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Point Guard Addendum

I tried to be exhaustive and encyclopedic in my earlier post regarding potential Clipper point guards, but I forgot one option:  Europe.

Of course, trying to discuss the possibilities in Europe is a little like discussing potential trades or call-ups from the D-League - anything is possible, but is anything realistic?  

Chad Ford recently wrote about who he considered the 10 best International prospects (Insider required) and it got me thinking.  There were two point guards on the list (although one of them is 16 and won't be eligible for the draft for a couple years).  The other one was Theodoros Papaloukas, who helped lead Greece to an upset win over the USA in the World Championships last year.  As it happens, the Clippers also know him from their Moscow trip this summer, since he plays for CSKA, who whipped the Clippers pretty well in Moscow.  

Papaloukas is the current holder of the title 'Best European Player never to have played in the NBA' - an indeterminate distinction, given that previous title holders include Manu Ginobili, Zeljko Rebraca and Sarunas Jasikevicius.  He's 30 years old, and doesn't start for CSKA, even though he's their best player.  Despite coming off the bench, he leads the EuroLeague in assists and is nominated for the EuroLeague MVP.  By the way, CSKA is in the EuroLeague Final Four.

As it happens, Papaloukas was not the best point guard on that Greek Silver Medal team from the Worlds.  That honor goes to Dimitrios Diamantidis, and if you watched Greece beat the US in the Worlds, you know this guy.  He's actually pretty damn special.  He's very long and very quick, and he is a monster on defense.  Diamantidis is also nominated for the EuroLeague MVP and is 3 years younger than Papaloukas.  

One interesting twist on both of these guys - if the Clippers were to choose to sign them, they could conceivably bring them over along with MBFGC and have a built-in support network for their new Greek teammates.  And let's face it, there's plenty of good Greek food in LA.  OPA!

It's fairly clear, with the success of Ginobili and more recently Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa, that the Euros, not just the young phenoms, but also the established guys, can play.  For the Clippers' situation, it's entirely possible that Greece is the word.

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You think of everything
Greeks.  That's good.

by mp on Apr 28, 2007 6:12 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

WOW!
Looks like The Little General didn't know what he was really getting into...

by Lawler's Law on Apr 30, 2007 12:51 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Warriors/Mavs
You guys called it on the Warriors/Mavs series.  

by Googs on Apr 30, 2007 5:49 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Golden State of Mind
I really enjoyed that Warrior game last night.  Should be interesting to see how it all works out.  Good vibes all the way around, even to the GSW website.

But for Clipperdom, the big question still nags:  Dallas sitting out their frontline guys on the night that the Suns were going all out to beat the Clips, and the Clips still won.  Already starting to hear about that little blunder, and it's going to get louder and louder.

Bottomline the Warriors completely deserved to make the playoffs and could win the whole thing--they're the Clips of last year, only better, with a better coach and better equipped to beat the Suns.  There's a long way to go, but it's already really fun to watch.

The team that has no business in the playoffs is the Lakers.  And they're there only because of the GSW injuries and MDsr being a moron.

by zhivclip on Apr 30, 2007 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

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