Akyol Impresses In Euro Junior Tournament

[ace3g]

Draft Express - Late 2nd round Atlanta Hawk draftee Cenk Akyol is putting on an absolute show for the NBA scouts and executives in attendance (amongst others) in the European Junior Championships in Belgrade, while the 12th pick of the Los Angeles Clippers , Yaroslav Korolev, is having trouble living up to the expectations of being a lottery pick.

Akyol's highlights include a 29 point opening game against Croatia, a 17 point exhibition in the first half against France and an impressive closing run against Latvia, where he single-handedly changed the destiny of a game that was looking lost for the Turkish national team. He's lead his team to Semi-finals of the tournament so far where they will match up with Spain.

On the other hand, Yaroslav Korolev's team has surprisingly missed the cut to move on after losing two of three games in the quarter-final round. According to Luis Fernandez from DraftExpress, Korolev doesn't look focused enough, committing mistakes and silly fouls, and sometimes looking frustrated and out of the rhythm of the games. His father’s presence as the Russian head coach sure isn't helping his case, as Yaroslav looks to be under too much pressure playing the game.

Link (http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/36756/20050722/akyol_impresses_in_euro_junior_tournament/)

[ace3g]

I posted this because a few of you mentioned his name in a possible trade scenerio with the spurs

[Marcus Bryant]

Hotlanta has enough swingmen. Scola is what they need.

[timvp]

Akyol is a must have when dealing with Atlanta.

[Mr. Body]

With their utter lack of point guards, why would Atlanta give up a hot prospect like him?

[timvp]

With their utter lack of point guards, why would Atlanta give up a hot prospect like him?

Because he's 18 and is like 3 years away from the NBA.

[Marcus Bryant]

Here's hoping the Spurs help the Hawks do something foolish. Then again, perhaps Akyol was selected with the notion that if the Hawks wanted a Spur center then Akyol should be coming back to them in a trade...

[Mr. Body]

Yeah, hopefully they're this foolish. A lot of trade scenarios we have (and I've suggested/supported) are beginning to wildly overesteem Rasho's value. But possibly, just possibly, with Scola we could also pry Akyol loose.

Question - I've seen reference to him as a combo guard more than a point. Is this the case?

He could come in about the time we're losing Udrih to another team - who I view as a starting talent in this league, though not yet.

[Marcus Bryant]

How exactly did the Hawks know about Akyol? It's not like they are known for their international scouting.

[timvp]

Yeah, hopefully they're this foolish. A lot of trade scenarios we have (and I've suggested/supported) are beginning to wildly overesteem Rasho's value. But possibly, just possibly, with Scola we could also pry Akyol loose.

Question - I've seen reference to him as a combo guard more than a point. Is this the case?

He could come in about the time we're losing Udrih to another team - who I view as a starting talent in this league, though not yet.

1) Don't over value Akyol. He was the 59th pick in the draft. I see him as a throw-in. There's no "prying" him loose or anything.

2) If Ostertag is worth three players, Nesterovic is worth the 59th pick in the draft.

3) Yes, he's a combo guard. In the games I've watched him play, he actually played more two.

[Mr. Body]

How exactly did the Hawks know about Akyol? It's not like they are known for their international scouting.

Would be the second time a team stole a Spurs scouting target, with the Nets taking Krstic. Loose lips sink ships.

[timvp]

Would be the second time a team stole a Spurs scouting target, with the Nets taking Krstic. Loose lips sink ships.

What, did the Spurs have the 60th pick lined up in a trade?

:lol

[Marcus Bryant]

Perhaps, but this wasn't like Krstic. Spurs dealt with the Hawks in the '04 draft. It could be a little payback for that, or something else.

[timvp]

Here's hoping the Spurs help the Hawks do something foolish. Then again, perhaps Akyol was selected with the notion that if the Hawks wanted a Spur center then Akyol should be coming back to them in a trade...

Could be possible. Last year the Hawks gave the Spurs Viktor Sanikidze for a future second round pick.

That pick was Cenk Akyol.

So yeah, I'm guessing the Spurs had a hand in this pick. The Hawks are the cheapest team in the league. They wouldn't know anything about an 18 year old out of Turkey.

[Marcus Bryant]

How many teams want to deal with a perennial contender and how many teams want to do draft pick deals with a front office known for exceptional international due diligence?

[timvp]

How many teams want to deal with a perennial contender and how many teams want to do draft pick deals with a front office known for exceptional international due diligence?

I like the hypothesis that the Spurs got Sanikidze from the Hawks in exchange for their second round pick this year and help in picking the best overseas prospect on the board.

That makes more sense after thinking about how the Hawks traded an early 40's pick for a pick that was no doubt going to be in the bottom three or four in the draft.

[Marcus Bryant]

I like the hypothesis that the Spurs got Sanikidze from the Hawks in exchange for their second round pick this year and help in picking the best overseas prospect on the board.

That makes more sense after thinking about how the Hawks traded an early 40's pick for a pick that was no doubt going to be in the bottom three or four in the draft.

That seems to fit. Spurs need to establish a 'working relationship' with some front offices in the league, because no doubt some franchises don't feel like helping the Spurs get more loaded.

The Spurs already have a championship level 'Big 3' in place for the next 5 seasons. Why help them get even better?

[Mr. Body]

What, did the Spurs have the 60th pick lined up in a trade?

Huh?

[timvp]

Huh?

You indicated that the Hawks might have stole Akyol from the Spurs. Akyol was the 59th pick in the draft. There are 60 picks total.

So unless the Spurs had the 60th pick, how did the Hawks steal him exactly?

:hat

[Mark in Austin]

Interesting. I think there are only three possibilities here:

1. The Hawks got lucky and picked this guy at random or using their own resources. - Highly unlikely, though. Like timvp said,
The Hawks are the cheapest team in the league. They wouldn't know anything about an 18 year old out of Turkey.

2. The Hawks made this pick for another team. Not very likely since the trade hasn't been anounced.

3. The Spurs gave them the name plus the pick in exchange for Sanikidze. Which means they valued Sanikidze more than Cenk. :tu

[Mr. Body]

So unless the Spurs had the 60th pick, how did the Hawks steal him exactly?


I was saying the second time a team stole scouting information and leads.