NBA Draft 2011: Enes Kanter and the Most Overrated International Players

With the NBA Draft less than a week away, teams are putting the final touches on their draft night big boards. There have been some major shifts in the last few weeks, with Kyrie Irving as the No. 1 pick being the only thing close to a certainty.

A key component to the draft is international scouting. Teams pay millions and millions of dollars to send scouts all around the world just to get the slightest peek into the games of potential lottery picks like Enes Kanter, Jan Vesely and Jonas Valanciunas.

With dreams of drafting the next Dirk Nowitzki (and not the next Saer Sene or Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who has been added to the discussion of "worst lottery pick ever"), coaches, general managers and scouts always seem to overrate foreigners, completely neglecting the fact that their competition is extremely inferior both in size and skill from the college level.

Many international players come to the US and because of legal reasons, are unable to work out against other players. This leads to the awkward "chair" workout, when the player has to literally show off his moves with only a chair between him and the hoop.

This "chair" workout, not surprisingly, has made good players seem superb (yes Yi, we are looking at you).

It is draft picks like Yi that set franchises back a couple of years. That is why this year, I evaluated which international players should not be overvalued based on statistics and factors that are skewed by foreign leagues, and determined the most overrated foreign players in the 2011 NBA Draft.*

* I only evaluated players projected to go in the first round (so no random guys you've never heard of).

Davis Bertans, Latvia

First things first, do you honestly think someone who looks like this can play power forward/small forward in the NBA?

I mean, that has to be a joke, right? When was that picture taken, his Bar Mitzvah? (Just to clarify, he is 6'10", there is no chance he is Jewish. Zero)

Clearly, he needs to add bulk. But aside from his undersized body, what other weaknesses are being overlooked? Even if he is a "great" shooter—we will get to that in a minute—basketball isn't only played on one side of the floor.

Bertans is actually going to have to play defense.

How is he going to stay with the likes of any of the good scorers who occupy the small forward/power forward positions? Can you imagine him trying to stay in front of even a mediocre scorer like Glen "Big Baby" Davis or JJ Hickson?

No way.

Regardless of his defense, he is being positioned as a late first rounder because of his shooting abilities. Apparently he is a lights out three-point shooter who can thrive off the bench and provide a spark when the offense is struggling.

There is a slight problem though. He might not be as good of a shooter as everyone is letting on.

When he should be drafted: Early-Mid second round. He is a D-League player unless he adds 30 pounds of muscle to his lanky frame.

Overrated ranking (out of 10): 9.5

P.S. Check out what ESPN Insider wrote about Sasha Vujacic for his Draft Bio:

"Several scouts see a young Brent Barry when watching him. He's a great shooter and has special court vision. He was impressive in an SFX workout in Chicago, but then got eaten alive by Devin Harris in a private workout for the Raptors. He's likely a lock for the first round and could go somewhere in the twenties on draft night."

Sounds familiar. Uh-oh.

Jeremy Tyler, Tokyo Apache

Back in 2009, when Tyler shocked the NBA world and decided to go play in Israel, things started to go south in a hurry.

After a dreadful few months, Tyler quit the team after complaining all season about lack of playing time, despite his ineffectiveness when he was playing.

I lived in Israel for a year. I've watched Israeli Basketball. It's terrible. When I say terrible, I'm talking WNBA terrible.

In the year I was there (2008-2009), guess who brought home a championship and Finals MVP?

Carlos Arroyo.

Carlos freaking Arroyo! And you're telling me that this kid Tyler, who is apparently extremely talented, couldn't even get on the court?

Get out of here.

Half of the players in the Israel league can't even dunk. This dude was 6'10" when he was 17. He should have been able to dominate. I'm not buying the talent level, and I certainly wouldn't trust his gigantic ego problem.

It's very clear that he thinks he is better than he is. He should have stayed in the US and gone to college.

Instead, he wasted two years, barely even developing his low-post game. It's actually kind of sad this happened because he has some of the best potential out of anyone in this draft. He just can't seem to tap into it though.

When he should be drafted: He must be taken by a team with veteran leaders, otherwise he will just continue to be lazy and not improve his game. He needs to go at the end of the first, or the middle of the second.

Any weak, young team who picks him is just wasting their time. He won't reach his potential with them, he needs a Spurs or Celtics type team.

Overrated ranking (out of 10): 9.5

Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania

Terrific around the basket, Valnciunas' biggest strength in the Euroleague might be the reason for his demise in the NBA. Of course, he could turn into the next Joakim Noah, and then I will have to eat a plate of crow.

But let's examine where his success lies.

Everyone agrees that he does his damage under the hoop. Being an exceptional athlete, Jonas was able to score lots of buckets on offensive rebounds, fast breaks, and quick moves that mediocre, slow-footed center's couldn't keep up with.

Valanciunas has plenty of talent, plenty of potential and has remarkable athletic ability for a player of his size. The only problem that I see is that he has the build of Andrea Bargnani, but he doesn't have the shot.

He has the size and energy of Joakim Noah, but he doesn't have the pedigree or experience.

Unlike Bertans and Tyler, Valanciunas will most likely be an impact player in this league. The reason he is overrated is because he is being mentioned as a top-seven pick.

Top-seven? I think he needs at least two or three years of seasoning in the bigger, stronger, faster NBA before he becomes the player he can be. For right now, teams would be wise to let someone else take the early risk on Valanciunas.

If he falls out of the top 10, then he is a terrific pick. But I have seen him as low as four, and that is way too high for someone who is not going to do much else but play with energy for the first few seasons of his career. You need more impact here.

Where he should be drafted: Eight to 12 in the first round. I really like his game (I especially like his defensive/pest potential like Noah). I just don't think it is going to translate into NBA success right away.

Overrated ranking (out of 10): 6.5

Jan Vesely, Czech Republic

With Vesely, it is one thing that I see that is making it impossible for me to take him seriously as a top-5 pick: rebounding.

Jan is super talented, definitely a top-10 pick (in this weak draft), but his abysmal rebounding numbers scare me.

A lot.

As a 6'11", 230-pound SF/PF, Vesely is going to be asked to bang the boards. Unfortunately, he's more like Jeff Green and less like Paul Pierce when it comes to crashing the glass.

Averaging a paltry 3.6 rebounds in the Euroleague against vastly inferior opponents, Vesely either must add muscle or improve his boxing out technique (maybe watch a few Kevin Love videos).

And let's not forget perhaps the most embarrassing part of Jan's game, his beyond despicable free throw percentage.

Is 44.4 percent even possible?

I thought those free-throw numbers were reserved for the immortals, like Ben Wallace and Chuck Hayes.

Vesely won't be able to play in the fourth quarters of games if he continues to shoot free throws like he has two broken arms. It would turn out like the Rajon Rondo situation in Boston.

The Celtics leave him in for fourth quarters because he is their best player, but he loses all of his aggressiveness because he doesn't want to go to the line.

The same thing will happen to Jan. Who wants to draft someone in the top 10 if they can't play down the stretch of a close game (unless we are talking about Shaq or Dwight)?

No one does.

The more I read about Jan, the more Jeff Green I see in him. He doesn't have Green's terrific scoring touch or athleticism, but he is similar because he is a tall, skinny scorer who might get stuck without a position. What NBA people call a "tweener." Just a thought.

Where he should be drafted: Six to 10 in the first round because he is too talented, and this draft class is too weak.

Overrated ranking (out of 10): 8.5

Enes Kanter, Turkey

He went for 34 PTS and 13 REB, but look at his competition!

Enes Kanter is the single most important, mysterious and game-changing player in this 2011 NBA Draft.

Kanter can go anywhere from first overall to sixth overall, something extremely rare in today's day and age. And you want to know what else is extremely rare in today's day and age?

The fact that no one knows how Enes is going to turn out or where he is going to get picked.

Let's take a look at some facts:

• Before he came to the US, he played four games in the Euroleague and five games in the Turkish Basketball League.

• After being named MVP of the under-18 league in Europe (Kanter was 17 at the time), Enes was offered, and turned down, a multimillion dollar contract by the most popular team in Europe, Olympiacos B.C.

• Enes decided to play in America in 2009-2010. He played for Stoneridge Prep in California, and apparently, he wasn't so great there.

• Since his year at Stoneridge Prep, Kanter has played in one public game— at the Nike Hoop Summit—where he produced a record breaking 34 points to go along with his 14 rebounds. Kanter broke Dirk Nowitzki's points record from 1998.

• Kanter soon committed to Kentucky where he rotted on the bench all year after an extremely dubious ineligibility ruling by the NCAA. The ruling claimed he received too much money while playing professionally in Turkey.

What makes the whole "taking money" situation so confusing is that Kanter's family seems to be wealthy.

Basketball-wise, there is no denying the size, talent and work ethic, but I must say that the lack of actually playing in games is pretty scary.

Athletes who have played professionally their whole lives have a hard time shaking off the rust of a six-month or 10-month injury. Granted, Kanter isn't injured, but he still has to go from not playing organized basketball since the beginning of 2010, to being a top-five pick in 2011.

So not only is he making the jump from high school to the pros, he is doing it with a year off from professional basketball.

Do I think he will be good? Yes. Do I think he will be great? Maybe in the future.

But for these teams right now, the most important thing is to draft someone who is a sure thing. You don't pick a high risk/high reward player in the first five picks, and that is precisely what Kanter is.

When he should be drafted: Four to seven in the first round. His talent is too strong to overlook. Despite the search for a more safe pick like Kawhi Leonard, GM's across the league will not be able to restrain themselves from picking Kanter, a potential franchise player.

Overrated ranking (out of 10): 5, if he is taken in the top three, than someone reached too far. Outside of the top three is right where he belongs.

P.S. Watch the video. It shows how in that game (Nike Hoop Summit) Kanter almost solely relies on his ability to overpower his opponents. There is one nice jump shot and one gorgeous "and-1" drive, but I can't help but worry that he is going to have a gigantic transition from being the biggest and strongest player to going up against monsters like Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett and Tyson Chandler.

Kanter is going to have to develop a back-to-the-basket game, and unfortunately, part of Enes' mystique is that there are barely any videos for us to see if he actually has the ability to do that.

Sound off in the comments section below, I want to have a debate! Also, if you want to hear my reasons for leaving players like Biyombo, Motiejunas and Mirotic off of this list, you will just have to wait until I write that article over the weekend!

Thanks for reading!