Eurocamp

The NBA Draft Combine is one of the biggest events in preparing for the draft.  Many international prospects cannot attend, though, because of contractual obligations with their respective clubs.  This year only two international prospects- Schroeder and Gobert- performed at the combine.  Both these players are mid-first round picks.  The international crop is stronger than in the last few years, and there are many players in Treviso who could really improve their stock.   Here are my thoughts about some players involved:

The most intriguing players for this draft are Nemanja Nedovic, Lucas Nogueira and Bojan Dubljevic.  In addition, Dante Exum is a fantastic prospect for next year's draft, and is a player to watch hard in the future.  Also, Giannis Antetokoumpo's U-20 Greek team played an hour away against the U-20 Croatia team.  Being there to scout the event and Antetokoumpo's game would have been great.  So, based off of what I have read, and from my analysis of each player thus far, here are a few predictions.

-It sounds like Gobert had to withdraw due to food poisoning.  His draft stock won't be affected, and he will likely go between 12 and 20 on draft day.

- Lucas Nogueira is the next Hasheem Thabeet- and I don't necessarily mean that as a bad thing.  Thabeet got thrown into the fire too early, and was not developed properly.  If a team is patient with Nogueira, he could be a very effective big man for 20min a game at the next level.  His ceiling could be as high as 16 to Boston, but he likely goes between 25-35.

- Bojan Dubljevic is a strong 6'9 power forward with a good perimeter stroke.  He looks like he could play a similar role as Joel Freeland played in Portland this year, but he is still a few years away.  as a draft and stash, teams could do much worse in round one. 

- It sounds like Antetokoumpo had 11 points and showed both his versatility and his raw talent.  He is 3-4 years away, and is the biggest project in the draft.  A team drafting him has to think of him as high school student- he needs lots of time.  A team with 2 picks in round one, like Cleveland, Minnesota, Atlanta and Oklahoma City could all bite the bullet on the intriguing mystery man from Greece.  After pick 20, he should be in demand.

- I am going to make a bold statement that Nemanja Nedovic goes in the first round.  I have had a first round grade on him all year (and even last), but I appear to be the only one this high on him.  He is an extraordinary athlete who can play both guard spots, and is improving his shooting.  He is still a work in progress, and needs to become a better ball handler, but his defensive potential coupled with his scoring ability show that he should be a first round pick.  If he goes in round 2, he is the steal of the draft.  I would love to see Portland trade up to get him.