Mumbru to NBA?
If you’ve watched Team USA during the Olympics you likely got the opportunity to check out Alex Mumbru from Spain. He had a solid summer averaging 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds for the Spanish National Team. Mumbru played about 17 minutes per game with the National Team, and that is about 7 or 8 minutes less than he played with Real Madrid last winter. Mumbru shot a smoking 82% from beyond the arc on 9 for 11 shooting this summer. With Real Madrid he has been averaging around 10 or 11 points per game and 4 boards. Keep in mind FIBA basketball games are only 40 minutes. According to Eurobasket, Mumbru is signed through 2009.
I’ve seen enough of Mumbru to believe he belongs in the NBA. At 6′7 he’s the perfect small forward in Europe, but scouts may have wondered how he would handle wings in the NBA. The Olympics have shown us he is quick enough to get some minutes in the NBA. We’ve seen success stories and struggles with vets leaving Europe for the NBA, so the only way to know how successful he would be is to bring him over. A couple of teams in contention could really use him. While the Celtics shouldn’t expect Mumbru to play the Posey role, they really need to add a piece since the Cavs landed Mo Williams. The Spurs aren’t getting any younger and really need to locate more support for their “big three”. Mumbru would be a pretty solid backup forward off the bench. With Camby going to the Clippers fans are left wondering what the Nugget front court will look like. Nene is always an injury concern. Steven Hunter was hurt the majority of last season. Kenyon Martin was healthy last season, but he has really bad knees. Nobody really knows if Chris “Birdman” Andersen can still play. Personally, I would suggest the Nuggets slide Melo to the 4 spot and start Kleiza at 3. If the Nuggets do this they could benefit from signing Mumbru to come off the bench.
To bring Mumbru over this summer a team would have to contribute to a contract buyout with Real Madrid. An NBA team can contribute up to $500,000. It is unclear if Real Madrid would be willing to participate in talks this summer. If not Mumbru should be in the NBA when he turns 30 for the 2009-2010 season.
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