NBA Draft 2012: Scouting the International Prospects for the Next Dirk Nowitzki

Who is the NBA's next international sensation?  Since 1995, the NBA has had an influx of international stars.  Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol, both future Hall of Famers and NBA champions, are the standard bearers that everyone looks up to on draft day.

This year's class features a guard sensation from the Czech republic, a French point guard, and a Turkish power forward.  

Will any of them grow to be the next international basketball superstar?

Tomas Satoranksy: Swingman, Czech Republic

Satoransky is a personal favorite.  I have watched him for years, anticipating when he might come to the NBA.  And I am hardly alone; he has not gotten much press attention recently, but Satoransky has had NBA scouts drooling for years over his enormous potential.

Satoransky is a physical specimen: a 6'7" long, lean forward with good athleticism and lateral quickness for a European player. He is very active and tough, willing to play hard on both offense and defense.

He also knows how to be a playmaker.  Satoransky is very clever with the ball, using his excellent floor vision to create offense for himself or pass to teammates.  He could definitely be a ball-handling swingman in the NBA.

His weakness is shooting.  He has poor shooting mechanics, converts on few mid-range shots and has no long-range game.

But, he is young and, as Ricky Rubio showed us this year, talented European ball-handlers who cannot shoot, but are creative with the ball can do great things in this league.

If he formally declares, I expect one team to pick him in the middle of the first round and reap the benefits.

Evan Fournier: Shooting Guard, France

Fournier is the most polished NBA prospect in Europe.  A 6'7" classic shooting guard, he has the athleticism, polished mid-range shooting and ball-handling to be a starter in the NBA.

Fournier was also productive this year, which is rare for a young European player. Overseas teams tend to bench young players for their veterans, which is why Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings both barely produced in their years abroad, but exploded in the U.S.  

Fournier averaged 30 minutes per game in France, which was nearly unprecedented for a 29-year-old and scored 14 points per game on 55 percent shooting.

It's clear Fournier can score at the NBA level.  His mid-range shooting and polished game will help with the transition, as will as his top-notch basketball IQ.  

But his lateral quickness is a concern; can he defend his position in the NBA?

Fournier is in the draft and a first-round pick.  Watch out for the Bulls, who need a shooting guard of the future and have had recent success with international picks Omer Asik and Nikola Mirotic.

Furkan Aldemir: Power Forward, Turkey

With Aldemir, it's all about the boards.

The Turkish power forward is not a finished product.  He has a poor offensive game and limited athleticism.  But he is the best young rebounder in the Euroleague.

He will be very useful as a late first or early second-round pick to a contending team that needs more help on the boards.