Nemanja Bjelica

[shangrila]

Eh, I'd bring him over but I don't think he's a saviour or even ready for the NBA at this point. His form on his shot looks bad, he still looks stick thin and there's a large question as to what position, if any, he'll be able to defend.

But he does seem to be a smart passer, something Adelman has seemed to target as a need for this team (i.e. a secondary ball handler).

[Narf]

For significantly different reasons. The question with Pekovic was his contract, not his ability. He was always going to his shot in the NBA if he wanted it.

I argued far too long with people about Pekovic's ability to agree with that statement.
Not as much on this board, but when I said he'd have been a lotto pick without his contract and in the same tier as Brook Lopez most people claimed he wasn't that talented.

[Narf]

LOL That is because Adelman is the coach.. Remember the Kings..

The Kings weren't that white actually.

The reason we're white is because we have a bunch of Euro players and Kevin Love. That's pretty much it.

Bibby,Christie,Stojakovic and Divac were in the starting 5. I remeber Hedo and Songaila from the bench...

Mixed =/= white

Edit: In fact, I think Bibby is mostly Filipino and black. Jeff Christie's father is black, his mother is white.
And again, the rest are Euros.

[Gordon]

He is not good enough of a shooter to offset his lack of athletic ability.

[sseppel]

I've seen him in some games here in the ACB spanish league and I don't think the guy has NBA level... In my humble opinion he is not intense or consistent enough to compete at this level. There are people that have so much quality and IQ that they don't need that to succeed, but that is not Nemanja's case neither. You don't even notice that he is in the game most of the time.

[Swish4]

Bjelica was drafted as a project player in hopes he would progress. From what I've read it seems he hasn't really improved since drafted, and isn't really looked at as even a top 1 or 2 option on his team now. I'm pretty much writing him off in my mind as an NBA player.

[UcanUwill]

Never liked him really. He was a great project, versatile as ****, but it never translated in Euroleague. And I think hes clearly overweight.

Bjelica was drafted as a project player in hopes he would progress. From what I've read it seems he hasn't really improved since drafted, and isn't really looked at as even a top 1 or 2 option on his team now. I'm pretty much writing him off in my mind as an NBA player.

Wow, what do you expect? Jonas Valanciunas is not a first or second option on his own team, and he plays in second tier Euro league.
Caja Laboral is a top Euroleague team, Reggie Williams had similar role over there, 15mpg. player. being number one option on Caja Laboral pretty much means you one of the best players in Europe.

[Grits n Gravy]

we'll us twolves fans know first hands that stats in europe mean nothing.

[Narf]

we'll us twolves fans know first hands that stats in europe mean nothing.

That's not true. Rubio's stats in Europe were quite good. There is league play and euroleague "playoffs" play. Rubio played something like 70 games, and people looked at his 10 euroleague games and claimed those were the only stats that mattered. If you looked at Rubio's or Pekovic's complete seasons you could see they were dominant players in Europe. Euroleague stats matter in the right context. On the other hand, idiot NBA analysts at ESPN who don't know how to analyze those stats don't matter.

[Grits n Gravy]

we'll us twolves fans know first hands that stats in europe mean nothing.

That's not true. Rubio's stats in Europe were quite good. There is league play and euroleague "playoffs" play. Rubio played something like 70 games, and people looked at his 10 euroleague games and claimed those were the only stats that mattered. If you looked at Rubio's or Pekovic's complete seasons you could see they were dominant players in Europe. Euroleague stats matter in the right context. On the other hand, idiot NBA analysts at ESPN who don't know how to analyze those stats don't matter.

i dunno about that man, if we're looking at raw stats i don't think 5 pts 4 assists 3 rebounds at 36/26/77 in 21 mins for 42 games would be considered anything close to good..sure he was better the previous season but still...of course you have to look past numbers to see how a player might translate but again, i don't think stats mean too much.

[Hoopin Harm]

Might be capable or good, but if we are really holding out hope on playoffs or championship...

[sisibilio]

we'll us twolves fans know first hands that stats in europe mean nothing.

That's not true. Rubio's stats in Europe were quite good. There is league play and euroleague "playoffs" play. Rubio played something like 70 games, and people looked at his 10 euroleague games and claimed those were the only stats that mattered. If you looked at Rubio's or Pekovic's complete seasons you could see they were dominant players in Europe. Euroleague stats matter in the right context. On the other hand, idiot NBA analysts at ESPN who don't know how to analyze those stats don't matter.

i dunno about that man, if we're looking at raw stats i don't think 5 pts 4 assists 3 rebounds at 36/26/77 in 21 mins for 42 games would be considered anything close to good..sure he was better the previous season but still...of course you have to look past numbers to see how a player might translate but again, i don't think stats mean too much.

Forget stats, if you watch some games his impact is close to zero, he's "Weslike" invisible most of the time.

[Dewey]

[/quote]
i dunno about that man, if we're looking at raw stats i don't think 5 pts 4 assists 3 rebounds at 36/26/77 in 21 mins for 42 games would be considered anything close to good..sure he was better the previous season but still...of course you have to look past numbers to see how a player might translate but again, i don't think stats mean too much.[/quote]
Forget stats, if you watch some games his impact is close to zero, he's "Weslike" invisible most of the time.[/quote]

Can he dribble or hit an open 3? that's all we need to know

[lobishome]

Sadly I think Bjelica is probably more of a concept than a reality. I would love nothing more than to have him come here and be a contributing player, but I'm not sold that it will ever happen. That being said I still wouldn't mind seeing him come over so we can try and develop him here a bit and get him used to the NBA game. He needs to work on a lot of things, but we'll need some end of the bench guys for next year and maybe they'll consider bringing him over.

I hope I'm wrong, he was so excited to get drafted by the Wolves. I'll never forget the interviews they did after that draft. I hope he turns out better than what I'm guessing he will be.

I'm pretty sure people were saying the same things about Nikola Pekovic a few years ago too.

I confess it, I'm guilty ...

[Worm Guts]

For significantly different reasons. The question with Pekovic was his contract, not his ability. He was always going to his shot in the NBA if he wanted it.

I argued far too long with people about Pekovic's ability to agree with that statement.
Not as much on this board, but when I said he'd have been a lotto pick without his contract and in the same tier as Brook Lopez most people claimed he wasn't that talented.

Brook Lopez was a lottery pick who played really well his first 2 seasons and was viewed as a future all-star at the time. There's alot of room between that and a 2nd round talent like Bjelica.

[Raptor_Claw]

When I watch Bjelica play, the only thing that comes to mind is what an idiot he is. I would never want him on my team. He is as dumb as a rock.

Bjelica was drafted as a project player in hopes he would progress. From what I've read it seems he hasn't really improved since drafted, and isn't really looked at as even a top 1 or 2 option on his team now. I'm pretty much writing him off in my mind as an NBA player.

I don't like Bjelica at all, but this really has no bearing of any kind on being able to play in the NBA. Bjelica is more like the 10th option on his team, but every single guy in his team's rotation can play in the NBA. When you are talking about big Euroleague clubs, you need to grasp that every single rotation player on those teams can play in the NBA.

If Bjelica was a 1 or 2 option on a team like Baskonia, he would have been one of the best players in the Euroleague. I mean really, Rubio was nothing but a role player on Barca, and Pekovic was not even one of the 2 best players on Panathinaikos either.

I don't personally like Bjelica, but a 10th guy on his team can play in the NBA. We are talking about the biggest clubs in the Euroleague here. They are loaded with good players.

we'll us twolves fans know first hands that stats in europe mean nothing.

That's not true. Rubio's stats in Europe were quite good. There is league play and euroleague "playoffs" play. Rubio played something like 70 games, and people looked at his 10 euroleague games and claimed those were the only stats that mattered. If you looked at Rubio's or Pekovic's complete seasons you could see they were dominant players in Europe. Euroleague stats matter in the right context. On the other hand, idiot NBA analysts at ESPN who don't know how to analyze those stats don't matter.

Neither Rubio nor Pekovic were dominant players in Europe. Rubio...not in any way, not at any time, not ever. Pekovic was certainly dominant in the low post on offense, but that was it. He wasn't dominant overall. Because his defense and rebounding were poor and he was a foul machine.

And really, his low post scoring wasn't even really any better than what Vougioukas does now. Vougioukas was the guy that replaced him on Panathinaikos. Regardless of what any stats say, (good for Pekovic, bad for Rubio), from Europe, you are throwing around the word dominant where it does not belong.

There is not a single player in the Euroleague that is dominant. The league is way too defense oriented and much too physical for any player to ever dominate there. Typically, take any Euroleague player that is good, and put him in an NBA rotation and give him a fair shake, and he will have better stats and play better in the NBA than he ever did in the Euroleague.

Just look at the stats of all the NBA players that were in the Euroleague this year. They pretty much played better in the NBA than they did in the Euroleague across the board. Because the Euroleague is an entire league based on defense and physical play, while the NBA is entirely based on offense and scoring.

Rubio isn't playing any better at all in the NBA. He's simply playing in a league where defense is toned down a lot and the play is a lot less physical.

[Veselyfan]

@Raptro_Claw

Are you serious telling that Pekovic was not dominant in Europe ? He was the most dominant center in Europe for 3 years... I watched almost every game of him in the Euroleague. From 07-10 nobody could stop him..

His scoring not better than Vougioukas,I mean WTF...This season in the Euroleague Pek was averaging 16.4 pts in 7 games during the lock out... Vougioukas only 8.1 and i dont want to mention the last couple of seasons..

There are many players in the Euroleague that are dominant,you cant say there arent any.. I have been watching the Euroleague the last 15 years,so I know what I am talking about. I watched Pek playing live 4 years in Belgrade...

[sisibilio]

@Raptro_Claw

Are you serious telling that Pekovic was not dominant in Europe ? He was the most dominant center in Europe for 3 years... I watched almost every game of him in the Euroleague. From 07-10 nobody could stop him..

His scoring not better than Vougioukas,I mean WTF...This season in the Euroleague Pek was averaging 16.4 pts in 7 games during the lock out... Vougioukas only 8.1 and i dont want to mention the last couple of seasons..

There are many players in the Euroleague that are dominant,you cant say there arent any.. I have been watching the Euroleague the last 15 years,so I know what I am talking about. I watched Pek playing live 4 years in Belgrade...

He's just a troll, don't waste your time arguing.
The only player in this Caja Laboral team who i think could get significant minutes in the NBA is Teletovic.

[Raptor_Claw]

@Raptro_Claw

Are you serious telling that Pekovic was not dominant in Europe ? He was the most dominant center in Europe for 3 years... I watched almost every game of him in the Euroleague. From 07-10 nobody could stop him..

His scoring not better than Vougioukas,I mean WTF...This season in the Euroleague Pek was averaging 16.4 pts in 7 games during the lock out... Vougioukas only 8.1 and i dont want to mention the last couple of seasons..

There are many players in the Euroleague that are dominant,you cant say there arent any.. I have been watching the Euroleague the last 15 years,so I know what I am talking about. I watched Pek playing live 4 years in Belgrade...

I will repeat. He was dominant in the low post on offense. He was not dominant overall. He was below average on rebounding and defense and was terrible with fouling and turnovers. So was he "a dominant Euroleague player"? Absolutely not.

He was a dominant low post scorer on offense, not a dominant player overall. There is a huge difference between then two.

When I mentioned Vougioukas, I was talking strictly about efficiency scoring in the low post. Pekovic is by far a better player than Vougioukas, due to the fact Vougioukas can only be used in one type of way. But in terms of low post offense, Vougioukas is even better than Pekovic is.

If you watch so many games, then start watching Vougioukas. He destroys everyone in the low post in Europe, more than Pekovic ever did. Here is the issue, I would NEVER call Vougioukas "dominant", no matter the fact that he demolishes everyone in the low post.

It's because the rest of his game is much too limited. Pekovic was a big beast in the low post, but he was below average in the other aspects of the game. So no, there is no way that an objective analysis could classify him as having been dominant in Euroleague

If you want to see dominant and Euroleague, then you need to go back 20-25 years to the days of Galis and Petrovic. It simply does not happen anymore.


Pekovic is just as good in the low post in the NBA, as he was in the Euroleague. He is better on defense and rebounding in the NBA than he was in the Euroleague. He plays better right now in the NBA than he ever did in the Euroleague. So, if we are to use this logic that he was "dominant in Euroleague", then since he plays better in the NBA, he must also be "dominant in the NBA".

Bottom line, no, he was not dominant in the Euroleague. And if you are going to go there and claim he was, then so were these centers (and since you seem to want to use stats to claim "dominance"):

Batiste (better overall stats with Panathinaikos)
Bourousis (often outplayed Pekovic head to head)
Schortsanitis
Vujacic
Andersen
Splitter
Maric (even better stats with Partizan)

If Pekovic was dominant in the Euroleague, then so were all of them. The simple fact is, he wasn't dominant in the Euroleague. When you are very arguably the second best center on your own team, you are not "dominant".

Pekovic is a beast, but he's better in the NBA than he ever was in the Euroleague, where he was often on the bench due to bad defense, fouling, and turnovers. He was spending most of his time on the bench during the key moments of the 2009 Euroleague Final Four for those very reasons.

An actual "dominant" player would be in at those moments and carrying the team to the title, not sitting on the bench. He's better off in the NBA, where the play is less physical and he can have his way more easily.

[Veselyfan]

Pekovic is a beast, but he's better in the NBA than he ever was in the Euroleague, where he was often on the bench due to bad defense, fouling, and turnovers. He was spending most of his time on the bench during the key moments of the 2009 Euroleague Final Four for those very reasons.

An actual "dominant" player would be in at those moments and carrying the team to the title, not sitting on the bench. He's better off in the NBA, where the play is less physical and he can have his way more easily.

Pek decided the semifinals of that F4,he scored 20 points,most of them were crucial in the 4th quarter... He was in the all euroleage first team...But again you know better than all the coaches in Europe telling thath Pek was by far the best center... In 07-08 he led Partizan to one game away of the F4.. He was a beast in that season. He won the greek title nex season domianting Bouroussis in the play offs...