RealGM

Anyone know if he has any interest in
1) returning to the NBA?
2) details of any buyout in his Barcelona contract (if it exists)?
3) does Memphis have his rights?
4) is he still NBA caliber at age 29?

Thanks in advance.

1) Highly doubt it. He gave it a shot, it didn't end too well and he was out of Memphis the second the season finished. I really don't think he has any plans or dreams to return to the NBA. He'll finish his great European career in Barcelona.

2) Have no idea. He signed a 5 year contract with Barca and wouldn't of thought he would have asked for a buyout to be included in his new contract.

3) He was a restricted free agent coming into last summer. The Grizzlies extended the qualifying offer to Navarro so they have the right to match any future offers should he return to the NBA.

4) Yes, he has hardly declined significantly since last season. He could still play in the NBA. He was what he was, a streaky shooter who could mix it up and take his man of the dribble occasionally finishing in the paint with a finesse move. He could drop a bunch of points at the drop of a hat, and then could go stone cold for the rest of the game. Undersized, was never going to be a good defender.

He has a $10 million dollar buyout. He will not play in the NBA again for certain at least until his contract ends anyway. And actually, Navvrro is no longer an undersized player. He's 6-4 and this year he basically ran Barca's offense and was pretty much the team's point guard. He may play at SG and be listed that way, but he ran the team's offense all year.

So he's now actually fully able to play point guard for the first time in his career. And at 6-4 he's not undersized for PG. And the NBA listing of his height at 6-3 is an error.

He can't play the point in this league though, except for perhaps short stretches. So he is indeed slightly undersized for his true position.

suckfish wrote:He can't play the point in this league though, except for perhaps short stretches. So he is indeed slightly undersized for his true position.

He can play point in the NBA. He could never play point in Euroleague before either. He obviously spent his whole time off working on being a point guard. He was even worse at playing point guard in the Euroleague than he was in the NBA. He clearly added that as a new part of his game.

daddyfivestar wrote:Anyone know if he has any interest in
1) returning to the NBA?

Why would any NBA team be interested in him? In his one season NBA stint, he averaged a measely 10.9 ppg, 2.2 apg!!! , and shot a horrendous 40%!!! from the field. He was also a defensive liability. He was just an average NBA player, but he's a superstar in the Euroleague. Funny how these things turn out.

is he still NBA caliber at age 29?

Guards usually reach their peak in their late 20s/early 30s, so he still has plenty of years left. Contrary to the peanut gallery's assessment, Navarro is definitely not a PG, at least not in the NBA. He's a tweener (too short to play SG and not a pure PG). He's also a huge defensive liability. Maybe he's able to hide his deficiencies In the Euroleague, but not in the NBA. To be a successful undersized shooting guard in the NBA (6'4" and under), you'd better either be an athletic scorer (Wade, Iverson, Arenas, Mayo, etc.) or a fantastic shooter (B Gordon, Mo Williams, House, etc.). Navarro is neither. He would make a good 3rd string guard in the NBA, but there are better domestic options.

jt142 wrote:

daddyfivestar wrote:Anyone know if he has any interest in
1) returning to the NBA?

Why would any NBA team be interested in him? In his one season NBA stint, he averaged a measely 10.9 ppg, 2.2 apg!!! , and shot a horrendous 40%!!! from the field. He was also a defensive liability. He was just an average NBA player, but he's a superstar in the Euroleague. Funny how these things turn out.

is he still NBA caliber at age 29?

Guards usually reach their peak in their late 20s/early 30s, so he still has plenty of years left. Contrary to the peanut gallery's assessment, Navarro is definitely not a PG, at least not in the NBA. He's a tweener (too short to play SG and not a pure PG). He's also a huge defensive liability. Maybe he's able to hide his deficiencies In the Euroleague, but not in the NBA. To be a successful undersized shooting guard in the NBA (6'4" and under), you'd better either be an athletic scorer (Wade, Iverson, Arenas, Mayo, etc.) or a fantastic shooter (B Gordon, Mo Williams, House, etc.). Navarro is neither. He would make a good 3rd string guard in the NBA, but there are better domestic options.

What is your point? In the NBA he would be an undersized SG? He is also in the Euroleague. In the NBA he would not be as skilled as you want your point guard to be? He's not in the Euroleague either. In the NBA he can't guard anyone. He can't guard anyone in the Euroleague either.

Also, I don't see how he is a "superstar" in the Euroleague. You just said that without it meaning anything or having any basis in reality. He's definitely a star in the Euroleague that is certain, but a "superstar" - hardly at all, in fact most definitely not. He's a "superstar" in the Spanish League level though, but not in the Euroleague level.

KWSN-Men wrote:Also, I don't see how he is a "superstar" in the Euroleague. You just said that without it meaning anything or having any basis in reality. He's definitely a star in the Euroleague that is certain, but a "superstar" - hardly at all, in fact most definitely not. He's a "superstar" in the Spanish League level though, but not in the Euroleague level.

Then I wonder how many superstars are there in the Euroleague and who are them.

Navarro has been named MVP of the Euroleague last year and has been included in the All-Euroleague First Team for the last 4 years (leaving apart 07-08 since he was in the NBA).

Guybrush wrote:

KWSN-Men wrote:Also, I don't see how he is a "superstar" in the Euroleague. You just said that without it meaning anything or having any basis in reality. He's definitely a star in the Euroleague that is certain, but a "superstar" - hardly at all, in fact most definitely not. He's a "superstar" in the Spanish League level though, but not in the Euroleague level.

Then I wonder how many superstars are there in the Euroleague and who are them.

Navarro has been named MVP of the Euroleague last year and has been included in the All-Euroleague First Team for the last 4 years (leaving apart 07-08 since he was in the NBA).

He's not a superstar in the Euroleague. You know perfectly well what that term implies someone like Kobe or LeBron in Euroleague and he is nowhere close to that by a long shot. And that's 3 times all Euroleague team not 4.

Of course he is a superstar.

One must note however that superstars in the Euroleague in some cases average around or even less than 10 points per game. Last season Navarro averaged 14.7PPG on 42.8 percent shooting in the Euroleague, so 10PPG in his first NBA season, without having the star status, without getting the right plays run for him, cannot really be considered a disappointment.

If I had to pick five current superstars in the European game, it would probably be those, in no particular order:
- Navarro
- Siskauskas [12.1PPG in 28:24]
- Diamantidis [8.5PPG in 27:17]
- Papaloukas [8.0PPG in 25:04]
- Jasikevicius [9.6PPG in 20:04]

Another fantastic, well-respected player:
- Prigioni [6.4PPG in 26:34]

Or, another superstar from earlier in this decade:
- Anthony Parker [14.8PPG in 35:29 in 05/06]

KWSN-Men wrote:He's not a superstar in the Euroleague. You know perfectly well what that term implies someone like Kobe or LeBron in Euroleague and he is nowhere close to that by a long shot. And that's 3 times all Euroleague team not 4.

So...who would you consider Euroleague superstars? Let me guess:

Spanoulis
Papaloukas
Diamantidis
Spanoulis
Bouroussiss
a lil more Spanoulis

robbe wrote:Of course he is a superstar.

One must note however that superstars in the Euroleague in some cases average around or even less than 10 points per game. Last season Navarro averaged 14.7PPG on 42.8 percent shooting in the Euroleague, so 10PPG in his first NBA season, without having the star status, without getting the right plays run for him, cannot really be considered a disappointment.

If I had to pick five current superstars in the European game, it would probably be those, in no particular order:
- Navarro
- Siskauskas [12.1PPG in 28:24]
- Diamantidis [8.5PPG in 27:17]
- Papaloukas [8.0PPG in 25:04]
- Jasikevicius [9.6PPG in 20:04]

Another fantastic, well-respected player:
- Prigioni [6.4PPG in 26:34]

Do you know what a superstar is? It's Kobe, LeBron, Wade guys like that. Navarro is not a superstar in the Euroleague. In fact the only guy you listed that is would be Siskauskas. None of those others are.

I couldn't care less about who is a superstar according to your dubious criteria, if there are any. Guys like Navarro, Saras and Theo are clearly Euroleague superstars. Everyone who follows European basketball will confirm that.

KWSN-Men wrote:Do you know what a superstar is? It's Kobe, LeBron, Wade guys like that. Navarro is not a superstar in the Euroleague. In fact the only guy you listed that is would be Siskauskas. None of those others are.

We are talking about Euroleague. Don't compare it with NBA.

But tell me, who are the superstars in Europe then? List them, please.

robbe wrote:I'm speaking about Euroleague superstars, not NBA superstars. Guys like Saras and Theo are clearly Euroleague superstars. It's not about some criteria you created, it is about success, reputation and so on.

No way in the world are they Euroleague superstars.

Navarro = can't play any defense and is a feast or famine, all or nothing player. He either wins the game or loses it with his shooting. He still has the tendency to not show up in the biggest of games and when his team needs him the most.

Jasikevicius = one of, if not the worst defensive guard in the Euroleague. He's also old and only shows up with a big game about once every 3-4 games. He's definitely washed up without any doubt. He also can't play anything more than an effective 15-20 minutes at this point. This year all season he had ONE great game and that was it.

Papaloukas = old and way past his prime. He's not even close to being anything resembling a superstar. He can play solid defense still and run a team but that's about all he does. He's far from being a superstar at this point.

Prigioni = getting too old and starting to break down. He can still play great defense but not like before and is starting to have trouble guarding quick players. He's also starting to lose his ability to get into the lane on offense. Clearly lost a step this year. No longer an offensive threat and can't shoot the ball like he used to. Certainly not a superstar.

Diamantidis = debatable, but it's pushing it a bit too much to label him a superstar. Fact is he's still a super role player like a Battier or Horry type and he's still not a lead player. He can't lead a team offensively and just isn't good enough on offense to be a superstar. Incredible defensive player and average offensive player. Intangible wise he's elite, but that's still not a superstar. Great player yes but also THE most overrated player in Europe. If he's a "superstar" then so is Tayshaun Prince. Also superstars are not the 5th option on offense on their teams. He's close to it but being close does not = actually being one, no he is not in fact a superstar.

Siskauskas = superstar. Plainly and simply he is a superstar. However he wasn't as good this year and started to show a little bit of possibly slipping and losing a step. Still though at the moment for certain he's a superstar. You failed to list any other Euroelague superstars.

robbe wrote:Saras and Theo are clearly Euroleague superstars. Everyone who follows European basketball will confirm that.

No, not even close.

Guybrush wrote:

KWSN-Men wrote:Do you know what a superstar is? It's Kobe, LeBron, Wade guys like that. Navarro is not a superstar in the Euroleague. In fact the only guy you listed that is would be Siskauskas. None of those others are.

We are talking about Euroleague. Don't compare it with NBA.

But tell me, who are the superstars in Europe then? List them, please.

They without any question are NOT players being listed in this thread. It's almost painful to read some of these posts.

Euroleague superstars as in what a superstar actually is are:

Ramunas Siskauskas
Terrell McIntyre
Vassilis Spanoulis

Then there are the guys that are close to it but just not quite.

Nikola Pekovic
Dimitris Diamantidis
Trajan Langdon

Pekovic not quite just yet, but I would say he will be next year. So if you want you could add him in the superstar list. But he's still not quite there so we will see next year. Diamantidis is close like I said but he's just an average offensive player. Not on this planet are average offensive players superstars. He's close but he's not actually one.

Langdon is close IMO but not quite either. He's never been the best player on his team. It was either Papaloukas or Siskauskas that was always the best player on his team and not him. And he's never really led or carried a team. He's close but not quite.

I would probably put Navarro in the category right after Langdon. He should be a superstar but he isn't. Fails to come up when needed most and plays no defense. So I would probably put Navarro as the best or second best star player along with Reyes, but not a superstar.

So basically I would say the first 5 tiers of Euroleague players is something like

First tier (these are the only ones that fit the criteria of being a true "superstar"):

Ramunas Siksauskas
Terrel McIntyre
Vassilis Spanoulis

Second tier:

Nikola Pekovic (like I said though I expect him to join the superstar level next year)
Dimitris Diamantidis
Trajan Langdon

Third tier:

Felipe Reyes
Juan Carlos Navarro

Fourth tier (first tier stars if you will but certainly NOT "superstars")

Then after Reyes and Navarro I would have the next group which is guys like Bourousis, Batiste, Splitter, Papaloukas, Jasikevicius, Prigioni, Smodis, Holden, Lorbek, Rakocevic, K. Lavrinovic, Fotsis, Andersen

Fifth tier:

Then would be guys that are second tier stars like Childress, Planinic, Becirovic, Arroyo, Eliyahu, Kaukenas, Vujcic, Halperin, Greer, Nicholas, Velickovic, Lakovic, Basile, Vazquez, etc. players like that caliber.

robbe wrote:I couldn't care less about who is a superstar according to your dubious criteria, if there are any. Guys like Navarro, Saras and Theo are clearly Euroleague superstars. Everyone who follows European basketball will confirm that.

confirmed.

Alyosha12 wrote:

robbe wrote:I couldn't care less about who is a superstar according to your dubious criteria, if there are any. Guys like Navarro, Saras and Theo are clearly Euroleague superstars. Everyone who follows European basketball will confirm that.

confirmed.

Jason Kidd is a current NBA superstar, so is Shaq because of what he did years ago, so is Michael Redd.

Confirmed.

See how easy that game is? It's very easy to just make up total nonsense.

KWSN-Men wrote:

Alyosha12 wrote:

robbe wrote:I couldn't care less about who is a superstar according to your dubious criteria, if there are any. Guys like Navarro, Saras and Theo are clearly Euroleague superstars. Everyone who follows European basketball will confirm that.

confirmed.

Jason Kidd is a current NBA superstar, so is Shaq because of what he did years ago, so is Michael Redd.

Confirmed.

See how easy that game is? It's very easy to just make up total nonsense.

And euroleague season MVP and a member of euroleagues first team isn't.

Oh man why do i even bother answering your ridiculous posts i must be more crazy then you are, although that is an impossibility.