The Sporting News (Mike DeCourcy) writes: “You know how many international players appeared for the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals? Zero. They’re supposed to shoot it better in Europe, but only three of the NBA’s top 20 long-distance marksmen were international products. In the past five years, NBA teams have drafted 29 internationally trained players in the first round. Those players combined to produce nine seasons of double-figure scoring for their teams — out of a possible 93 opportunities. Teams might build a better track record drafting from the Rutgers intramural league. “I know the failure rate is high because the failure rate is high for anyone you take in the first round,” Fraschilla says. “You can’t draft on demographics. They’ve got to be judged individually.”
