Outside influence
It's not like teams don't become champions until they have marquee foreign-born players. The Los Angeles Lakers won three straight titles from 2000-02 with only two international players (Canada's Rick Fox was on all three teams and a starter on the last two, and Ukraine's Slava Medvedenko was a reserve in '01 and '02). The Detroit Pistons' 2004 championship team had two foreign-borns, but one of them was Darko Milicic, who at that point was a bench-sitting curiosity. (The other was Mehmet Okur, not yet an All-Star but in the rotation.)
But several contenders in recent years seem to have a roster full of internationals -- some, of course, coming from the U.S. college system -- and that got me to thinking about which teams right now are getting the most out of them.
Boston, the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana and New York are the only teams right now without a foreign player (the Pistons have Senegalese rookie Cheikh Samb, who has taken Milicic's old seat on the bench). That doesn't necessarily speak to team philosophy -- the Pacers, for example, make it their business to scout internationally, and the Celtics decided, well, why don't we put Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen together with Paul Pierce and see how that works. Which to this point seems to have been a helluva idea.
To calculate which 10 teams are doing the best job capitalizing on international talent, I comprised a point system to rate the international players:
10--Elite Player (EP)7--Productive Rotation Guy (PR)4--Solid Contributor (SC)1--Warm Body (WB)
It's worth noting that there were some tough calls assigning a PR or SC to certain players. Herewith, the results, based largely on this season's performance:
Players:Tim Duncan (EP), Tony Parker (EP), Manu Ginobili (EP), Fabricio Oberto (PR/SC), Francisco Elson (PR/SC), Ian Mahinmi (WB)
Total: 42 points
Notes: Oberto and Elson would be PRs on most teams but cancel each other out. I assigned them 5.5 each.
It's no surprise to find the Spurs here. Their scouting system is impeccable, they've had stupendous luck (with Parker and Ginobili) and coach Gregg Popovich, a world traveler, is willing to put trust in foreign players.
2. Phoenix Suns
Players:Steve Nash (EP), Raja Bell (PR), Leandro Barbosa (PR), Boris Diaw (PR), Sean Marks (WB)
Total: 32 points
Notes: Yes, Canada counts as international. Bell, like Duncan, was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Marks, who seems as American as they come, was born in New Zealand.
No surprise to find Phoenix here, either. When the Colangelos were in charge, they left no foreign stone unturned, and coach Mike D'Antoni had a legendary playing and coaching career in Italy.
Players:Andrea Bargnani (PR), Jose Calderon (PR), Carlos Delfino (PR), Rasho Nesterovic (SC), Jorge Garbajosa (WB)
Total: 26 points
Notes: Calderon makes the most of his minutes. Garbajosa, a key contributor last season, has struggled in his return from a broken leg.
With Bryan Colangelo in charge, the Raptors are becoming some combination of the Spurs and Suns of the East. The former Phoenix GM loves to think outside the box ... and the country.
Players:Mickael Pietrus (PR), Kelenna Azubuike (PR), Andris Biedrins (PR), Marco Belinelli (WB), Stephane Lasme (WB), Kosta Perovic (WB)
Total: 24 points
Notes: Belinelli, a rookie who has played sparingly the last few games, could become an SC as the season progresses.
Coach Don Nelson's son Donnie was one of the first far-and-wide scouts and coached the Lithuanian Olympic team, so the Nelsons have always invested in foreign assets. And in Nellie's wide-open system, new players often get a chance to shine, as has been the case with Azubuike, who is from England.
T-4. Utah Jazz
Players: Okur (EP), Andrei Kirilenko (EP), Gordan Giricek (SC)
Total: 24 points
Notes: Okur, an All-Star last season, and the on-the-rebound Kirilenko are, I suppose, barely EPs, but I gave them that distinction.
Players:Linas Kleiza (PR), Eduardo Najera (PR), Nenê (SC), Yakhouba Diawara (SC)
Total: 22 points
Notes: However much the Brazilian-born Nenê has been a disappointment -- he slipped to SC status with a slow start that preceded a thumb injury -- coach George Karl is getting a lot out of three-point bomber Kleiza (Lithuania) and the Frenchman Diawara. And the glass-pounding Najera, in my mind, has long been an underrated player.
Players:Dirk Nowitzki (EP), DeSagana Diop (PR), Jose Juan Barea (SC)
Total: 21 points
Notes: Everybody is looking for another Dirk, and the Senegalese center, Diop, seems to have found himself this season.
Players: Deng (PR), Andres Nocioni (PR), Thabo Sefolosha (SC), Viktor Khryapa (WB)
Total: 19 points
Notes: Things aren't going well for the Bulls right now, and -- who knows? -- maybe Deng and Nocioni could be on the block. But wherever they go, they will be valued. And Sefolosha could be a PR somewhere someday.
Players:Pau Gasol (EP), Milicic (PR), Juan Carlos Navarro (WB)
Total: 18 points
Notes: The much-maligned Milicic at last qualifies for notice as he gets minutes with a young Grizzlies team. You can make the case that Navarro is closer to an SC right now.
T-10. Houston Rockets
Players:Yao Ming (EP), Luis Scola (SC), Dikembe Mutombo (WB)
Total: 15 points
Notes: Look for these numbers to go up as Scola becomes a PR and the 117-year-old, shot-blocking Mutombo perhaps rises to an SC. For a long time, remember, Deke was an EP.
T-10. Los Angeles Lakers
Players:Vladimir Radmanovic (PR), Ronny Turiaf (PR), Sasha Vujacic (WB)
Total: 15 points
Notes: Radmanovic, a Serbian, seems like a California surfer dude. The French-born Turiaf, serious buds with San Antonio's Parker and Phoenix's Diaw, never seems concerned when Kobe hollers at him. Vujacic, a former SC, has taken up residence on the inactive list.
T-10. Milwaukee Bucks
Players:Andrew Bogut (PR), Yi Jianlian (PR), Dan Gadzuric (WB)
Total: 15 points
Notes: Will either Aussie Bogut or Jianlian -- China's Yao Lite -- become elite players down the road? Too early to tell. I'm perhaps undervaluing the Netherlands-born Gadzuric as an WB, but he needs a little more production to be called a "solid contributor."
