Euroleague Scouting Trip To Focus on Free Agent Prospects

As Dave D'Alessandro reported last week in his blog, the Nets may send Kiki Vandeweghe to Paris this weekend for the Euroleague Final Four.  Andrea Fadini, the team's international scout, is already there.  It's unlikely they're going to look at Draft prospects since the top European draft prospect in Paris, Partizan's Jan Veseley, decided not to declare for 2010. 

Still, as Rod Thorn told D'Alessandro, "There are some players there that we may have interest in."  Among them are  several Euros who could be signed as free agents, three of whom have NBA experience. Linas Kleiza and Josh Childress play for Olympiakos. The Nuggets still hold Kleiza's rights while the Hawks hold  Childress', making both  restricted free agents.  The Nets were interested in Kleiza last summer. 

Another possibility is Viktor Khyrapa of CSKA Moscow, who was picked by the Nets in the 2004 draft and sold to the Blazers. He was just named the Euroleague' top defender and says he wants another shot at the NBA.  He's an unrestricted free agent.  Then, there's Ricky Rubio, whose agent wants traded from the Timberwolves to a big market.  Finally, with Mikhail Prokhorov's old team in the Final Four, the trip might give Vandeweghe an opportunity to meet with Andrei Vatutin, the CSKA president who's rumored to be joining the Nets front office this summer.

• Ricky Rubio, Josh Childress boost NBA value in Euroleague - Ian Thomsen - Sports Illustrated
  
• Final Four Paris 2010 - Euroleague