The influx of international players into the NBA will continue Thursday night in New York, as NBA teams most likely will select Yi Jianlian of China, Marco Belinelli of Italy, Tiago Splitter of Brazil, Rudy Fernandez and Marc Gasol of Spain and many others. </p> Two decades after Alexander Volkov of Russia started the infusion that would bring Sarunas Marciulionis, Toni Kukoc, Drazen Petrovic and Arvydas Sabonis to the NBA, the fortunes of players with international playing backgrounds continue to dominate the thoughts of NBA teams. </p> When Germany's Dirk Nowitzki was named the NBA MVP this spring, it was a watershed moment in NBA history. </p> Nowitzki, Yao Ming of China, Steve Nash of Canada and Tony Parker of France are perennial All-Stars, while Manu Ginobili of Argentina, Andrei Kirilenko of Russia and Pau Gasol of Spain all have been named to the All-Star team in the past. </p> Although NBA teams today spend millions of dollars collectively to scour the globe for talent, there remains an intrigue surrounding international players that sets them apart from players schooled in the United States. </p> A player like China's Yi has been studied by NBA teams who have traveled to China to see him, and teams also have scrambled to get all the game tape they can on him. </p> Still, even with the technology available to teams, they do not have the same comfort level drafting an international player as they do drafting a college player who they have been able to watch dozens of times over the length of a college career. </p> This lack of familiarity leads to some gross misjudgments by teams when it comes to selecting international players in the draft. It seems to work both ways as teams miss the boat on a promising international player, and he goes undrafted or is drafted much later than he should have been, while other times teams do not do enough homework and draft a player who cannot deliver what they had hoped. </p> The NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, who have had tremendous success in drafting and developing European players, scored one of the all-time draft coups when they selected Ginobili with the 57th pick in 1999. </p> Although Ginobili continued to play in Italy for three more seasons, he eventually became a crucial element of San Antonio's championship teams in 2003, 2005 and 2007. </p> The Spurs scored again in 2001, taking French teenager Tony Parker with the 28th and last pick in the first round. Parker has developed into one of the best guards in the NBA. </p> But while Ginobili was an established star in Europe and Parker was a precocious youngster excelling in France, Nikoloz Tskitishvili was a seldom-used sub for Benetton Treviso of Italy when the Denver Nuggets made him the fifth overall pick in 2002. </p> Tskitishvili was only 19 when he was drafted, and it soon became apparent that he was not ready for the NBA. </p> Tskitishvili returned to Europe this past season after four barely noticeable seasons sitting on the bench in the NBA. He played the second half of the season for Caja San Fernando in Spain's ACB, averaging 6.8 points in 15.2 minutes per game. </p> He still is only 24-years old and his play in Spain showed some promise. But unless he returns to the NBA and becomes a significant player, he'll have to live with being a punch line in the United States because of his high draft position with Denver. </p> Darko Milicic of Serbia was in danger of joining Tskitishvili in being called a draft washout. Milicic was the second overall pick of the 2003 draft and almost never left the bench in 2 1/2 seasons in Detroit. </p> A trade to the Orlando Magic gave Milicic a chance to display his talent. In 1 1/2 seasons with the Magic, Milicic showed he is a tough rebounder with real shot-blocking ability. </p> Milicic is a restricted free agent this summer, and it appears that Orlando will have to outbid other teams who are interested in acquiring him. At 22-years old, Milicic has plenty to prove, but he has a good chance to at least have a long NBA career. </p> Although top picks like Tskitishvili and Milicic understandably receive the most attention, perhaps the most fascinating part of the equation with international players is the drafting them in the second round. </p> Under NBA draft rules, players chosen in the second round can negotiate a contract for any amount at or above the league salary minimums. </p> From a practical standpoint, it actually can be advantageous for an international player to be chosen in the second round instead of the first. Instead of being slotted in the sliding scale that determines the salary of first-round picks, second-round picks sometimes can command bigger salaries if they become prominent players in Europe. </p> NBA teams value second-round picks because they can retain the draft rights to players they pick in the second round in perpetuity as long those players are under contract to their teams in Europe. That is why a player like Ginobili was drafted in 1999 but was still property of the Spurs by 2002, when he signed a lucrative contract to join the team. </p> There are several players in Europe right now whose draft rights are held by an NBA team who would be significant additions to any squad. </p> Luis Scola of Tau Ceramica and Juan Carlos Navarro of Winterthur FC Barcelona are two of the best players in Spain. Both players were drafted in the second round of the NBA draft in 2002, but neither has ever played in the NBA. </p> Scola's draft rights are held by the Spurs and Navarro's are the property of the Washington Wizards. The Spurs had a greater interest in Scola before former ACB star Fabricio Oberto of Argentina became such an important player for the team. </p> Ironically, Scola may have lost his best opportunity to come to the NBA because of his national team teammate, Oberto. In Navarro's case, a buyout of his contract with Barcelona would force him to pay millions of dollars to the Spanish team, with the Wizards legally allowed to contribute only $500,000 to the buyout. </p> Other accomplished players whose rights are held by NBA teams but who continue to play in Europe are: Fran Vazquez of Barcelona (Orlando Magic), Roko Ukic (Toronto Raptors) and Axel Hervelle (Denver Nuggets) of ACB champion Real Madrid and Marcin Gortat (Orlando) of RheinEnergie Koln of Germany. </p> There have been some noteworthy successes and noted failures in bringing international players to the NBA. But one thing is certain, NBA teams will continue to monitor players around the globe in search of those rare few who can succeed in the NBA. </p> Chris Ekstrand is a freelance writer and former editor of the NBA draft media guide. Please send questions or comments to cekstrand10@aol.com. </p>
