Could Jonas Jerebko Be the Detroit Pistons' Breakout Import?

"Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery."

Jack Paar was telling a joke when he spoke those words, but in many ways it rings true to migration trends of foreign players, lusting for a chance to play in the greatest professional basketball league in the world.

For years now, the NBA has been a global brand, importing the best and brightest young stars out of Europe, South America, and Asia. The trend hit full blown craze by the end of the millennium and now there are players from overseas on nearly every roster in the NBA.

One need to look no further than Texas for prime examples of what good overseas recruiting can do to enhance a roster.

Teams all around the NBA seem to be striking it rich with long-shot draft picks completely foreign to the likes of our American ears, yet time and again these players that come out of nowhere become household names on our teams every year.

Every time a new team pulls a European rabbit out of their hat, I can't help but ask, "When is Detroit going to pull off a steal like that?"

It's not to say that we haven't tested the international market, lord knows no Detroit fan can live down the now famous Darko debacle.

We had Memo for a couple of years and didn't see fit to extend him, we brought in Walter Hermann, a sharp shooting three guard and he hardly cracked the roster after the first couple of months of each season.

Cheikh Samb, a lanky center that languished in the minors for years was done away with. Carlos Delfino brought a spark for us in '06-'07 playing nearly 16 minutes a game.

Of course, there were also the foreign products of the NCAA, but they felt like cheap impostors of the steals that San Antonio and Dallas got. For years now I've been yearning for a player that doesn't have the description, "Dirk Nowitzki-like." Every player that has come after him has been a shadow of the player he's become.

Jerebko might be the foreigner to break the mold. The fairy-tale story of his connection to Joe Dumars is something only the universe can explain. He seems to have the grit of a Detroit Bad-Boy, evidenced by his wonderful elbow to Jamaal Magliore's face in the preseason.

How can you not root for a player that gets into a scrap in his first game in the NBA? His father played at Syracuse, so he's been brought up around the game. He served his time in European leagues in both Sweden and Italy. He definitely fits the mold of import.

The best thing about Jerebko was the lack of shallow comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. He's a hustle guy more in the form of a David Lee; not afraid to mix it up in the trenches, dive for loose balls, or play hard-nose defense on players he has no right defending.

In his first starting role for Detroit he was matched up against Vince Carter, a man who needs no introduction. Carter finished 6-16 from the floor and Jerebko had five rebounds and no points. it wasn't exactly lock-down defense, but we're talking about a 22 year old rookie guarding a perennial all-star.

Against Toronto he managed to come up with a few rebounds, a couple of blocks, and hit all of his shots. Will Kuester continue to play him 25 minutes a game? Probably not once Prince returns. But, he does offer some NBA size and hustle to come off of the bench to spell Prince, and Prince surely needs that.

Will Jerebko be the European Rabbit that Dumars magically pulled out his hat? Has fate brought this feisty Swede to our Bad Boy legion as a sign of the new times?

Only time will tell, and fortunately he's operating under Coach Kuester who is becoming even more of a mad wizard than Mike D'Antoni. The kid's got heart and he's going to get time to develop on this young Pistons team, and that's something that hasn't been afforded to many of our imports.

Here's lookin' at you Jonas, the Pistons nation is rooting for you!