Draft Prospect: Tibor Pleiss

[Bruno]

Height: 7-1
Weight: 210 lbs
Birthday: 11/02/1989
Nationality: German
Team: Köln 99ers

DraftExpress
nbadraft

[Chieflion]

I am not sure about this guy. I never heard of a country like Köln 99ers.

[mountainballer]

hm. thinking about international under the radar prospects he came to my mind. if he doesn't withdraw, he could be a long term prospect for the #49 pick.
DX has him at 7-0, in Germany Pleiss is currently listed at 7-1, I wouldn't wonder if measured NBA style (in shoes) he is 7-2. arms are really really long.
Pleiss is a 3-5 years project.
if he can add strength, he could become a very good big man with an intriguing skill set.

[Darkwaters]

With the 49th pick and the ability to draft for the long-term, I think he'd be a good selection. We don't really have any bigmen in the pipeline except Splitter anyways.

[Mel_13]

German NBA draft prospects news from Treviso: Robin Benzing likely pulling out of the draft, Tibor Pleiss staying in. OKC likes him at #26?

http://twitter.com/draftexpress

[Mr. Body]

Weird that OKC is floating ideas they like him at #26. They could use a true center. Ibaka's more of a PF, I think.

[Bruno]

Weird that OKC is floating ideas they like him at #26. They could use a true center. Ibaka's more of a PF, I think.

Well, look at Thunder situation:
- They have for next year 11 players under contract including a lot of young ones.
- They have 4 picks in this draft (#21, #26, #32 and #51).
- They will have about $15M in cap space and could sign a premium FA.

It's more than likely that Thunder will either trade some of their picks or use them to draft and stash European players.

[scottspurs]

The Thunder will be scary if they are able to sign one of the premium free agents. Even if they sign one of the second tier free agents like David Lee they will be much improved. I don't think they can afford to draft players who will be on the roster for next season if they are truly looking to improve.

[DesignatedT]

This guy needs to put on some weight.

[duncan228]

NBA Mock Draft 5.0: Last Gasps
By Tom Ziller

20. San Antonio Spurs: Tibor Pleiss, Bamburg (Germany)

Not terribly much is known about Pleiss among us plebes in the NBA fandom circles. But rest assured the teams with heavy European scouting operations know all about him. Pleiss, a 7-foot-1 center, is shooting up mock drafts this week.

*********************

Tibor Pleiss, 2010 NBA Draft's Man of Mystery
By Tom Ziller

Every draft, a European prospect or two come out of nowhere to shoot up draft boards and cause general chaos on the night of the NBA Draft, as fans scramble to figure who the heck their team just picked up. It's safe to say German big man Tibor Pleiss, a Koln native who played for Bamberg last season, is the 2010 European man of mystery.

Pleiss was one of few well-regarded European prospects to stay in the draft beyond the withdrawal deadline, joining decidedly non-household names like Kevin Seraphin and Miroslav Raduljica. DraftExpress currently pegs Pleiss at No. 26 in the first round, and has reported the Thunder (who own that pick) like him a lot. So who exactly is he?

Pleiss, nicknamed The Octopus, is a true 7-footer with great rebounding and shotblocking numbers in the Bundesliga. (He finished second in the league in blocks per game.) Unlike a certain other tall German player, Dirk Nowitzki, Pleiss isn't a dead-eye shooter quite yet, but DX reports his mid-range game is improving and he has soft hands. He joined the German men's national team for Eurobasket last summer, but made only spot appearances. He'll turn 21 in November.

He seems like one of the draft's prime stash opportunities, and the fact that Pleiss declared for the draft and stayed in even when he had the opportunity to pull out is promising: he apparently wants to be in the NBA. Of course, Minnesota wishes staying in the draft meant you wanted to play in the NBA so that they could have Ricky Rubio running the point in Summer League, but I digress.

The best players to stash are the ones who need physical development and seasoning simply playing the game at a high level. Few rookies (especially internationals) earn many minutes. Getting those minutes in the Bundesliga or ACB perhaps isn't as desirable as practicing against real live NBA players and hearing from real live NBA coaches, but it's certainly preferable than spending 200 days on the road in the United States, and 48 minutes a night plastered to the bench.

[Mr Bones]

If we were in '06 or '07, I could see the Spurs doing it. But not in '10, with Duncan's window for more championships beginning to close.

[mudyez]

I am not sure about this guy. I never heard of a country like Köln 99ers.

Köln=Cologne

With the 49th pick and the ability to draft for the long-term, I think he'd be a good selection. We don't really have any bigmen in the pipeline except Splitter anyways.

I dont see him beeing available there....not sure, if the Thunder take him with their first pick, but I'm sure they wont let him troigh at 32!

I'm from germany and saw him play a lot this year. Saying that, I'd love to get him (even with #20 although we might better trade down some spots, if we really want him). This kid can play! He isnt one of this stiffs, that only are tall! He can move pretty good, has a nice BB-IQ and you have to love his hand and passing (even though it doesnt show in the stats sheed that much)! I dont say, that he is the guy, that can make us better right away, but if we want a stach+wait guy, he should be our pick, coz he is in a great program and will have a nice development in the next 2 years.

[Streakyshooter08]

I watched him a lot here in Germany. He is an interesting player. He did a good job helping his team win the Championship. He plays for Bamberg right now.

But I would think he is some years away from really helping a team. I doubt he is strong enough to play the 5 in the NBA right now. He has a good touch and moves well. He really might be a decent player in the NBA at some point. It will be interesting to see how he develops.