CLEVELAND – Any excuse to talk with historically great guy Vlade Divac is great, of course. But with the Draft approaching on Thursday and Jan Vesely heading to the top 10 (and possibly the top three), suddenly Divac becomes a Vesely expert like few others.
As a member of the board of directors of Partizan Belgrade, the team in Serbia that Vesely plays for, Divac has watched the 21-year-old athletic force about 30 times the last two seasons. He has talked to him about the NBA life ahead. He has told Vesely he hopes he ends up in Vlade’s beloved Sacramento at No. 7, an outside possibility but a chance nonetheless. And in conversations with Wayne Cooper, Divac said he has steered clear of trying to influence the No. 2 man in basketball operations for the Kings, but an endorsement of the prospect undoubtedly came through.
The Divac scouting report supports the consensus from executives and scouts, that Vesely is reminiscent of a young Andrei Kirilenko as a tall, lean small forward who should be able to use elite leaping and quickness to check some power forwards, and also as offensively limited without a jump shot.
“He’s not the typical European guy,” Divac said by phone from Chicago, where he is spending about a week to stage basketball camps for kids in a city with a large Serbian community. “He is not a good shooter. But he is explosive. He jumps so high, we won a lot of games on alley-oops.”
And if Vesely gets a jumper?
“If he develops that, which I think he could, he could be unbelievable,” Divac said.
As in consistent All-Star?
“I think so,” Divac said. “With a good shot, yeah.”
Vesely is in play as soon as No. 3 to the Jazz, which would make him the next Kirilenko (who is an unrestricted free agent this offseason) in more ways than one, and is probably gone by the Wizards at No. 6. And if he is still on the board, it’s impossible to imagine Vesely getting past the Kings. Divac, who also played for Partizan before joining the Lakers in 1989 as one of the pioneers of the European influence on the NBA, would be happy. Sacramento would be happy.
Vesely is THE most explosive player ever…he just catch everything that u throw and do Jan’s alley-oop… no one can watch Vesely with mouths closed
DD
I HOPE SOON SOME PURE FILIPINO BASKETBALL PLAYER WILL GONNA MAKE IT TO THE NBA.
Well you got one coaching the most hated team in the NBA.
That’s just impossible…basketball leagues in the Philippines are only open to filipino players, (now some NCAA & UAAP teams are questioning the legibility of foreign players) it’s just an inbreeding….in the PBA, they have height limit on imports, it should be no limit on heights…..so that local breed players will strive hard hasten their talents in basketball…they must know how to face taller opponents in order to be noticed in international stage…..
not too late, bring Manny Pacquiao to the NBA
And don’t forget where was he made the player he is now. Geoplin Slovan from Slovenia.
You are joking, right! Vesely was an unknown before he joined Partizan Belgrade. That is where he made it as a player.
I watched him few times myself and i think he is not so bad shooter….he has a good shoot technique but he must get more psychologicaly stabil, and he is the best white highflyer ever, and white boys actually can jumP!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah right, basketball players in the Philippines only care about money
I think if Manny Pangilinan will finally buy some shares on Sacramento Kings, a pure blood filipino player will soon be introduce.
im writing from Greece,Athens.
this kid is the most huge talent with show in the last 10 years at least.
they have to develop this kid and he will become major!
i hope they will work with him cause in EU there’s a rumor that in NBA they don’t like European players and its bad (or arrogant) cause in EU there’s a lot of talent…
cheers.
I don’t think that he is the best white highflyer…for example check another Czech player – Tomas Satoransky…and of course the best white highflyer is Henry Bekkering
DD
and the best in history is brent barry! check out his drunk contest in the 90s! he was also very talented… made the most underrated player in league history??
Tom chambers anone? Wtf?!?
that guy got hops
filipino players? i’ve seen them play in the ACB and i don’t think there are any filipino there even if thats a team from that SEA country we believe they are all playing on fake birth certificates. and so far their college hoops is better than their pro hoops just sayin. mexicans are better than their cousins in the philippines in hoops
Well we had the chance before with Johnny Abarrientos but he got scared to try out.
great talent! he can play both ends. hopefully raptors can take this guy.
Vesely is a supreme athlete.. but maybe the most talented european player in this draft is Montejunas..
I’d love to see this guy go to the Kings. A real long shot, but it’d be nice.
For a guy who is 6-11 he dribbles and handles the ball amazingly well.