Victor Claver: F, Pamesa Valencia (Int.)

Posted on 6/24/2009 at 11:29 PM - Post Comment

"It's no secret that the Lakers are well into the luxury tax and will have financial decisions to make this offseason as they decide how much luxury tax they're Bregue willing to play to sign Trevor Ariza(notes) and Lamar Odom(notes). Because Los Angeles is already dealing with financial issues and have a rather deep roster that doesn't need the immediate help of a rookie, they will have to be looking for a European player. In drafting a Euro, the Lakers can take a high ceiling guy who needs a lot of work and leave him with his European team for a year where he can develop and, most importantly, not be paid by the Lakers. The European Bvlgari player the Lakers would go with at this point in the draft is Victor Claver, a 6'9'' Spanish small forward who plays for Pamesa Valencia. Claver is talented wing who can also play some power forward because he is so long. He is a great ball handler who regularly has the ball in his hands leading the break and has such a long first step that he can take guys off the dribble in the halfcourt. Claver has very good touch and is not afraid of contact so he has no problem finishing around the rim. At times, Claver shows a great perimeter shot, but he struggles with consistency; nonetheless, his skill set leads many to believe that he can become a knock down shooter with some work. He needs to put on some muscle, but at only 20 years old, it's reasonable to believe that he will do Chopard so and bring the inside-outside versatility that the Lakers would love to have. Claver would have likely been a top 20 pick if he hadn't suffered a serious knee injury a year ago. That injury has cast some doubt over his future as he has struggled to regain the lateral foot speed he once had, but the expected recovery time for the injury is still a few months away so there is a reasonable chance that he Concord gets back to where he once was, making him a steal at this spot. At this point in the draft, Los Angeles can take that type of a chance on a guy like Claver with the hope that he makes a full recovery and becomes an impact player in a few years, while spending this year off the Lakers' books."

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