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What do you all think about JLA? He's having a big season in the NBL - I think it could earn him an NBA contract this offseason.

IMO Guys who are 6'11", can shoot 39% from 3, have good mobility and athleticism, and can make moves like the one he makes at the 1:48 mark belong on NBA rosters.



Follow up question - who are the top 3 or 4 international players who could potentially go to the NBA next season and make an impact? If you don't think JLA is one of those guys, why not? I'm not talking about guys who might get drafted this year - I'm talking about guys who are older so they could just sign on as a free agent with an NBA team..

Dzanan Musa could come back I imagine. Out if all players who left Russia and are still unsigned, Grigonis might have something, just a guy who can shoot and its always good to have those.

Obviously, the guys who are most deserving, Mirotic and Micic, but I dont think they are FAs and they showed no interest in the NBA.

JLA is worth a long look.
I see teams thinking of wasting a pick on Ousmane Dieng (waste imho, to be clear) and think this is a better path. Get stronger, develop your weaknesses, keep flashing those strengths....

Anyway...summer league invitee for sure.

His release has always looked slow to me, but I think that matters less at the 5, and he's basically stepped in to Jock Lansdale's role pretty neatly.

Watching this game:



Duop Reath looks like he's possibly just as good..maybe even better than JLA. Reath is roughly 2 yrs younger too (25 as opposed to age 27).

Both of these guys should get some workouts this offseason with NBA teams..

Hal14 wrote:Watching this game:

Watch on YouTube

Duop Reath looks like he's possibly just as good..maybe even better than JLA. Reath is roughly 2 yrs younger too (25 as opposed to age 27).

Both of these guys should get some workouts this offseason with NBA teams..

Reath was actually a pretty important big man in our lead up to the last Olympics (since it's always tough getting internationals back for those games).

I think it's fair to say some were expecting him to make a bigger impact in the local league than he has, but he played his role pretty well for the national team, and has good experience playing in Europe too.

Definitely a guy worth a summer league shot, but I'd guess (and it's just a guess) he might struggle to stick. He does play in a small market team here, which might impact on buzz, although they are a good team, and well coached.

Good game in Game 1 of the semi finals by JLA.
After being ignored in the first QTR, he ended up with 15pts, 7rbds, 6 blocks.
Nice numbers (40 minute games here) and he landed player of the game.

Reath plays tomorrow night, in the other semi finals series (against a very strong Sydney Kings team)