Gary Sussman has been very good about keeping Net fans apprised of GM Ed Stefanski's travels as he scouts prospects for this June's draft...and beyond. "Travelin' Man", as Sussman calls one of his bosses, has lived up to his nickname.
The list can hardly be complete, since the Nets' interests are a trade secret, but here are some educated guesses, based on what Sussman has written and who shows up on mock drafts.
"Where in the World is...The Travelin' Man....New Rochelle's Lauer has nothing on our Philly legend...the GM will be in Rome, Belgrade, Athens, Vienna, Zagreb, Bologna and Frankfurt over the next week looking for his latest gem... will have a very difficult time in finding a cheesesteak...."
--April 30
Marco Belinelli 6-6 200 SG Climamio Bologna (Italy) 1986
Luigi Datome, Legea Scafati
Nemanja Aleksandrov, Red Star
Uros Tripkovic, KK Partizan
Peja Samardziski, FMP Zeleznik
Nemanja Aleksandrov, Red Star
Uros Tripkovic, KK Partizan
Peja Samardziski, FMP Zeleznik
Tiago Splitter, Tau Ceramica
Anton Ponkrashov, CSKA Moscow
Dusan Sakota, Panathinaikos
#Luis Scola, Tau Ceramica
Ante Tomic, KK Zagreb
Rudy Mbemba, Opel Skyliners
"Travelin' Man...Returned from China with a stop in San Fran for the West Coast Regional...said he loved the spring rolls in Bejing..."
--March 25
Arron Afflalo 6-5 215 SG UCLA Jr.
L.R. Mbah a Moute 6-7 230 SF UCLA So.
Darren Collison 6-1 170 PG UCLA So.
Julian Wright 6-8 225 SF Kansas So.
Brandon Rush 6-6 205 SG Kansas So.
"Extra Duck Sauce, please...The Travelin' Man venturing to the Far East to scout...he's hoping for a Thursday General Tsao's Chicken special to help with the food budget..."
--March 16
Yi Jianlian, 7-1 250 C-PF Guangdong Southern Tigers, 1987
Chen Jianghua, 6-2 180 PG Guangdong Southern Tigers, 1987
"Travelin' Man....Nets GM attended both the Pac 10 and Big 10 tourneys this past week...his cholesterol as well as his family life are taking a beating..."
--March 11
Nick Young 6-6 200 SG USC Jr.
Gabe Pruitt 6-4 170 PG USC Jr.
Aaron Brooks 5-11 160 PG Oregon Sr.
Spencer Hawes 6-11 250 C Wash. Fr.
Greg Oden 7-0 250 C Ohio St. Fr.
Mike Conley 6-1 180 PG Ohio St. Fr.
Ron Lewis 6-4 195 SG Ohio St. Sr.
Alando Tucker 6-5 210 SF Wisconsin Sr.
Carl Landry 6-9 235 PF Purdue Sr.
"BMOC…Travelin’ Man talking to all the coeds this week…took in Florida/Tennessee…and sees Texas/Texas A&M on Wednesday…says his eating has been ugly at best…this will upset the wife…"
--February 28
Al Horford 6-9 245 PF Florida Jr.
Joakim Noah 6-11 230 PF Florida Jr.
Corey Brewer 6-8 185 SF Florida Jr.
Kevin Durant 6-10 220 SF Texas Fr.
Acie Law 6-3 195 PG Texas A&M Sr.
In addition, Stefanski toured Europe in December, making stops in several European basketball hubs...Here's who we thought he was looking at then:
Tim Ohlbrecht 6-11 220 SF/PF Brose Baskets Bamberg (Germany) 1988
Rudy Fernandez 6-6 172 SG Spain 1985
Ricky Rubio 6-3 175 PG DKV Joventut (Spain) 1990
Alexis Ajinca 7-0 210 PF INSEP (France) 1988
Marco Belinelli 6-6 200 SG Climamio Bologna (Italy) 1986
Nicolas Batum 6-8 210 SG Le Mans (France) 1988
Yannick Bokolo 6-4 180 PG/SG Le Mans (France) 1985
Dusan Sakota 6-10 220 SF/PF Panathinaikos Athens (Greece) 1986
And of course, we have to assume that Stefanski, jet lag and all, took in the NCAA East Regional contests at his home, aka the Continenal Airlines Arena, where there was no shortage of first round talent:
Jeff Green 6-8 235 SF Georgetown Jr.
Roy Hibbert 7-2 278 C Georgetown Jr.
Brandan Wright 6-10 210 PF UNC Fr.
Tyler Hansbrough 6-8 245 PF UNC So.
Reyshawn Terry 6-7 232 SF UNC Sr.