The Washington Wizards went out on a limb and selected two Eastern Europeans in last night’s draft. As basketball continues to become a more international sport, teams have been more willing to use draft picks on relatively unproven talents overseas. With the 18th pick overall, the Wizards selected forward Oleksiy Pecherov, a 7-foot Ukranian. It was the first time that they had used a first round pick on an international player. With their second pick, they took Vladimir Veremeenko, a 6-10 forward from Belarus. The hope is that these foreign-born players will mature into superstars, and that upon future analysis, the Wizards’ picks will be seen as steals. The ‘Zards need only look to Utah Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko (taken at pick 24) and Dirk Nowitzki (pick 9) of the Dallas Mavericks to see the results of savvy international drafting. However, Pecherov and Veremeenko could very well follow the career paths of Zarko Cabarkapa, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, or Bostjan Nachbar. Who? Exactly.
Briefly Noted: GW swingman Danilo Pinnock was selected with the 58th overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. There, he should enjoy a greater chance of earning playing time, given Dallas’ deep bench and the Lakers’ dearth of talent behind Kobe Bryant. Pinnock was the only draftee from a local college.
AP Photo taken by Kathy Willens.
