They are usually all very low draft picks. It's not because they went to Europe that they don't come back. It's because they aren't very good players.
Tiago Splitter (drafted 2007, 28th, came over 2010)
Manu Ginobili (drafted 1999, 57th, came over 2003)
Nando De Colo (drafted 2009, 53rd, came over 2012)
Ian Mahinmi (drafted 2005, 28th, came over 2007)
James Gist (drafted 2008, 57th, came over 2010 - cut in training camp)
Robertas Javtokas (drafted 2001, 55th, attempted to come over many years later but a deal could not be agreed upon financially)
Other than Gist I can't think of an American college player drafted by the Spurs who then went to play in Europe while the team maintained his rights.
There all drafted in the 50's that's why.
All those guys already played in europe when they were drafted.Different situation.
Which is better: D League or Europe?
Denmon.
There are some European leagues that are worse, but most of the ones anyone cares about are much better.
Hairston?
europe for sure if their playing in the EuroLeague
Yes Denmon
Too early to say that Denmon will never play for the Spurs though it certainly looks unlikely.
No kidding.
But your original post though wasn't exactly a legible sentence. So I just posted all of them that I could find.
Thank you.
Nah. He went to Europe after the Spurs lost his rights by cutting him.
Speaking of Gist though, he's one that's done pretty well, in Europe consistently catching on to players in the Euroleague
I'd like to see him in a Spurs training camp nxt yr
Hairston had a major drop off for Milano last yr, as far as production, but he's signed up for another yr, so It'll be interesting to see how he does this yr among the adversity
The Spurs already lost Gist's rights. They can bring him in, but so can other teams. The fact that nobody's tried suggests he's not thought of very highly around the league.
I guess I don't really understand the thought process some people have about basketball players in college, in the D league, in Europe, etc.
It doesn't really matter when a player gets noticed, its IF he gets noticed. If he's good enough to crack a 15 player roster, what difference does it make where his origination point.
The thread is about DeShaun Thomas - no? If so, then let's discuss HIS ability to crack the Spurs 15.
I think it's actually pretty good. He's got some definite limitations but he seems to be extremely willing to be a scorer. Let's say it takes him 3 years to develop into a bona-fide roster player. I'm cool with that - especially coming from a late 2nd round pick.
So if stays,how big of a contract would the Spurs give him?
20-40$/hr seems fair? What does the 58th pick usually make?
They may have lost his rights but I'd think our FO being the best, they keep their sources closest to their hips. Surely, he's progressed since we last saw him in training camp 3 yrs ago.
So I'd suggest signing him now? The same rhetoric gets tossed around inevitably. Do we sign him or send him to Europe if he's willing. Only sign him if someone else, via trade or sign, doesn't pop up.
we'll really only know until training camp and pre-season starts and how we see him in the pros
That is a decision that none of us posters will probably ever truly know what is correct because it's the combination of conversations. Conversations that DT will have w/ the FO, his agent, his family/advisors, etc. Who knows what RC and Co want to do w/ this kid? Who knows who will get injured next year and necessitate him playing significant minutes to help out.
Speculation about where he goes, what his salary will be, etc. is funny to me...
Needing a Backup SF, do we send Thomas to Europe or DLeague? Cory Joseph is a good indication of what the Spurs could do with Thomas. Sign him to the 15th roster spot and send him to Austin to hone his skills on defense. I am sure that the Spurs have him spending time in SA with the coaching staff before training camp. Chip can work on his shot from 3 pt land. Much of what the Spurs do with him will be decided before Oct training camp starts. I dont see them sending him to Europe to be sat on a bench the way Ryan Richards has been done. The staff at Austin use much of the Spurs system, so why not send him there instead of Europe? His salary would be somewhere around .5 mill for 1st year and about .8+/- mill. In order to do anything we have to open up a slot for DT or lose him. If he forces the issue with the Spurs, he will be released and have no where to go. Sticking with the Spurs, he can go to Europe and play 1 or 2 years or the DLeague for a year and maybe get a contract from someone or be traded to another team.
To be fair, Thomas' journey is very different (and very much harder) than Joseph's. Cory just needed more reps and time to gain confidence and work on his game. Thomas has to learn to play an entirely new position. We're absolutely talking about apples and oranges here.
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