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Draft Cards
Drejer in 2004 draft? It looks like former Florida forward Christjan Drejer made a bigger mistake than anyone realized by dropping out of Florida to sign a pro contract with F.C. Barcelona. League sources have told Insider Drejer will automatically be entered into the 2004 draft.
He will not have the right to withdraw his name if he doesn't like his draft position the way most college and international underclassmen do. Drejer's hand is forced because of rule that states that if a college player fore goes his college eligibility and signs with pro team, he immediately becomes eligible for the next NBA draft. NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed this interpretation to Insider on Thursday.
That could be a major blow to Drejer, who was considered a likely lottery candidate at the start of the year. However, a lack of playing time, combined with his decision to jump ship for Barcelona, will take its toll on his draft stock. He's now looking like a borderline first-round pick. Had he stayed in school another year, he may have been able to increase his draft stock back into the lottery.
Former Michigan State center Erazem Lorbek faced a similar dilemma last year. Lorbek declared for the NBA draft last spring, pulled his name out of the draft and then signed with a pro team, Skipper Bologna, in July. Normally, under this rule, he too would have been put into the 2004 draft.
However, Lorbek's agent, David Bauman, told Insider that Lorbek received a special exception because of some bad advice given to the family by league lawyers. Originally, Lorbek was told that he would have the ability to enter the draft and remove his name the way all young international players do. When the league realized the mistake it granted Lorbek the exception. Bauman claims that Lorbek will be entering his name into this year's draft. However, he will be able to withdraw if he doesn't like his draft stock.
Spanish cup sensation: A plethora of NBA scouts and GMs were in Spain last week watching the Kings Cup. Almost all of them came away raving about Joventut Badalona's Rodolfo "Rudy" Fernandez. The 18-year-old, 6-foot-5 inch two guard walked away with MVP honors and wowed scouts with his athleticism, scoring ability, outside shot and active defense.
"He could be a devastating offensive player in the NBA," one scout told Insider.
Another went even further. "He's the best Spanish prospect since Pau Gasol, no question."
Based on the advice of several international scouts, we're going to move him into the top 10 of our Insider international rankings. The only two guards we have ranked higher at the moment are Russia's Sergei Monya and Slovenia's Sasha Vujacic.
Podkolzine, Andriuskevicius shine at junior tournament: The other big destination for most league scouts was a junior tournament held in Forli, Italy. The tournament was for players born in 1984 and later and featured two big-time prospects in Pavel Podkolzine and Martyans Andriuskevicius.
Podkolzine (7-5, 300) led his team to the championship with a dominant 31-point, 20-rebound performance. Eye witnesses claim that he faced constant double and triple teams and still scored at will. The performance really heightened the mood of several scouts, who had begun to wonder when Pavel would ever show his dominance.
"He was amazing," one scout said. "I've been waiting a long time to see that. He looks a hundred times better than he did last year. Based on what we saw in that tournament, he's a legit top three pick in the draft."
Another scout wouldn't go quite that far. "He was good, but the competition was young and no one could match his size," the scout told Insider. "Still, I'll be stunned if he's not a top 10 pick on draft night. He really has the chance to be special."
The other player who caught many scouts' eyes was Insider mystery man Andriuskevicius (7-3, 250). This was the first time many GMs and scouts were able to see him play, and according to reports, he didn't disappoint. He dropped 20 points and 18 rebounds in the final game, showed his ability to score in the post and on the perimeter and reportedly took the ball coast to coast on one play.
We've been projecting for several months now that he was the sleeper of the draft, and based on the reports we're now hearing from scouts who saw him in Italy, he could be one of the top three international players taken in this year's draft.
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Draft Cards
Drejer in 2004 draft? It looks like former Florida forward Christjan Drejer made a bigger mistake than anyone realized by dropping out of Florida to sign a pro contract with F.C. Barcelona. League sources have told Insider Drejer will automatically be entered into the 2004 draft.
He will not have the right to withdraw his name if he doesn't like his draft position the way most college and international underclassmen do. Drejer's hand is forced because of rule that states that if a college player fore goes his college eligibility and signs with pro team, he immediately becomes eligible for the next NBA draft. NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed this interpretation to Insider on Thursday.
That could be a major blow to Drejer, who was considered a likely lottery candidate at the start of the year. However, a lack of playing time, combined with his decision to jump ship for Barcelona, will take its toll on his draft stock. He's now looking like a borderline first-round pick. Had he stayed in school another year, he may have been able to increase his draft stock back into the lottery.
Former Michigan State center Erazem Lorbek faced a similar dilemma last year. Lorbek declared for the NBA draft last spring, pulled his name out of the draft and then signed with a pro team, Skipper Bologna, in July. Normally, under this rule, he too would have been put into the 2004 draft.
However, Lorbek's agent, David Bauman, told Insider that Lorbek received a special exception because of some bad advice given to the family by league lawyers. Originally, Lorbek was told that he would have the ability to enter the draft and remove his name the way all young international players do. When the league realized the mistake it granted Lorbek the exception. Bauman claims that Lorbek will be entering his name into this year's draft. However, he will be able to withdraw if he doesn't like his draft stock.
Spanish cup sensation: A plethora of NBA scouts and GMs were in Spain last week watching the Kings Cup. Almost all of them came away raving about Joventut Badalona's Rodolfo "Rudy" Fernandez. The 18-year-old, 6-foot-5 inch two guard walked away with MVP honors and wowed scouts with his athleticism, scoring ability, outside shot and active defense.
"He could be a devastating offensive player in the NBA," one scout told Insider.
Another went even further. "He's the best Spanish prospect since Pau Gasol, no question."
Based on the advice of several international scouts, we're going to move him into the top 10 of our Insider international rankings. The only two guards we have ranked higher at the moment are Russia's Sergei Monya and Slovenia's Sasha Vujacic.
Podkolzine, Andriuskevicius shine at junior tournament: The other big destination for most league scouts was a junior tournament held in Forli, Italy. The tournament was for players born in 1984 and later and featured two big-time prospects in Pavel Podkolzine and Martyans Andriuskevicius.
Podkolzine (7-5, 300) led his team to the championship with a dominant 31-point, 20-rebound performance. Eye witnesses claim that he faced constant double and triple teams and still scored at will. The performance really heightened the mood of several scouts, who had begun to wonder when Pavel would ever show his dominance.
"He was amazing," one scout said. "I've been waiting a long time to see that. He looks a hundred times better than he did last year. Based on what we saw in that tournament, he's a legit top three pick in the draft."
Another scout wouldn't go quite that far. "He was good, but the competition was young and no one could match his size," the scout told Insider. "Still, I'll be stunned if he's not a top 10 pick on draft night. He really has the chance to be special."
The other player who caught many scouts' eyes was Insider mystery man Andriuskevicius (7-3, 250). This was the first time many GMs and scouts were able to see him play, and according to reports, he didn't disappoint. He dropped 20 points and 18 rebounds in the final game, showed his ability to score in the post and on the perimeter and reportedly took the ball coast to coast on one play.
We've been projecting for several months now that he was the sleeper of the draft, and based on the reports we're now hearing from scouts who saw him in Italy, he could be one of the top three international players taken in this year's draft.
