It's not going to be a great NBA draft for international players this season, but do not think for a second that the basketball talent has leveled off overseas. International players and their agents are much smarter about the draft process these days, showing increased patience about when to come to the NBA. By staying in Europe, they're able to develop their games and lower their buyouts. And more and more of them are coming to the league with greater confidence because of that patience. So, while this looks to be a shallow year, next year's NBA draft could possibly see three outstanding young international players, all over 6-foot-10, taken in the top five picks. If Lithuania's 19-year-old big man, Donatas Motiejunas, pulls out of this draft and gets another year of seasoning under his belt, he'll join the Czech Republic's 6-11 Jan Vesely and Turkey's Kentucky-bound beast Enes Kanter on stage shaking David Stern's hand early in the evening a year from now. And, remember that we will likely see Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio playing in the NBA a year from now at age 21 as well. In the meantime, here are six of the best international players in this year's draft. All of them will get picked if they stay in, but they are not necessarily the best six. I am going to save one or two first-round sleepers for the night of the draft. Donatas Motiejunas, 7-0, Lithuania Montiejunas is the only international player this year who has a chance at being selected in the lottery, but he is a long-term (two or three years) prospect. While he is playing solid minutes for Benetton Treviso in Italy's best league, the 19-year-old is still adjusting to the top level of European basketball. The versatile left-handed big man has the skill level to play inside and out and but likely will be a face-up power forward. Montiejunas' biggest adjustment to the NBA will be his physical maturity, and that will come in time. Ironically, though he has been a major name in Europe since he was 16, Montiejunas' performance in the 2009 Hoop Summit, where he and Serbia's Milan Macvan dominated the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Favors and Duke's Mason Plumlee, opened a lot of NBA eyes. Tibor Pleiss, 7-1, Germany If Pleiss stays in the draft after the June 14 deadline for international players, it will be an obvious indication that the 20-year-old will be selected in the first round. Because of his enormous size, wingspan and improving athleticism, there are a growing number of NBA teams that are interested in him. However, like Motiejunas, Pleiss is not ready to play meaningful minutes for a quality NBA team. Pleiss' strengths are that he runs very well for his size, has an improved shooting touch from the perimeter and, with improved strength, will be able to utilize both hands in the low post. I would not be surprised if Pleiss gets drafted in the 20-to-30 range but is left in Europe to play a lot of minutes and continue to develop. Germany has a number of good young prospects, including Gonzaga's Elias Harris, so the opportunity to improve as part of its national team in the 2010 World Championships will help too. Kevin Seraphin, 6-9, France There are a number of things that are in Seraphin's favor as a likely first-round selection, not the least of which is a very reasonable buyout from his French club. He also possesses a prototypical NBA power forward's body, reasonably good athleticism and, at 20 years old, room for improvement. On the downside, Seraphin is limited offensively because he is a poor shooter, both from the field and from the foul line, and is averaging under double figures in a French Pro A League that is not at the level of other countries like Greece, Spain and Italy. Pablo Aguilar, 6-9, Spain Aguilar is an active and tough face-up power forward who is in this draft as an "early entry." At 21, he is playing major minutes in the world's second-best basketball league for CB Granada and is starting to earn a nice reputation in Spain's ACB. In fact, if he had been in the NCAA this past season, I can't imagine there would have been 10 players better than he is. Because Aguilar will likely need to make the transition to small forward in the NBA, his perimeter skill level needs to be upgraded. He is an excellent shooter when open but tends to take contested shots too often. His escapability off the dribble must be improved, as well. Still under the radar, there may not be the NBA interest in him that there is in some others, but he is an intriguing prospect. If he's not discovered in the next two years, he'll have a long and successful career in Spain. He's one of those players that Team USA will see five or six years from now and will be impressed by him. Miroslav Raduljica, 7-0, Serbia Raduljica is having a solid season for Serbia's FMP club and will be draft-eligible this year. Although he has interest from some of Europe's top teams, the Serbian is capable of sneaking into the late part of the first round because he has NBA low-post size and strength, an improved offensive arsenal around the basket and a chip on his shoulder. My hunch is that Raduljica falls to the second round because many in the NBA expect that he will stay in Europe for the time being. An NBA team will then hold the draft rights to the 22-year-old and eventually try to coax him into coming over. It's the low-risk, high-reward strategy than has made many an international player a valuable commodity in the second round. Robin Benzing, 6-10, Germany If there is one international player who could elevate his draft status after the Adidas EuroCamp in early June, it's Benzing. The German is an interesting prospect because of his combination of size, athleticism and an excellent shooting touch. If he stays in, the former University of Michigan signee could be one of the draft's biggest surprises. Lack of strength is a detriment at this point, but it can be rectified with time and maturity.
