone back. Those other players that did play a lot (this year in Europe), Michael Pietrus, these guys they play a lot. They are ready. They can come in and play. (Maciej) Lampe? No. I feel Lampe should go back to Europe and play some more. He’s an 18-year-old. He’s on a “B” team this year and did get to play, but he missed half the year. Considering it was half the year and it was a B team, and to come face these kids, "sit down kid. Stay in Europe and play." There are kids who can step into our situation and contribute. That’s part of the criteria when you look at the draft.
Suns.com: The San Antonio Spurs had two international players (guards Tony Parker and Emanuel Ginobili) make significant contributions in their recently completed championship season. Will that change how foreign players are viewed in the NBA?
Shea: I think this whole movement started a few years ago. It’s come more to the attention of the general public recently. San Antonio has done a lot of work overseas. I’m friends with a lot of those guys because I see a lot of them over there. Look, kids can play basketball or they can’t. There are kids over there right now that have been over there for three or four years that weren’t drafted that could come right in and help a lot of NBA teams. It’s that simple. We went to (the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp) and we saw these kids play and there was unbelievable athleticism and size, but skills? I would like to take 20 of those kids and send them to Europe right now because they are basically second-round draft picks in Chicago. Send them to Europe and let them work with a pro team. Practice, practice, practice and I mean practice. Not like NBA shootarounds. Shootarounds are nothing. But you bring these kids back in two years, and you have 20 first-round draft picks, because they can work on their skills.
That’s a little (complaint) I have with the NCAA. Professionally speaking, kids that want to become professional athletes, it’s hurting them because they don’t get enough practice time. I think they are being cheated out of their right. Let’s say the NCAA says you can only work 20 hours per week. OK, but each kid (should be allowed to) have a private trainer and work 15 hours with him if he wants. He wants to work on his future, but he’s not allowed to? I think there’s something wrong with that. There’s something wrong with that system so therefore you’re going to see a lot more Europeans, internationals coming over here because they can put in the time to get better.
For instance, (Erazem) Lorbek, who went to Michigan State this year, the kid came over here (from Slovenia) and realized he made a mistake. He’s going back to Europe. No one is talking too much about him. He’s going back to Europe. He knows he can get more experience over there. It’s a no-brainer (Lorbek withdrew from the draft on Thursday).
Suns.com: Have you noticed, particularly in just the last year, an increase in the number of NBA scouts attending games in Europe?
Shea: Maybe coming over more (often), but not more guys coming over. Most teams have guys over there so at this end of the season they start eliminating and accentuating some names. They start to come over and they focus in on guys. There’s been a little bit of a difference, but not much more. The last 10 years there’s been a tremendous increase, but the last couple of years? No.
Suns.com: How many trips have the Suns made overseas in the last year?
Shea: What we usually do is we come over and spend 10 days. It’s actually the quantity of the games you see each trip. So if we take three trips with them, it might be enough for 10-20 (games). We do a block. (Suns Assistant Director of Player Personnel) David Griffin came over also to see Lampe, Pietrus, Boris Diaw, Pavlovic, Zarko. Bryan and I saw Milicic, (Zaur) Pachulia. We went to the (European) Final Four to see everybody.
Suns.com: Not knowing who will opt out of the draft, how many international players will be first-round picks next week?
Shea: Eight or nine, but I don’t really think about that because you don’t know what is in the minds of a lot of general managers. A lot of mistakes were made last year, especially after drafting a kid, what was done with them. I consider that a mistake. I consider that a lost year. In our business you’re not supposed to lose a year. Even if the kid is not here, if the President asks, “Where is the kid we drafted?” “Well, he’s getting better.” “What?” “We have him here so he can pose for the (team) picture.” I don’t know. I think the salary cap is going to come into play for some clubs. The Knicks drafted one of the best players last year (Nene Hilario) but traded him (to Denver). They would have been a lot better keeping him in my opinion.
Suns.com: Any final thoughts?
Shea: I think mistakes are going to be made. Maybe not as much as I could imagine. It’s going to be interesting to see who pulls out. Until then you can’t really get a good feel for who might go where. There has been a lot of changes in the front office in a lot of clubs – Atlanta, Boston and Washington. There’s been a lot of coaching changes. I don’t know. It’s going to be interesting. Maybe some people are going to slip through the cracks that normally wouldn’t because of the changes. Maybe more mistakes than normal will be made with this draft.
Posted: June 20, 2003
For the second consecutive year, Suns.com met with Suns International Scouting Consultant Tim Shea to talk about the impressive collection of foreign players available in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
Shea, who currently lives in Lugo, Spain, has been the eyes and ears of the Suns overseas and has personally scouted many of this year’s top foreign prospects. A longtime coach in Europe, Shea spent fives seasons as the Director of International Scouting for the New York Knicks.
In an in-depth interview conducted across the street from America West Arena at the Alice Cooper’stown restaurant, the Brooklyn native talked about the advantages foreign players have over American players and this year’s top international prospects, including Darko Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Boris Diaw, Maciej Lampe and Zarko Cabarkapa, to name just a few.
Suns.com: Last year there were six international players taken in the first round. What’s your initial assessment of this year’s foreign crop of prospects?
Tim Shea: I think there were some mistakes made last year and I think that trend will continue. Depending on who pulls out, there are between eight to 12 internationals that might get into the first round this year.
Suns.com: We’ve heard as many as 13. Is that total too high?
Shea: If there are, there will be a lot of mistakes made. It depends on who pulls out.
Suns.com: One of the international prospects rumored to be undeclaring for the draft is Brazilian forward Anderson Varejao, who perhaps, is most famous for his carrot-top haircut (since this interview Varejao withdrew his name from the list of early-entry candidates).
Shea: Anderson Varejao will pull out. He never should have even went in. For instance, you look at (ESPN Insider's) Chad Ford and he’s talking about this kid all year that he’s going to be the cat’s meow and yet no one in Europe is even talking about this kid. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, there is a lot of speculation, almost misinformation about who, where, when, how, what and how much. That’s why (Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo) pays me as well as other GMs pay guys to know who is doing what. Believe me Anderson Varejao was never on our list. Not for this year, but we think he’s a cute, good-looking kid (laughs).
There are a lot of kids that in a few years with a good work ethic could become very interesting players in the NBA. What I think is happening is a lot of teams are thinking they are going to draft these kids and immediately bring them over. That is not the best thing to do from where I look at it because they are going to get much more training over there. They practice more. They are going to practice twice as much in a month as an NCAA team does. They are going to practice a whole lot more than an NBA team does because NBA teams don’t practice. They have to play.
Suns.com: Do you think the Suns are a team that is willing to spend a first round pick on a foreign player and let him continue to work on his skills overseas for a year or two?
Shea: I think the vision of our club and our leader, in this case, Bryan Colangelo, is to keep taking baby steps toward a destination. Taking small steps toward a destination. I won’t speculate. Bryan has to know what’s best for the team, but my feeling is he is going to continue to try to improve the team little by little and not do anything drastic that would upset the chemistry. We have a great coaching staff put together. Obviously we added Amaré (Stoudemire). Casey (Jacobsen) came in last year and needs time to develop and fit into the NBA. When you don’t have the athletic skills, tools that Amaré has, it takes time to adjust to what is going on. The team is young. Stephon Marbury, if Jason Kidd leaves (New Jersey), then we’ve got the best end of the deal so I think time always tells.
I think Bryan has a plan, a vision to have the team increase its capabilities both tactically and technically over the next couple of years. Do I think he would take our pick and leave him over there? Probably not, but there’s always that possibility. There is no obligation that the player picked has to stay here or go back. That’s something you talk about and negotiate.
Suns.com: There have been some rumors linking the Suns and Yugoslavian forward Zarko Cabarkapa after he came in for a visit. We just read that he may choose to stay in Europe for one year because his mother is ill. Do you have any updated information on that?
Shea: I would have to pick up my phone and call my contacts in Yugoslavia, but even then, a lot of things happen. My philosophy is ask no questions and you won’t tell me any lies. These are things that could be possible. He’s an interesting kid. He’s good on our board, but there are other kids on our board that I really like personally. Maybe not what the team may or may not need. We are still talking about it. We had a meeting (Tuesday). We have another meeting (Friday) right after the deadline to pull out. We’ve got a lot of meetings. I think it’s evolving in a good way.
Suns.com: Do you have a gut feeling on whether or not the Suns will draft a foreign prospect this year?
Shea: No. There are a lot of guys at 17 that could be available. I don’t know. I don’t think we have a direct desire to go internationally. You pick the best player that fits into what you want to do so if a guy is international – good. Maybe you’ll have a problem if he doesn’t speak English good or whatever. Some of the foreigners speak better English than we do. We speak American. We don’t speak English. I don’t even speak American. I speak Brooklyn (laughs). I think it’s just a question of the best player for what we want to do. I don’t think it has a bearing international or not international.
Suns.com: Of the top international prospects that likely won’t be available when the Suns pick 17, who do you like the most?
Shea: Darko Milicic. Boris Diaw is a tremendous athlete. Michael Pietrus is a tremendous athlete. If we are going in order we should put Michael before Boris Diaw, who is a very versatile player. (Diaw's) kind of a player that as a baseball fan, he’s a utility guy who can do a lot of things. Basketball coaches like to have that, too. A guy that can just go in and pick up. If Shawn Marion got three fouls, boom, you have somebody who can back him up. He can play point guard for a couple of minutes. He can do a lot of things and defend a lot of people. Michael Pietrus, on the other hand, is a tremendous offensive threat. Tremendous athlete. Unbelievable body, a little baby Michael Jordan. (Sofoklis) Schortsanitis I think is interesting. Zarko (Cabarkapa) is interesting. (Alexsandar) Pavlovic is interesting. Hey, there are some kids, just the internationals, that are not going to hurt us in any way shape or form, and being that they are young in two or three years can be very important for the Suns' organization.
Suns.com: Knowing that Yao Ming and Nene Hilario came out of last year’s international draft class, where does this year’s class rank in comparison to last year’s?
Shea: Maybe not so superstar oriented except for Milicic. I don’t know if Milicic will be a superstar right away, but he’ll be a good solid contributor. He’s going to be in Detroit and you don’t really have stars in that system. You have workers, blue-collar guys. Already he’s a blue-collar kid. He’s a hard worker. Besides Milicic, you have middle-of-the-road quality stuff there, but I think you’ll have to wait on a lot of it. Like a lot of teams took players in the top part of the draft and had to wait. These kids should have gone back to Europe and played instead of sitting on the bench in the States.
Suns.com: Such as?
Shea: (Golden State guard) Jiri Welsch, (Houston forward Bostjan) Nachbar, (Denver forward Nikoloz) Tskitishvili. What was the phrase from Sherlock Holmes? “Elementary Watson.” These kids should have been back there playing, working on their game, working on their skills, practicing 50 hours per week and getting experience. The clubs over here kept them. I don’t know why. It’s really against what I think would be good for any franchise.
Suns.com: Looking at the Suns’ situation, would the Suns be better off doing that, too?
Shea: It depends on how far along you think the kid is. There are a couple of kids playing in Europe, I’m not going to mention names, but right now they would be better off playing in the NBA than they are (in Europe). For instance, Nachbar played quite a bit last year, but not a tremendous amount, plus he’s young. Tskitishvili didn’t play at all, Jiri Welsch didn’t play, but Jiri Welsch had to work on his weight and had to do some other things. But the first two, Nachbar and Tskitishvili, being that they didn’t play a lot, they should have gone back. Those other players that did play a lot (this year in Europe), Michael Pietrus, these guys they play a lot. They are ready. They can come in and play. (Maciej) Lampe? No. I feel Lampe should go back to Europe and play some more. He’s an 18-year-old. He’s on a “B” team this year and did get to play, but he missed half the year. Considering it was half the year and it was a B team, and to come face these kids, "sit down kid. Stay in Europe and play." There are kids who can step into our situation and contribute. That’s part of the criteria when you look at the draft.
Suns.com: The San Antonio Spurs had two international players (guards Tony Parker and Emanuel Ginobili) make significant contributions in their recently completed championship season. Will that change how foreign players are viewed in the NBA?
Shea: I think this whole movement started a few years ago. It’s come more to the attention of the general public recently. San Antonio has done a lot of work overseas. I’m friends with a lot of those guys because I see a lot of them over there. Look, kids can play basketball or they can’t. There are kids over there right now that have been over there for three or four years that weren’t drafted that could come right in and help a lot of NBA teams. It’s that simple. We went to (the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp) and we saw these kids play and there was unbelievable athleticism and size, but skills? I would like to take 20 of those kids and send them to Europe right now because they are basically second-round draft picks in Chicago. Send them to Europe and let them work with a pro team. Practice, practice, practice and I mean practice. Not like NBA shootarounds. Shootarounds are nothing. But you bring these kids back in two years, and you have 20 first-round draft picks, because they can work on their skills.
That’s a little (complaint) I have with the NCAA. Professionally speaking, kids that want to become professional athletes, it’s hurting them because they don’t get enough practice time. I think they are being cheated out of their right. Let’s say the NCAA says you can only work 20 hours per week. OK, but each kid (should be allowed to) have a private trainer and work 15 hours with him if he wants. He wants to work on his future, but he’s not allowed to? I think there’s something wrong with that. There’s something wrong with that system so therefore you’re going to see a lot more Europeans, internationals coming over here because they can put in the time to get better.
For instance, (Erazem) Lorbek, who went to Michigan State this year, the kid came over here (from Slovenia) and realized he made a mistake. He’s going back to Europe. No one is talking too much about him. He’s going back to Europe. He knows he can get more experience over there. It’s a no-brainer (Lorbek withdrew from the draft on Thursday).
Suns.com: Have you noticed, particularly in just the last year, an increase in the number of NBA scouts attending games in Europe?
Shea: Maybe coming over more (often), but not more guys coming over. Most teams have guys over there so at this end of the season they start eliminating and accentuating some names. They start to come over and they focus in on guys. There’s been a little bit of a difference, but not much more. The last 10 years there’s been a tremendous increase, but the last couple of years? No.
Suns.com: How many trips have the Suns made overseas in the last year?
Shea: What we usually do is we come over and spend 10 days. It’s actually the quantity of the games you see each trip. So if we take three trips with them, it might be enough for 10-20 (games). We do a block. (Suns Assistant Director of Player Personnel) David Griffin came over also to see Lampe, Pietrus, Boris Diaw, Pavlovic, Zarko. Bryan and I saw Milicic, (Zaur) Pachulia. We went to the (European) Final Four to see everybody.
Suns.com: Not knowing who will opt out of the draft, how many international players will be first-round picks next week?
Shea: Eight or nine, but I don’t really think about that because you don’t know what is in the minds of a lot of general managers. A lot of mistakes were made last year, especially after drafting a kid, what was done with them. I consider that a mistake. I consider that a lost year. In our business you’re not supposed to lose a year. Even if the kid is not here, if the President asks, “Where is the kid we drafted?” “Well, he’s getting better.” “What?” “We have him here so he can pose for the (team) picture.” I don’t know. I think the salary cap is going to come into play for some clubs. The Knicks drafted one of the best players last year (Nene Hilario) but traded him (to Denver). They would have been a lot better keeping him in my opinion.
Suns.com: Any final thoughts?
Shea: I think mistakes are going to be made. Maybe not as much as I could imagine. It’s going to be interesting to see who pulls out. Until then you can’t really get a good feel for who might go where. There has been a lot of changes in the front office in a lot of clubs – Atlanta, Boston and Washington. There’s been a lot of coaching changes. I don’t know. It’s going to be interesting. Maybe some people are going to slip through the cracks that normally wouldn’t because of the changes. Maybe more mistakes than normal will be made with this draft.
