Tracking Ed Stefanski

by Net Income on Apr 18, 2006 4:20 PM EDT in NetsDaily Blog

Who is Ed Stefanski scouting on his European trip? The Nets haven't said, but a look at his itinerary gives some clues. According to the Star-Ledger, Stefanski is traveling to Venice, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Germany; back to Italy for a visit to Bologna; then on to Sarajevo, Bosnia, before returning home for the playoffs.

A quick check of mock drafts, European league rosters and local geography gives some hints of who he will be taking long looks at. With all that hand, it seems that the Nets are be interested in Andrea Bargnani, Rudy Fernandez, Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli, Kosta Perovic and Uros Tripkovic . The trip will also give him an opportunity to get reacquainted with the Nets' last two second round draft choices, Christian Drejer and Mile Ilic. And of course, the Nets aren't saying who else might get his attention. After all he did spot a 17-year-old Serbian center by the name of Nenad Krstic five years ago on one of these trips.

Here's a break down, city by city, player-by-player, along with a restaurant recommendation:

--Venice, city of canals and romance. No teams here, but not far away along the Autostrade is the city of Treviso, home of Benneton Treviso, one of Europe's best teams and its megastar, Andrea Bargnani, a 20-year-old seven-footer some have compared to Dirk Nowitzki. The Nets chances of getting him seem far-fetched, considering that no one thinks he will drop below No. 5.

Best restaurant: Al Covo

--Barcelona, great music, great walking city. Barcelona is the home of F.C. Barcelona, a perennial European power, but not this year. Nearby again, in the Catalonian hills is the city of Badalona and Juventut Badalona. Badalona doesn't have the flavor of its larger neighbor but it does have Rudy Fernandez, 6'-6" combo guard with great hops. Some mocks think he is the Nets' man.

Best restaurant: Cafe de l'Opera

--Germany. Mannheim? The great German university town -- and a big asparagus growing center! But it is also the home of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, the unofficial world championships for players under 18. The tournament, which is underway this week, features teams from 16 different countries. Lots of young talent on display, but who? Serbia, as always, has a solid team.

Best restaurant: Cafe Journal, Mannheim

--Bologna. He's not here for the lunch meat or the veal bolognese. He might be here to tell Drejer the likelihood of him making the Nets isn't good. More likely, he is here primarily to take a look at the other team in town, Fortitudo Bologna, and Marco Belinelli. Physically a clone of Zoran Planinic, Belinelli is reportedly a better shooter, defender and athlete. Only 19 years old and very skinny, he might not come out, but the Nets have scouted players years before drafting them.

Best restaurant: Franco Rossi

--Sarajevo. It's not the city it was during the 1984 Winter Olympics, but nor is it the city that Serbian forces raked with sniper fire in the mid-1990's thank God. Sarajevo is hosting the Final 8 of the Adriatic League. No doubt, Stefanski will be talking to Ilic, but at least two other players on KK Partizan, Nenad Krstic's old team, should catch his eye: Kosta Perovic, a rugged if not athletic 7'-3" center [Think Greg Ostertag], and Uros Tripkovic, a 6'5" combo guard not rated as highly as Belinelli but has a scorer's mentality. Perovic recently outmuscled Ilic in an Adriatic League game.

Best restaurant: Plavi Zamak

The Nets don't limit their scouting to the European continent, however. The Nets do have two full time scouts covering the continent, one the Nets director of international scouting, Rob Meurs, who operates out of the Netherlands and the other a former coach who lives in Serbia. Both can and are dispatched to darkened gyms if the Nets think it's warranted. Meurs in particular spends a lot of time in Africa and Asia, where he regularly coaches youth teams.

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Comments

i can’t understand the entire second paragraph. I can’t understand it’s intent or the Net’s intent for that matter (except a vague mention of drejer’s status with the nets in the bologna section). “A quick check of mock drafts..” means what? Do you mean that you guessed the Nets’ intentions by skimming some mock drafts, but whose mocks? “With all that hand..” – umm what? I think the author meant “with all that said”, but what was actually said here? There were only a handful of statements made before then. “Nets are be interested..” – the Nets are interested or seem to be interested or what?? This article seems too unclear in it’s purpose.

This is definitely not one of your best pieces and I’ve read many of them and enjoyed them thoroughly. This one feels too rushed or lacking substance. Not anywhere do you say why the nets (or you from your own perspective) would want to draft any of these guys or even question why Ed would even consider visiting them. I really got nothing out of this article. You put in the names of restaurants which you probably spent more time researching than the actual true content. It was a nice fun addition to your article but why use it if the rest of the article has no purpose at all?

Again I like your work, but this one is something you should be embarrased about. I know you can do much better than this. Read it again and maybe you’ll see what I’m talking about. I tried hard not to critique language, but this one was just too much to handle. I know there was supposed to be a purpose, but where was the effort?

Again, I like your work (I have to say it 3 times so you understand that I appreciate what you do), but you should take a step back and think about why this article was such a tough one to read.

by need a clue on Apr 18, 2006 8:37 PM EDT reply actions

good article, always wondering what the wonderkid Stefanski is doing. Think that both Rudy Fernandez and Splitter would be excellent options for the Nets. Still not sure whether Splitter is going out due to buyout issues. Fits the Nets mold, and may fall in the draft due to issues of buyout as well as the Euro backlash. Seen a few clips on him and he does not look that athletic but he is long, works hard, specifically on his defense and has improved his game. Many teams will be turned off because of his lack of superstar upside, but he seems like a slightly more talented version of Collins, which would fit the Nets well.
Fernandez would be another great choice. Could be a bench player who could play limited minutes at the point and use work ethic and intelligence to develop into a complimentary role on the Nets. I think there is some upside there in the mold of the Ginobli or Rip Hamilton.
Still think that the real choice is a trade up for Rondo, as the hier apparent to kid. He is a couple years away, but would serve as a backup and understudy to Kidd. It is the right time to take a point guard.

by Gerry on Apr 18, 2006 8:53 PM EDT reply actions

Jesus, get a grip. Obviously NI has to be extremely speculative, with (1) the draft being months away, (2) the Nets possibly of trading up (or down), (3) various free agency issues undecided, and (4) Ed S. maybe looking at guys for 2 or 3 years down the road.
NI, info much appreciated (even the restaurants!). However, do you think other teams’ GMs and scouts keep tabs on their peers’ movements, and might you be making their job a bit easier by connecting the dots for them, as it were?

by MCA on Apr 18, 2006 9:06 PM EDT reply actions