Nemanja Bjelica

lobishome · Post #41 » by **lobishome** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:41 pm

Spanish King Cup semis between Barcelona (old Ricky's team) and Caja Laboral,the team of Bjelica. I think you can watch it here, around two hours after this post :

http://www.rtve.es/deportes/directo/teledeporte/

Raptor_Claw · Post #42 » by **Raptor_Claw** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 5:23 pm

Veselyfan wrote:
Raptor_Claw wrote: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...

You are clearly a biased Partizan fan. He is 5 times better in the NBA than he ever was in Euroleague.

dunkonu21 · Post #43 » by **dunkonu21** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 5:48 pm

I like him, he was the guy in my avatar for like a year. I think he could have a Chandler Parsons type impact for us (with a different style). But having such big guys at 6'10 who can dribble is such a mismatch for the other team.

lobishome · Post #44 » by **lobishome** » Thu May 24, 2012 7:46 pm

The Bjelica's team, Caja Laboral, won to Real Madrid at the first game of the ACB semis playoffs. He has played a great game, second best player, and he also has played the last games very well. If he continues improving he could be a interesting player for the wolves at the SF position.

http://jornadavirtual.acb.com/htm/estadisticas/est320.htm

Grits n Gravy · Post #45 » by **Grits n Gravy** » Thu May 24, 2012 9:05 pm

yeah i'm so dam happy that he is finally getting minutes...it was ridiculous that he barely played during his whole time there. he was a killer at red star and i'm glad that he's getting his chance to contribute there. averaged 10p, 6r, 1a, 1.5s, 1.5b in the qtr finals and now thats a big win against real madrid in game one of semis, hopefully they can advance...14 points 5 rebounds, 2nd hightest game ranking, good **** nemanja!

rick_21 · Post #46 » by **rick_21** » Thu May 24, 2012 10:21 pm

He's clearly playing his best basketball of the last two years. He is finally getting consistent minutes and the coach has put a lot of confidence on him, keeping him on the floor in the final minutes when that was unthinkable some months ago.

Although, I think he's playing well but not the way that made him a very special player and an interesting prospect two years ago.

I explain it. He's basically playing as a stretch PF, shooting well form deep, rebounding very well and spreading the floor. But he's not creating of the dribble or in one-on-one situations, and that was the ability that made he unique, he was a 6-10 forward that could play like a guard, and create for him and for his teammates of the pick and roll and running the floor, like Turkoglu.

Now he's not doing anything of that, I suppose it's because his coach doesn't like him to do that, or maybe he's not enough efficient in that role. But if he can't translate his abilities as a point forward to the next level, he is a very mediocre player and he is not worth a roster spot in the NBA, that's for sure.

VUK1 · Post #47 » by **VUK1** » Fri May 25, 2012 12:59 am

I think he can be special. If the Wolves just want defence, rebounding and 3 point shooting from the corners, then he can already do that no problem.

The problem is, as others have pointed out, is that he showed so much more potential from a creativity and dribbling perspective.

Either way, id love to see him go to the Wolves and hit the weight room and get some aggression. He was definitely a good pick for the Wolves and shouldn't be too expensive.

Peezo · Post #48 » by **Peezo** » Fri May 25, 2012 2:35 am

Can anyone provide any clarity on when we are considering him making the move to the NBA? I am intrigued by reading this thread, but I don't see anything to get me excited about him actually coming. I did skim through a lot of these pages, but read most posts. Thank you to whoever can provide me some clarity.

Post #49 » by **Klomp** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:05 am

Peezo wrote:Can anyone provide any clarity on when we are considering him making the move to the NBA? I am intrigued by reading this thread, but I don't see anything to get me excited about him actually coming. I did skim through a lot of these pages, but read most posts. Thank you to whoever can provide me some clarity.

This is the most I have heard on the subject

Kahn said he is in discussions to bring some of the team's drafted European prospects -- including forwards Nemanja Bjelica and Henk Norel and center Paulao Prestes, second-round picks all -- to Minnesota in June so Adelman and his staff can see them work out. He said one unnamed player might be ready for the NBA. Best guess is that it's Bjelica, a 6-10 point forward who has been compared to a poor man's Toni Kukoc but still probably is too soft for the NBA.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/149328395.html

Also, Kahn said on the video in the Prospect Thread that he was at the Caja Laboral game the previous night on a scouting trip, so no doubt he's interested.

Post #50 » by **Klomp** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:15 am

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZQE-FU6O2w[/youtube]

rick_21 · Post #51 » by **rick_21** » Fri May 25, 2012 9:39 am

Physically he is not ready for the NBA game. Too soft to play PF and too slow to play SF (I think he'll never play SF in the NBA)

He needs to work on his body and gain some muscle and toughness to play PF, which seems his natural position, but even with that I think he would be a poor defender a this level.

Post #52 » by **Basti** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:31 pm

Any chance he could be another Ersan Ilyasova type of player?

Devilzsidewalk · Post #53 » by **Devilzsidewalk** » Fri May 25, 2012 4:42 pm

I really hope he can play some SF and be a Dunleavy Jr. type. From the sounds of it, doesn't seem like he'll have the defense to stick as a PF under Adelman

Post #54 » by **Klomp** » Fri May 25, 2012 4:49 pm

Devilzsidewalk wrote:I really hope he can play some SF and be a Dunleavy Jr. type. From the sounds of it, doesn't seem like he'll have the defense to stick as a PF under Adelman

However, he does have the offensive skillset that I think Rick wants. High IQ, OK ballhandler, solid passer, etc.

Peezo · Post #55 » by **Peezo** » Sat May 26, 2012 7:24 pm

Klomp wrote:
Peezo wrote:Can anyone provide any clarity on when we are considering him making the move to the NBA? I am intrigued by reading this thread, but I don't see anything to get me excited about him actually coming. I did skim through a lot of these pages, but read most posts. Thank you to whoever can provide me some clarity.

This is the most I have heard on the subject
Kahn said he is in discussions to bring some of the team's drafted European prospects -- including forwards Nemanja Bjelica and Henk Norel and center Paulao Prestes, second-round picks all -- to Minnesota in June so Adelman and his staff can see them work out. He said one unnamed player might be ready for the NBA. Best guess is that it's Bjelica, a 6-10 point forward who has been compared to a poor man's Toni Kukoc but still probably is too soft for the NBA.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/149328395.html

Also, Kahn said on the video in the Prospect Thread that he was at the Caja Laboral game the previous night on a scouting trip, so no doubt he's interested.

Thanks Klomp. That is exactly what I'm looking for. I'd be really interested in watching that Euro workout, especially if any of our guys would be in town to work in.

Post #56 » by **Klomp** » Sat May 26, 2012 8:06 pm

Peezo wrote:Thanks Klomp. That is exactly what I'm looking for. I'd be really interested in watching that Euro workout, especially if any of our guys would be in town to work in.

It will probably be around the time of draft workouts, similar to when Prestes worked out here last summer. I also wouldn't be surprised to see one or two of them on the Summer League team.

Veselyfan · Post #57 » by **Veselyfan** » Sat May 26, 2012 9:19 pm

Another great game by Bjelica in game 2 of the semifinal playoffs against Real Madrid. He scored 16 points and had 7 rebounds in 33 minutes.

lobishome · Post #58 » by **lobishome** » Sun May 27, 2012 12:08 am

Veselyfan wrote:Another great game by Bjelica in game 2 of the semifinal playoffs against Real Madrid. He scored 16 points and had 7 rebounds in 33 minutes.

Yeah, Real Madrid won :curse:

http://jornadavirtual.acb.com/htm/estadisticas/est322.htm

VUK1 · Post #59 » by **VUK1** » Tue May 29, 2012 2:57 am

Surely given his size and length it makes up for his lack of speed to guard other SF?

dunkonu21 · Post #60 » by **dunkonu21** » Tue May 29, 2012 3:20 pm

If we're talking about the floor of players potential and making our overall roster more talented, then no doubt this kid should be offered a roster spot. His floor is much higher than Anthony Randolph's (who I think is Barea's target for the "some people on this team will never win a championship" comment). He can compete for Tolliver's minutes as they have very similar games at their core. Worst case scenario he sits on the bench and slowly learns how to be a rotation player in the NBA. Best case, he'll give us minutes at the SF as a playmaker. He is literally as big as Rudy Gay (who is much bigger than his listed height) and we know how he has turned out in the NBA (over-blown contract aside).