Rise and Fall of Marco Belinelli
December 8, 2007 by Julien
From the Rookie of the Year discussions to the D-League…
It seems like ages but less than 2 months ago, Italian shooting machine Marco Belinelli was expected to be a superstar. From Day One. He had ruled the Vegas Summer League and people were starting superlatives contests.
Marco was supposed to be the Warriors’ starting shooting guard. One member of the SLAM Crew named him the rookie most likely to average 20 points. And Chris Sheridan of ESPN wrote Marco "tempted" him for his Rookie of the Year predictions… I’m not blaming anyone because I myself thought Marco would fit instantly. Like I said before, I remain positive Beli will succeed in the League. It’s just gonna take more time…
Indeed, Marco has only seen 1 minute of action those last 2 weeks. And he’s now rumoured to leave the team to play in the D-League (via Hoopshype). As Don Nelson told the Contra CostaTimes : "It wouldn’t hurt (Belinelli) to go down and play a bunch of games".
The Italian pistolero already told his reluctance to leave his teammates : "I think that I can play at this level, and I want to be here, to work with my teammates. We have a beautiful group and I’m part of it."
A trip to the Baskersfield Jam surely isn’t what Marco asked to Babbo Natale for Christmas but that might soon be the next step of his American dream. And even though referring to Kelenna Azubuike might not be the best thing to do here since the Brit guard kinda stole Beli’s job…he’s also the living example that a stint in the D-League doesn’t mean you’re not gonna shine in the NBA sooner or later…
Can’t say i feel sorry for him or any European that becomes an NBA bitch.
He should ask to be released and return to Europe.
elaj NBA contracts are guaranteed.
He can be released of his teams pays him all the money he would receive to the end of his contract.
So he must either pay the team himself or find a Euroleague team to pay for him.
Dammmmmnnn…. If he’d choosen what team he’d wanna play in b4 he joined the league, he would have chose either the Suns or Baron’s Warriors.. Guess he should have chosen the other one :D..
There’s nothing wrong with being sent to the D-League. He’ll receive the minutes he’ll need to adapt to the athleticism of the American game (the Summer League is of far inferior quality).
“NBA bitch”? hahahaha! Sometimes European fans have an excessive amount of contempt for by far and away the best basketball league in the world.
Amen to that, Alex, amen to that. I obviously enjoy Euro hoops, but there is no need to go to far…
1. once and for all the success ratio of european should be checked against this of americans playing the nba (a question remains what is success). i’m not sure it’s any lower. but anyway everyone dreams of starting like Navaro and not like Belineli or differently everyone wish to have a chance like Udirh now got and like Saras (didn’t) get.
2. another thing players keep in mind while going to the nba is the signal they send by going there. many ex-nba players return to europe for some huge contracts (Ilyasova) regradless of their ahcivemnets in the nba. one more good reason to go there even if you don’t get playing time.
Arkadios, good point, I totally forgot about that.
i guess nba is way too much show.
it´d be better if bellinelli returns to europe and would get signed by phanatinaikos.
The NBA is too much show? The best teams aren’t “show”. Watch the Spurs, Suns (yep, fast doesn’t always equal flashy), and Mavs. They are not too showy, and are not coincidentally, the class of the Association.
One of ESPN’s analysts–a writer named John Hollinger, who specializes in statistical analysis–was among the most critical of Belinelli before the season started. Here’s what he wrote in October:
Golden State fans are in for a crushing disappointment. Belinelli’s translated European stats are extremely poor, and the track record of those numbers has been extremely reliable the past few years. They suggest he’ll make some shots from the perimeter, just as he did in summer league, but struggle off the dribble and contribute absolutely nada to the rest of the box score.
Bellinelli has gotten caught in a numbers and experience game in SF. The Warriors started very slowly and have needed to rely on their NBA veterans to get them back into the race. It has worked very well but that of course has been to the detriment of Bellinelli’s PT. He should take the D-League assignment.
One the good news side, I love what Udrih is doing in Sacramento. When Bibby finally comes back I suspect he will be traded.
And boy you all have gotten it right: Prokom Trefl Sopot is a rolling disaster. I would love to help them figure out how to right that ship!