Sunday Mini-Bullets
There are a few news stories of interest, none of which really warrants its own post (not yet anyway in a few cases), so I thought I'd present them all in a Sunday mini-bullets format. Enjoy.
- Remember Jeremy Tyler? Well according to FanHouse's Tom Ziller, Tyler's headed for Slovenia. With no offense to the people of that country - did you know that its economy developed faster than most post-communist eastern European nations? - I can't imagine this is what Tyler had in mind when he dropped out of high school to challenge the NBA. Contained in that Ziller post is the opinion of DraftExpress's Jonathan Givony that Tyler will be back in the U.S. within six months, and perhaps even in the D-League. Now where have we heard that suggestion before...
- In addition to Dee Brown being the head coach, the Springfield Armor have hired Kevin Whitted as an assistant. Whitted was an assistant last year in Fort Wayne, and before that was a head coach and GM in the ABA and PBL. So I guess there's already a built-in rivalry with Bakersfield.
- Hey, speaking of Tom Ziller, in his other gig (or one of them, anyway) at Sactown Royalty he asks the excellent question "Can the Kings use the D-League Effectively?" His answer: Reno may be seeing more of Donte Green.
- Finally, I'll have more on this in the next transactions report, you know, five days from now, but the LA Clippers have apparently released D-League success story Mike Taylor. Not that Taylor hasn't already shown he can play in the NBA, but couldn't the Clippers, you know, just have assigned him to Jam this year if they thought he needed work? Bakersfield and the Clippers seem made for each other.
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Jeremy Tyler
Why wouldn’t the guy just play in the NBDL? From what I hear/ read hooping in Europe isn’t exactly Sunday brunch. Could he not just sign some small endorsement deals here and get the NBDL check, then get paid one year from now?
Well he's 17....
so I’m thinking it’d have to be 2 years from now. But still, you’re right. I’ve made this argument before.
Blogging at RidiculousUpside, where my terrible writing meets people's eyes.
It's a better idea than going to Roma or Olympiacos and getting very little playing time
But still the route is less secure than going the traditional way via college. The D-League for 2 years might not be financially attractive enough, but it’s surprising that was their best offer in terms of playing time, finances and stability.
If it’s really Olimpija Ljubljana and not something lost in translation, that would be even more surprising, since KK Union Olimpija is the bigger team in the capital of Slovenia. That one even has 2 US players on the roster (Brian Greene, Lorinza Harrington) and a number of foreign players. The other one is pretty much Slovenia only and a much less renowned team.
"I'm addicted to polo y'all...respect my fresh" - Travis25Outlaw
This kid is only 17 though
Would the top Euro teams look seriously at a 17 year-old American?
Blogging at RidiculousUpside, where we converse with recently fired mascots.
by Scott Schroeder on Aug 2, 2009 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions
If he is good, especially teams in Spain and a few other countries wouldn't care
Rubio played when he was 15. In Germany (no limitations on foreign players on a roster) he might have some trouble getting a pro player license, but I guess it would be possible.
And neither team in Ljubljana is a true top team in Europe. But if he lands on the better one, he would play local league games, Adriatic league games, EuroLeague games against true top teams like Barcelona, Malaga, CSKA, Tel Aviv, etc. Not bad.
"I'm addicted to polo y'all...respect my fresh" - Travis25Outlaw
I realize Rubio played when he was 15
and many other players play professionally in their home country at a young age, but it just doesn’t seem like they’d be as open to an American player with similar talent. Correct me if I’m wrong
Blogging at RidiculousUpside, where we converse with recently fired mascots.
by Scott Schroeder on Aug 3, 2009 9:25 AM EDT up reply actions
As long as they think he improves their team in the next 2 years, drives up attendance/viewers, I doubt they care

Some leagues have restrictions on US players. Here are some (chart via Ballineurope). Cotonou is a trade agreement between the EU and a number of states mostly in the Caribbean and Africa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African,_Caribbean_and_Pacific_Group_of_States
Don’t know about the rules in Slovenia, but probably not as strict as in some other countries since one of the above mentioned teams employs players from Brazil and the other one from the US, Russia, etc. A team in Germany would look like a good alternative to me, usually players there are older than 18 but there should be a way around that. Or Italy (that ended up as a problem for Jennings for the playoffs), France.
"I'm addicted to polo y'all...respect my fresh" - Travis25Outlaw

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