By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With the NBA draft approaching, two young stars from Europe are ready for the big chance, one more is expected to be picked in the second round and three more may have the same fate.
The class of 2015 is loaded with American talent, however two players from Europe are expected to be picked in the Top10 of the first round. Those are Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Hezonja, with the Latvian big man expected to be picked higher that the Croatian scorer. There’s a number of reasons for that, but the two most important are the recent impressions left by Porzingis in his US try out and the question mark on Hezonja’s personality.
Still those two players are expected to have a career in the NBA and make the jump to the other side of the Atlantic this summer. There’s no other prospect from Europe which is comparable to them in this year’s class. The next player who is expected to be picked, probably in the second round, is Anadolu Efes‘ Cedi Osman. He will be a great draft and stash pick, as he will remain in Turkey and develope his game.
The same can be said for three more players, who may or may not get drafted. Those are Serbian center Nikola Milutovic, Spaniard Guillermo Hernangomez and Frenchman Mouhammadou Jaiteh. Of course, in the draft there are always surprises, however according to Eurohoops sources from the States, besides the highly coveted duo of Porzingis and Hezonja, just those four players from the old continent have seen their draft stocks rising in the last days leading to the draft.