Off-Day Open Thread: Does Fran Vazquez's Career Interest You?
by Evan Dunlap on Aug 23, 2010 8:00 AM EDT
in Off-Day Open Thread
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PrintFive years, one month, and 26 days have elapsed since the Orlando Magic used the 11th overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft on Fran Vazquez, then a mere 22 years old. And Vazquez has still yet to play for the Magic, instead plying his trade in high-level leagues in his native Spain.
Yesterday, in an exhibition match against Team U.S.A., Vazquez tallied 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block in 14 minutes off Spain's bench--yes, he's good enough to play for Spain's national team--and looked NBA-ready. Mobile, with good hands, he'd make an excellent pick-and-roll partner for Jameer Nelson in Magic pinstripes. In June, the world-renowned Jonathan Givony said Vazquez "could start on a number of NBA teams."
But I'm wondering if any Magic fans care about Vazquez anymore, as I've received some heat in the comments section for writing about non-Magic players such as Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. Is Vazquez, who's still Magic property despite being a world away, still a subject worth your attention? Let me know in the comments and by voting in the poll attached to this post.
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5 years is a long time to wait on someone...
I understand that he might be NBA ready and able to start for a number of teams( teams like who…the lower tier teams) but I believe we have waited long enough. I think we, as an organization, should develop the talent that is willing to take the time and effort to play here in the States. I’m not knocking international basketball but its not the NBA. Vasquez is coming off of the bench and plus this is not top echelon NBA players here (excluding Durant) he is facing seeing how the team as a whole struggled so far during these exhibitions. So I am going to say that there is probably little to no interest here as far as Vasquez is concerned.
"He is fast, but what I like about him is he looks like one of those track guys that actually knows how to run the ball and has good vision and patience. He is not just running at top speed. He knows when to use his speed, and he has some power and toughness, too.'' Barry Sanders about CJ2K
Dwight Howard >The Justice League of America
by Bonafidebrother on Aug 23, 2010 8:19 AM EDT reply actions
I know you are going to get this alot today but....
eh-hem… Danny Granger, Nate Robinson, Linas Kleiza, David Lee, Monta Ellis, E. Ilyasova, Andray Blatche, and Marcin Gortat.
We truly got a steal late, but I really wish i could forget that Draft year.
I would be interested in hearing more about him, even though I doubt he’ll ever come over.
And I don’t get the criticism, either. Both players were mentioned as potentially having an interest in the Magic, and regardless, players of that caliber switching teams would have an effect on the Magic. It’d be like saying we shouldn’t discuss the triumvirate in Miami, because none of them came here – it’s still important to us, since the Magic compete with the Heat.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
I voted yes
but Fran’s situation is complex because it’s almost like a tease. Especially with him already stating how happy he is to just stay over in Spain.
Sure, report whatever story you feel is newsworthy.
It’s your site Ben. We all appreciate it and enjoy reading it.
As for Vasquez, he isn’t at the top of my list of curiosities but it is interesting to hear how he’s doing from time to time.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
Never Coming
I enjoyed watching him play against Team USA, and he didn’t look all that bad, but he is NEVER going to come to the states. He’s a wussy who won’t ever leave his home country…Too bad.
Forget him
Vasquez probably could have helped this team at some point… but 5 years have gone by and this guy wont even talk with magic management…. the NBA is far above any european league and if he’s to scared to come play with the big boys then I have no respect for him… it was a bad pick and since then the Magic have began to draft much much smarter… So I say leave the past in the past and if this guy ever does decide to come to the NBA we trade his rights… If he ever wears a Magic Jersey I will boo him at games
I have no interest in a guy who turned his back on the organization the moment he was drafted.
Let him rot in Spain. How good is he really if he refuses play in a real basketball league?
I'm a dude!
Orlando Pinstriped Post: Where game threads turn into online chat rooms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlLyVuMf7U
I'm sorta meh on Vazquez
If he comes, then great (assuming he is a good player), but if he doesn’t come . . . at this point, I don’t really care. I don’t ever think on Vazquez unless somebody else brings him up.
It was a bad draft for the Magic, but all teams have bad drafts at one point or another, so big whoop. Plus, other than plane fare to Spain, at least the Magic didn’t have to spend any money on the guy.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
Assets Are News
The Magic hold Vazquez’ NBA rights, so he is newsworthy on this site. Although I’m more curious to hear what the Magic have to say about his situation than I am to hear about his play (unless, of course, it is generating a ton of buzz around the league).
I almost quit on the Magic with that pick..
No lie, I was Yelling at my TV for like 15 minutes straight! I was so heated my son left the living room. I wanted Gay, but look what happened to him… Any ways, “F” vazquez, and if there was any chance he decided to play for us, I hope he never leaves the bench, only to get traded then sent to the CBA to where he just gets frustrated and leaves back to Spain.
He’s a Coward, and I hope he reads this… -COWARD.
Worse. Magic. Pick. EVER.
Picking Vasquez was a goof-up in Smith and Twardzik's time as assistant GMs
I would rather not bring a guy around who is not capable of committing to living in a country or playing for a team. There are some foreign players who could never make the adjustments to the new environment or pick a new language, hence failed to realize their potentials. Based on that analysis, I would like to close the book on Vasquez.
But the opportunist in me says keep an eye on the guy and if he ever gains some value in NBA circles, since the Magic has the rights to him, sign and trade him for players of interest to the Magic.
I wouldnt mind reading about Vazquez. Because we never know, he still has time to come over late. And, it serves as an ever important reminder of drafting good, and the international scouting part of it.
Hey guys, ready for a super crazy, fun-to-talk-about scenario :D Magic will trade _ to the Timberwolves for the draft rights of Ricky Rubio, the Spanish PG teammate of Fran Vazquez. Rubio comes to Orlando Magic in a heartbeat to play with Dwight Howard,… and convinces/brings Fran Vazquez over too. Wouldn’t know what to do with Jameer/Rubio, and I’d rather have Jameer anyways, but Rubio is younger, is a unique passing PG and brings Vazquez over. Just something I’ve been imagining today… Rubio pick-and-rolling with teammate Vazquez, then does a sweet pass inside to Dwight for a monster dunk.
For those of you calling Vazquez a coward for not coming over, you're fools.
There’s too many obstacles in the way for Vazquez to come over … his desire to play overseas is a big one and I can’t blame him for wanting to stay in Spain, where he plays in one of the best professional leagues in Europe.
Likewise, there’s a buyout that would get in the way of Otis Smith trying to bring him over.
Vazquez isn’t the worst Magic pick ever, even if he doesn’t join the NBA.
I write for Magic Basketball and have a Twitter account.
i guess eddy didn't get the memo that ben wants a kindler gentler blog with no personal insults?
Never trust a fart
by AB's triple double on Aug 23, 2010 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Seriously. It's like every time he comments here now, it seems to be derogatory in some way
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
yet his comments are usually 100% correct
because some of the comments lately have been idiotic (this is not directed at anyone in particular)
its ok........some people need to be insulted sometimes
i’m all for it
Never trust a fart
by AB's triple double on Aug 23, 2010 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions
LOL, I like to think I am afforded some leeway at OPP with my comments.
That’d be funny if I got banned.
I’m not trying to be insulting, but sometimes I need to be frank to get my point across.
I write for Magic Basketball and have a Twitter account.
by erivera7 on Aug 23, 2010 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
erivera??
Regardless of how good a league the spain league is it doesnt compare to the NBA… I mean look at Spain they cant even beat a USA team full of NBA Scrubs with one superstar in Durant…. From a competitor standpoint Vasquez is a wuss because he doesnt have the competitive fire to do whatever it takes to be the best and play against the best… therefore I say F him
and
if he wanted to play overseas so bad why on earth did he apply for the NBA draft….
International players don’t apply for the NBA draft. They’re automatically eligible if they turn 22 (or are already older) the year of the draft.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
I am not clear how that works
So even without expressing any interest, the names of all foreign players would be included in the draft?
Pretty much. Paraphrasing from Coon’s awesome Cap FAQ, the requirements for a player to be drafted:
For all players, the following must be true:
Is at least 19 years old and at least 1 year out of high school.
For domestic players, one of the following must be true:
Graduated from college and has no remaining eligibility
Is attending college, his freshman class has graduated, and has no remaining eligibility
Did not attend college and is at least 4 years from HS graduation
Has played professionally overseas
Has declared for the draft
For international players, one of the following must be true:
Is 22 years old the year of the draft
Has played professionally in the United States at a level other than the NBA
Has declared for the draft
Basically, declaring is the most common way, since the top college players tend to declare early, but a lot of lower-tier college players whose NCAA eligibility has expired are technically eligible to be drafted, even though they never declared for the draft. I was also wrong in my earlier post – it should have read “International players don’t necessarily have to apply for the NBA draft.” They can do so, but there are the two automatic provisions that allow for them to be draft-eligible without declaring for the draft.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
Haters gonna hate.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with posting articles and commentary about the possibility of a superstar player playing with the Magic, especially when there are reports that the superstar wants to play here. I’d honestly rather hear about those stories than Fran Vazquez, because it’s more likely that both Paul and Anthony will play for the Magic for the veteran’s minimum than it is for Vazquez to ever play here.
I love LeBron. No really, I love Jameer.
Yeah, it is not so much that the "superstar posts" are what is annoying (they are actually good and interesting reads)
It’s when the commenters start reacting as if the rumor is absolute fact and declare management is incompetent for not making a trade when there is a very real possibility there was never even a whiff of a possible trade in the first place. Most of these rumors are most likely started by schmucks like us who probably know no more on the situation than we do.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
"Schmucks like us"?
I don’t know about you, but I taught David Aldridge everything he knows about investigative NBA journalism.
I love LeBron. No really, I love Jameer.
wish you had done a better job…
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors." - Weldon Drew
I'll tell ya about the Magic It'll free your soul but it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock n roll
"This dude is huge....I've got to go home and eat like five chickens and put a lot of weight on. It's going to take a couple months, but seriously." - Marcin Gortat about Shaq.
by NC Magic Fan on Aug 23, 2010 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Psh, DA is solid.
I think he’s one of the better NBA journalists out there.
I love LeBron. No really, I love Jameer.
DA is better than anyone at ESPN
He has a lot more credibility when it comes to NBA news
I voted yes...
..only as a bargaining chip, we’ve waited too long for him and waisted a pick . If we had won a championship I’m sure he would’ve decided to play for us so I’d send him packing and watch him change his decision.
I dont hold a grudge against him for staying in Spain
Its his home and he plays for FC Barcelona. Great city and they have awesome fans. They play some Euro league games on NBA TV sometimes, check it out. Its like a college crowd and the games themselves look like 70s era NBA games. Lots of passing and jump shooting, not much D. Listening to some of their commentators and players, they would at least like to portray their leagues as near equal to the NBA. Its a buncha crap, and I dont know if they actually believe it, but they do say it. I would like to know how much Otis and Dave actually talked to Fran before they wasted an 11th pick on him. Never gotten a consistent story on how that all went down.
Does it really matter now what went down then? By not saying much they have admitted to the goof-off, or so I think
The real question, in my view, is could we rely on this guy for long-term to commit and give us the time and efforts that we expect? I doubt it. Additionally, thanks to NBA, European leagues are now paying pretty good to their players. Playing at home and residing in a great city like Barcelona, as you have mentioned, should have enough appeal for Fran to stick to it
That may be True...
But in NO way the Euro League even Close to the NBA and its level of play. -Unless he wanted to be a Star in his home country instead of competing to be one here in the NBA. Maybe he likes wearing jerseys adorned with different advertisements… Who knows, who cares. I just wanted to say my piece on the dude. That’s all.
Moving on..
The Euroleague is a step below the NBA, but it's still an excellent caliber of basketball.
The ACB League that Vazquez plays in is widely seen as the best league in the world outside the NBA.
I write for Magic Basketball and have a Twitter account.
And, as much as the FIBA rankings have to be taken with a grain of salt, Spain is ranked #3
Argentina and the US are closely ranked on points, with Argentina #1 and the US #2. Spain’s moderately far behind the top pair, but they’re closer to the US than #4 Greece is to Spain.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
Next season's lineup:
CP3
Melo
Vasquez
Lewis
Howard
And we’re all holding our breath…
Go Magic/Bucs/Gators/Rays!
by chiefs_55 on Aug 23, 2010 10:31 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Also: Space Harrier 3 is coming out
All your base are belong to us.
Go Magic/Bucs/Gators/Rays!
by chiefs_55 on Aug 23, 2010 10:33 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Just the other day I was thinking, what ever happened to him? So yeah.
I would have had no issue with him staying in Spain if he hadn’t first implied he was ready to come to the NBA (and I assume maybe the Magic don’t draft him if that didn’t seem possible).
But after 2-3 years I started feeling like if he’s not ready to make the leap now, maybe he doesn’t have the mentality to compete in the NBA….if not yet, why would he ever desire to come here? Does he have no confidence in his own game?
Lots of questions about Fran and I’m still very intrigued about his situation, even 5 years later.
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