End-of-week rumors
June 20, 2008
RONNY TURIAF WOULD LIKE TO BE A LAKER.
Ronny told the press to write that, so there it is. It’s not really a rumor, but Ronny is a free agent now and didn’t play too well in the NBA Finals … wait, did he play? Right now, everybody wants to be a Laker, since everybody, including Sasha Vujacic, is talking how great the team will be once Andrew Bynum returns. Ronny really deserves to be on a great team like the Lakers, but he has not done much to help them in the Finals.
Not that of a big chance for Ronny to get the NBA championship in 2009: 
Tiago Splitter to the San Antonio Spurs
Tiago finally got drafted last year by the San Antonio Spurs, but signed a HUGE contract with Tau Ceramica to stay in Europe. It looks like the bad economy in the US is keeping MANY players from going to the NBA for “pocket money.” Seems like just playing on the top level is not the biggest thing anymore.
Tiago in the NBA soon:
Omar Cook to Unicaja Malaga
Last thing we heard from Omar was that he had gotten a European passport: Not a bad thing for an American professional basketball player, right? This probably doubled his salary as well as his chances to land on a big-time team such as Malaga, who needs improvement on Bojan Popovic, a little bit of a disappointment there.
It just makes sense to bring in a “European” for another European, right?
DC Collins to leave Zalgiris
In L.A., I was in a car with some of the greatest US bloggers, like Henry Abbott from truehoop. Of course we talked some basketball, and the only thing they mentioned over and over was “chicken and porn.” I guess the chicken got stuck in everyone’s brain … I’m sure fans would NOT love seeing DC leave, especially those who enjoyed his interviews, but after such a season Collins’ salary might be too big for a Lithuanian team. What do we care? As long as he joins a team with good reporters that put up that great stuff on YouTube, we’re all fine right? The only country that may have the money to make DC happy is probably Russia. Not so many Euroleague teams there, though …
DC Collins leaving Zalgiris:
Andre Barrett to join Maccabi Tel Aviv
Never heard that name? Well, get used to it. Look at his career and you’ll agree that this is a guy who wants to play in Europe. He’s played in the NBA … not much so far. On the other hand, he has experience as a point guard whichmany Euroleague teams will be seeking. As some Israeli newspapers just released, Andre is only in negotiations with Maccabi, but this would be a nice fit.
Too much rumor so far:
Marc Jackson to sign with UNICS Kazan
Insiders may ask, “Why is this a rumor?” Well, it’s just because I can’t read Russian, that’s all. According to UNICS’ official website, where we see a picture of Marc Jackson, he has in fact signed there. Russian, anybody…?
Seems to be very true:
Tony Parker at the Finals
June 14, 2008
For the French fans, the current NBA Finals are of course less interesting than recent years, as San Antonio has not qualified. And the brief appearances of Ronny Turiaf won’t change this. But Tony Parker will be at the Finals, as a spectator, in Paris.
Adande on the Euro Lakers
May 25, 2008
Now i don’t like to give free advertising to that all too well-known Worldwide Leader in [American] Sports, a.k.a. ESPN, but Euroball fans must check out J.A. Adande’s piece entitled Euro Lakers two wins from NBA Finals.
At the beginning of this season (in those already now seemingly long-ago days of the just pre-Gasol Era), one couldn’t help but look at the Laker boxscores and notice the Euroflavour of this team: deadshots Radmanovic and Vujacic, plus Turiaf le Grand. Throw in Mbenga and you’ve got quite the international team even before the gift from Memphis arrived.
Plus there was Kobe; when Americans scoffed at his lack of college education, it could always be pointed out that Jellybean’s kid was educated in proper European grade schools and how many languages do you speak fluently, by the way?
When Gasol came along and particularly when Andrew Bynum went down, there was a look about the guys on the floor, the perimeter game, that was different from all Lakers teams that had come before, that looked different from any other team in the league.
Adande — or rather, the Zenmaster — got it scoped and into words: “Phil Jackson has said that the Lakers have taken on another European basketball characteristic and aren’t as physical as other teams. But this style is working for them.”
That’s it exactly: The Lakers are the best Euroleague team not in the Euroleague.
J.A. excellently touches upon all the other aspects social and humourous about these Lakers: Difficulties with the insane English language (including a hilarious “lol”-type story about Radmanovic introducing himself to the Seattle Supersonics), Kobe’s polyglot talents, the futball influence, and the rounded skill set the top European players are generally trained in.
Well worth a look, BallinEuropeans. Not all American sports journalism is this engaging, well-written and fun.
Cheers.
Five European reasons to watch the NBA playoffs
May 9, 2008
The Euroleague season is over, so I am officially allowed to also talk about the NBA. For some Europeans, the NBA is like … evil … so in Europe you have to be careful if you want to talk about NBA and European basketball at the same time. Obviously I do like and admire the NBA, and that is why I’m also going to the NBA finals in June!
5. Cleveland Cavaliers: Big Z and Sasha
Last year I went to the NBA Finals and saw Lebron James for the first time LIVE in action. I even got to talk to him in the locker room and watched him warming up three hours prior the game. I can tell you - this guy is bigger than you think, quicker than you think and jumps three times higher than you think. Of course, as do each of the remaining playoff teams, the Cavaliers have European players with a big impact on the team. When you talk about impact, you probably already know that we’re talking about Zydrunas Ilgauskas from Lithuania, but Aleksandar “Sasha” Pavlovic ofSerbia was also a key factor for Cleveland during last year’s success.
Although they reached the NBA finals last year, it looks like they have no chance at all against Boston. The Celtics kept them to 72 and 73 points in the first two losses and it looks like Cleveland doesn’t have an answer right now to that kind of defense.
US blog to read about the Cavs: And One - Cleveland.com
4. San Antonio: Tony P.
I am not a fan of Tony - not at all. I can’t even explain why but the French version of Mickey Mouse is a guy I don’t like. Maybe it’s because of his wannabe rapper thing, his hot wife Eva Longoria or because of his “NON” to the French national team, but I can’t bring in personal issues when I want to provide reasons to follow the NBA finals, right? So, Tony Parker, GREAT, WHAT A PLAYER, *clapping*, *screaming* - I guess it helped to think about Eva while writing about Tony (Thanks Eva).
US blog to read about the Spurs: Pounding The Rock
3. Utah Jazz: Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur
Andrei is probably pretty happy that he did not make the move to Europe, as he threatened to do in the beginning of the season. Utah is the new version of the San Antonio Spurs: unspectacular but effective basketball. Besides Lithuania, Russia is the big force in Europe, with CSKA Moscow just crowned as Euroleague champion and Russia taking the European championship title for Russia last year. Even for Americans, Russia is really interesting since Andrei Kirilenko’s national team point guard is J.R. Holden. Right now, the Jazz are battling the Los Angeles Lakers.
US blog to read about the Jazz: Basketball John
2. New Orleans Hornets: Peja!
Germans probably won’t support the Hornets that much - they destroyed Dirk and their beloved Mavericks - but if you’re a fan of European basketball, you will love the Hornets. Their great point guard Chris Paul, who is a member of the “pass first” point guard generation just as Steve Nash, is a joy for every basketall fan into team play. This guy in combination with our great shooter Stojakovic from Serbia should be reason enough to follow the NBA Playoffs. After beating the Mavericks and now close to sending the Spurs home to San Antonio this team deserves all respect from (Ballin)Europe.
US blog to read about the Hornets: Hornets24/7
1. The possible Boston vs. Los Angeles final
Even European fans must LOVE this kind of final - just because of the history. When basketball in Europe was not even half as big as it is today, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird battled each other in basketball games that defined our game forever. Although I’m a big fan of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett I doubt that these two great players will ever reach the status of Bird and Magic, but that’s exactly why even Europeans admire the Celtics and the Lakers.
Besides this little history lesson, there is another European reason why to follow this final - well, actually to cheer for the Lakers: Sasha Vujacic (Slovenia), Ronny Turiaf (France), Vladimir Radmanovic (Serbia & Montenegro) and of course Pau Gasol (Spain).
US blog to read about the Lakers: Forum Blue And Gold
US blog to read about the Celtics: CelticsBlog
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Euroleague 2008/09
