Knickfury11 wrote:Agreed. I am ecstatic with this move. It really reflects a new level of innovation both in our scouting and approach / attitude.

It seems his season statistics do not really give a fair reflection of his game / ability. I have seen this guy dominate ( on both sides of the floor ) the second best level of the game.

People, please forget Mike James. Vildoza is on another level and I think he has the ability to really contribute in areas where we fall short.

I just hope that he is given adequate time / opportunities to be part of the future ( game sets, plays etc ).

If cambozza can get minutes in DEN, Vildoza should be fine. But who knows with Thibs?

Personally hoping Payton is cut.

You can’t look at his numbers from the NBA statistics perspective. Different basketball is played in Europe, game takes 8 minutes less for a start, and the numbers are much lower.

Top scorer of the Spanish ACB League has 18 points per game, top rebounder 8.5 rebounds and top assist player 6.5 assists. And basketball itself is fundamentally different so you don’t even need to look at his game through numbers.

Some players from Europe are doing well in the NBA, some are not (the best European PG Teodosic didn't do very well in the Clippers), I hope that Vedoza will be among those who managed to do well. In any case, we got a player who brings a different skillset than the one we have had in that position so far.

xavier wrote:

Knickfury11 wrote:Agreed. I am ecstatic with this move. It really reflects a new level of innovation both in our scouting and approach / attitude.

It seems his season statistics do not really give a fair reflection of his game / ability. I have seen this guy dominate ( on both sides of the floor ) the second best level of the game.

People, please forget Mike James. Vildoza is on another level and I think he has the ability to really contribute in areas where we fall short.

I just hope that he is given adequate time / opportunities to be part of the future ( game sets, plays etc ).

If cambozza can get minutes in DEN, Vildoza should be fine. But who knows with Thibs?

Personally hoping Payton is cut.

You can’t look at his numbers from the NBA statistics perspective. Different basketball is played in Europe, game takes 8 minutes less for a start, and the numbers are much lower.

Top scorer of the Spanish ACB League has 18 points per game, top rebounder 8.5 rebounds and top assist player 6.5 assists. And basketball itself is fundamentally different so you don’t even need to look at his game through numbers.

Some players from Europe are doing well in the NBA, some are not (the best European PG Teodosic didn't do very well in the Clippers), I hope that Vedoza will be among those who managed to do well. In any case, we got a player who brings a different skillset than the one we have had in that position so far.

Very true… numbers can/should not be compared! Focusing on the skill set a player brings is the only way to go I think.
Comparissons to Mike James or Teodosic are super difficult as well I think - basically it is a LOT about the Situation the player is put in.
Players like Mike James or also Shane Larkin exceed in the Euroleague in a very defined role - they are supposed to carry the scoring load of their team - break down defences, get red hot from outside … thats it - thats their role.
In a way you have a constant mismatch on the field.

Teodosic was THE PG in Europe for years due to his unbelievable feel for the game and passing ability. Especially against Zone defences with his teammates back-cutting off screens and a lot of off ball movement he would ALWAYS generate easy Points for his team.
In the NBA this style of Play is just not played that much…

Vildoze I hope will find a situation in NY that fits his skillset and style of play.

Nalod wrote:For all the hate by fans, he has been loyal, hard working and he freaking starts. HE is part of our record this season.

I totally agree. I have to admit that it wasn’t clear to me for a long time what he was doing on the roster and I wanted him to be replaced with IQ and then Rose in starting 5. But Payton, as you wrote, is part of the puzzle and is a perfectly OK character.

He is not and will not be Paul or Lowry, but he does everything he can and is not at all as bad as he is often tried to present.

And is he a PG or a combo guard? From the highlights it looks like they had another guy handling the ball quite a bit playing along side him.

Nalod wrote:

Knickfury11 wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:Love the risk reward gamble. With the risk being pretty minimal. Yet if he is a hit...!!

Also getting him now so he could get a feel for the NBA to put in the work for next season is a shrewd move.

Welcome Luca!

Extremely shrewd move. Especially if Vildoza is a success and we get to save huge cap savings for potential future moves.

“Luck”: When opportunity and preparation collide. We have the cap and this kid and his agent see a path for an opportunty to play. Might even start next season. If this kid pans out its shrewd. If not no skin and we don’t burn a pick if he was heading to draft. That he is 25 and likely we can pay him better as a free agent and commit to him as if we drafted him might have mattered.
I like his size. Not a novel 5’11 spark plug mascot who goes 100mph but is 32 years old.
This move could be “luck” for both parties involved. Those Euro Stats are not easy to convert but if Johnny Bryant wants to work with this kid thats good enough for me.
I am consistent with having blind faith in this group. They won’t bat 100% on everything because nobody does but I’m riding this feel good story for the whole journey.

Welpee wrote:

Nalod wrote:

Knickfury11 wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:Love the risk reward gamble. With the risk being pretty minimal. Yet if he is a hit...!!

Also getting him now so he could get a feel for the NBA to put in the work for next season is a shrewd move.

Welcome Luca!

Extremely shrewd move. Especially if Vildoza is a success and we get to save huge cap savings for potential future moves.

“Luck”: When opportunity and preparation collide. We have the cap and this kid and his agent see a path for an opportunty to play. Might even start next season. If this kid pans out its shrewd. If not no skin and we don’t burn a pick if he was heading to draft. That he is 25 and likely we can pay him better as a free agent and commit to him as if we drafted him might have mattered.
I like his size. Not a novel 5’11 spark plug mascot who goes 100mph but is 32 years old.
This move could be “luck” for both parties involved. Those Euro Stats are not easy to convert but if Johnny Bryant wants to work with this kid thats good enough for me.
I am consistent with having blind faith in this group. They won’t bat 100% on everything because nobody does but I’m riding this feel good story for the whole journey.

Agree. This staff seems to play the long game versus doing what the fans constantly advocate for, which is throw money at big name stars who they'll complain about two months later. They seem to be willing to be patient before pulling the trigger on a cap burning big time move while at the same time putting a competitive product on the floor.

Signing him now takes a ton of pressure off both sides as well in terms of expectations. If he does well and earns time perfect. If he doesn’t crack the rotation still all good at this time.

fishmike wrote:I have no idea what level of talent this guy has. He was rated like 50-something in a top 100 EU players last year, but no color on his game.

He's a good age to bring in. If he's legit we end up with a core player from out of nowhere.

He strikes me as a very Thibs player. Looks really aggressive on both sides of the ball. Shooting #s look very promising. Highlights show a lot of crafty scoring and good fundamentals which will go a long way. We know Kobe liked him as well, which gives you an idea of what kind of personality this guy has.

I dont expect this guy to get game time this year but who knows

Maybe Thibs thinks another Euro will push Frankie into reverting back into FIBAFrankie?
Also liked the shooting display in the clip above. Guy looks like he's got the killer mentality.

The closest I can remember us getting was Layden drafting Vujanic, who stayed in Europe.