What a flattering picture. I don’t care if we have a roster representing the entire globe as long as we win.

He’s wearing a gold medal from the FIBA Europe championships, where they upset Spain and he was the most outstanding player. He probably thinks it’s flattering. :-)

I think Jerry Sloan wasted his talent, but now he’s just overpaid.

This is the third time he has mentioned Mozgov and the Nets. DraftExpress thinks he is a player and is improving, as Kirilenko says. Mozgov I believe is under contract for at least another year in the Russian League. Of course, there are ways…

Good bye Yi. Hello Mozgov.

i dont think he is the only RUS player in NBA what about Pecherov?

Fesenko is still with the Jazz right? is AK47 suggesting that they draft Mozgov in the 2nd round & bring back Viktor Khryapa (Nets’ 1st Round Pick in 04) talent is talent & i’m sure the new owner will recognize that.

Is it bad that i really REALLY prefer homegrown bball players then that of those overseas? I just cant shake the “SOFT” label, that more times then not, is attached to European players.

If he can play he can play. dont just bring players here cause they are russian.

Pecherov and Fesenko are both from Ukraine, but played in Russia. Mozgov is a free agent. Wasn’t drafted before age 23 so he’s a free agent under NBA rules. He played well in the FIBA European Championships last summer AFTER the draft, leading many to regret not taking him. He is a late bloomer.

There are two Russians, likely second round picks from CSKA Moscow: Aleksiy Shved, a 6’6" PG who could sneak into the bottom of the first round, and Artem Zabelin, a 7’1" center who probably isn’t as good as Mozgov.

Please, some of the toughest players in the league aren’t american. Manu ginobili? Dirk nowitzki? Just because they aren’t cocky and can’t achieve the physique that other players can doesn’t mean they’re soft. Give me a tim duncan any day over an amare stoudamire.

David Stern: “And with the number one pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, the NJ Nets select………….Timofey Mozgov from Russia” How do you like your new owner now?

Read Realgm, one of the bigger Bball blogs, quite a few comments on Dirk and Manu being soft and bad defenders.

“Soft” label get thrown around way too much by ignorant fans.

I have seen Mozgov play during last summer’s European Championship. He is a tall dude, good defender and runs the floor very well. I think he was one of the surprises of the tournament. I wouldn’t be against picking him, not with our top 5 pick obviously, but with the Dallas pick.

@Superfan1978
He is ineligible for the draft. He is 23.

Calling all foreign players is such a bigoted and outdated concept. Dirk nowitzki is so soft that he’s in his 10th consecutive year of averaging at least 21 and 8. Manu ginobili is so soft that he’s got 3 nba championships, an olympic gold medal, and a euroleague championship. Pau gasol is so soft that he’s propelled the lakers to two finals and one championship since he got there and put up a ton of 20 rebound games earlier this season. Not to mention other guys like andres nocioni and omri casspi

Edit: calling all foreign players soft, i mean

@ Net Income, Just alittle joke to get us thru this sorry season! I am all for the new owner and any player that can help us win some games. The new Coach will be key, as well as free agency for some talent.

@Superman1978
No need to apologize…just want people to know he cant be drafted. And since he is under contract in Russia, AK-47’s recommendation seems odd…unless he knows something. This is the third time he dropped the name. He could have talked about the two kids from CSKA Moscow (his old team and Prokhorov’s old team) who are draft eligible and pretty good. Instead every time the subject has come up in interviews, he mentions Mozgov and only Mozgov.

buddies maybe?

If there are foreigners on our team, I demand they only be PG-SF. No bigs. I want a tough, burly American who will actually go down and get some boards instead of floating settling for outside shots!

No more Yi/Nenad

@Tim
So no Nowitzki, who has missed fewer games than any other NBA star in the past 10 years? No Gasol, who is probably the best power forward outside of Texas? How do you feel about Tim Duncan? Virgin Islands is a US territory, but not part of the mainland. No Yao Ming? Too tainted by Yi for you, I guess. No Al Horford? He’s from the D.R., you know. And you do know that Carlos Boozer is from ALASKA!?

I was kinda hoping Tim was being facetious.

Yes, facetious.

I still don’t like Nenad though.

I do like Yi.

But would prefer any of those studs you mention in a heart beat, since none of them are “soft.”

Look what Bosh and Bargnani did to the Mavs today. Two young bigs, one an inside threat, the other a deep shooter, killed the Mavs. One American, one international player, playing in a foreign land.

The team is still about .500

I want the Nets to be a championship team. On that team, I see Yi as a good sixth man.

@Net Income,

First off, stop being so racially sensitive, I’m not against foreigners!

Second, did you watch the game? That’s not why the Mav’s lost. The Raptors added pieces, and they are no better then last year. Its nice to have that outside threat yes, but thats a complete gamble. Live and die by the 3… but you will never win a championship like that, not in a 7 game series.

@Tim
Whoosh.

Whoosh?

Absolutely disgrace. it is time to end this madness!!! Stop the madness already David Stern.

Anyone else feel like there is a little ying yang thing going on here with the Jets? A team, only a few hundred feet away.

JETS!

@Isaac
WOW. There’s no possibility the Nets could find a player worth a camp invite in a country of 143 million people that has produced some decent big men over the decades?

After Mozgov played so well in the FIBA Europe tournament last summer, DraftExpress reported that some in the NBA realized they had made a mistake in not drafting him. Watched a few videos of him. Raw, but VERY athletic for a guy close to 7’2" tall and with body like Humphries.

There’s another reason beyond Prokhorov’s impending ownership to invite a Russian kid: there is a significant Russian population in BROOKLYN, where the Nets will be playing in two years. I hope they invite a Brazilian kid next year when they’re in Newark, where is there is a growing Portuguese and Brazilian population. Smart business.

Scouting is subjective. That’s why there are surprises and busts. You act as if this is a crime against humanity.

And asking Stern to stop it is like asking Patterson and Cuomo to stop Atlantic Yards. It’s antithetical to the economic best interests of those they represent.

this Mozgov guy would be a nice addition to the Nets team. He could be a nice back up to Brook Lopez. Hope they sign this guy.

Wow. It can be said Jerry Sloan wasted a player’s talent, but Lawrence Frank couldnt possibly have done that…

Who wants any version of an Anderson Varajao???

We already had the african american version in Jason Collins

Trenton I don’t think that Twin is a good comparison to Varajao

i hope proko signs every european FA he can find. i want boki nachbar back.

Jason Collins? There’s no way you can compare the 2, Varejao can actually get rebounds and makes put-backs, Collins did neither. I’m pretty sure he has a vertical higher than .00000000000000000000001 inches too, so he wouldnt get rejected by the rim the way Collins always did.

Again, who cares about what an overpaid crybaby has to say about OUR team. I really hope we don’t get AK…

How about we sign Ivan Drago? He’s been out of the league for a while, but I heard he’s got a good power game.