A Summary of Kevin Seraphin's Interview with French Publication USA Basketball
by CJ Hempfield on Aug 18, 2010 10:31 PM EDT
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Earlier today, Jerome Knoepffler published an interview with Kevin Seraphin for the French-language basketball site, USA Basketball Basket USA. With the help of machine translation, I am bringing you the key pieces of his interview. Feel free to translate and read the full Knoepffler interview of Seraphin for yourself. (Note: I am staying away from direct quotes based on the imperfect nature of machine translation.)
- Knoepffler asked if Seraphin if he was happy with the Cholet season and Kevin said that he was partially satisfied. He was happy with the team's success - champions of France. However, he felt that he could have played better.
- Knoepffler asked Kevin Seraphin about his time working with Jim Bilba, a French basketball legend. Seraphin responded that he worked really well with Jim and that he gave him a lot of advice particularly on defense. Kevin also credited Jean-Francois Martin, who he worked with at the Cholet Basket Training center and Erman Kunter.
- Seraphin made the decision to enter the NBA draft following his performance at the Nike Hoop Summit in 2009.
- Knoepffler asked about his excitement during the NBA draft and with being on the stage with David Stern. Seraphin responded that the handshake with David Stern was huge! And that he even hugged him.
- Knoepffler asked if Seraphin was tempted to stay in Europe for another season or two before entering the NBA. Seraphin thought about staying in Europe for one more season. He was particularly tempted since his team would make the Euroleague. But he was presented with an opportunity to play in the NBA and with a team that is rebuilding which should provide the younger players an opportunity to play.
- A Cholet teammate, Mickael Gelabale, advised Seraphin on his decision to go to the NBA. Part of Gelabale's recommendation to go to the NBA was based in part on his belief that Seraphin would develop more quickly in the NBA.
- Knoepffler asked him about Wizard's drama the last season and Seraphin believes that this season would be calmer.
- Knoepffler asked Seraphin if the Wizards discussed the possibility of playing in the D-League. Seraphin's response, according to the translation, was "Absolutely not!" It appears that the Wizards were one of a few teams he met with pre-draft, which did not discuss with him the possibility of assigning him to the D-League. The goal appears to be for him to develop with the big team.
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Training camp will tell
I can’t wait to see this guy play. The clips I see of him make me excited. I like this kind of player and he could be a major asset for us.
I think
It means that they are very high on him. must not think he is that far away from being useful
by Danyon Rome on Aug 18, 2010 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Exactly
I found that comment extremely interesting. At that moment I wished my middle school French wasn’t beyond rusty. Particularly since the word out of the Wiz today was that they would make better use of the D-League. They may not have meant Seraphin, but seems like it would warrant a question or two.
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by CJ Hempfield on Aug 18, 2010 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Right...who exactly would we send down to the D-League if we're not sending Seraphin?
Just N’Diaye? Booker, too?
We're from the city with the highest murder rate in the country. Why WOULDN'T they call us the Bullets?
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Aug 19, 2010 1:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes Sir
Booker and Seraphin will add much needed Toughness n BANG to Flips traditional 8 man rotation
1 – Wall
2 – Gilbert
3 – Howard
4 – Blatche
5 – McGee
6 – Hinrich
7 – Booker
8 – Seraphin
If the Vets stay healthy n get back there swag n the Young fellas reach there Swag this team could be somthing else !!! i got my hopes set on the 5th or 6th seed in the playoffs I CAN BELIEVE !!!!!!!!!!! We CAn Do IT
what about yi? and armstrong?
im sure they didnt get them for nothing, and no way we get 5th or 6th seed this year… but 7th or 8th i certainly hope so
by Young Wook Lee on Aug 19, 2010 6:30 AM EDT up reply actions
And Young and Thornton?
At least one of these two guys will be in the regular rotation.
Using D-League doesn't necessarily mean sending roster players down
It could mean bringing D-League players up (like they did last year).
That's a good point
Had totally forgotten about that.
But it’s also just one aspect of the league, and like you said, they already did that last year, so doing it again wouldn’t constitute using the D-League “better.”
Exact Translation
Did Washington talk to you about the NBDL (Dleague) ?
Absolutely not! The deal , if they were to take me, there would be no D-League. During the work-out, other teams talked to me about it (D-league) but not Washington. (Washington) definitely want to see mee on the playground so that I progress. Now we will see what will happen …
Earlier question; You finally chose to join an MBA team immediately , why didn’t you choose to stay in Europe one or two more years .. ?
I could have stayed one more year since Cholet is playing the Euroleague but not two. But at the end I decided to make this move because it is a young nba team that is reconstructing which will give youngsters a chance to shine ; that’s why I chose this option …
Sorry for my rusty english ;)
Wow
They told him no D-League. I guess that means just Hamady, because Booker makes little sense and nobody else is eligible.
I am hoping that what the Wizards meant was that they wouldn’t send Seraphin to the D-League and leave him there, which would leave them room to send him down for a short stay once in a while to work on a few things.
But this sounds like a good subject for you to explore with Flip and Ernie if you ever get the chance, Mike. Did they make a promise not to send Seraphin to the D-League? Do agents and players look for this sort of promise? What are the team’s intentions regarding use of the D-League going forward? Etc.
Yeah, it's definitely something I'd like to bring up
In the meantime, I might flush this out with a blog post later, because it’s interesting.
I would be surprised if they meant absolutely no time in the DLeague. My guess is that he would not play there for the entire year or long stretches, but I have to believe that they left the door open for a short stint, as Khrabb suggests, to help recover from injury. Then again, maybe they’ve seen enough of him to know that he will likely play significant enough minutes that a stint in the DLeague will not help.
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by CJ Hempfield on Aug 19, 2010 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Your English is better than my French.
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by CJ Hempfield on Aug 19, 2010 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Passing up on a chance to play in Euroleague means something...
You can say what you will about the level of play in the French “A” League, but there is no question whatever that the Euroleague is in fact the second highest level of professional competition in the world, second only to the NBA itself. Most teams in the Euroleague have two or three ex NBA players or draft picks and each team represents the cream of the various national leagues across Europe.
So my guess is that the Wizards management realized that Seraphin’s intent in taking part in the NBA draft this year was to buy out his French contract and ball in the NBA, not the D League. Now, this does not mean that Seraphin might not wind up in the D-League if his recent injury lingers and he needs rehab in the early part of the NBA season, but barring that I expect that he will be part of the rotation, and deservedly so based on his size, strength, speed and agility.
I would assume that the Wizards ultimately expect his play to be on a level with the Thunder’s Serge Ibaka.
We shall see.
I don't like him with the 17th pick
“It appears that the Wizards were one of a few teams he met with pre-draft, which did not discuss with him the possibility of assigning him to the D-League.”
That’s statements makes me wonder why the Wizards took a D-League project at 17. This pick should tell us a lot about the Wiz scouting staff. It also may determine whether EG stays or goes.
Maybe the other teams are not in as much of a rebuild mode as us.
If the Lakers, say, took him you would expect them to discuss DLeague with him.
Great point..
Great Point MR, teams picking later in the draft may not need him to play right away, but may still want him to develop.
You are assuming
that Seraphin IS a D-League project. None of us has seen him play in an NBA setting. It could be he does not need the D-League at all; especially for whatever role they might ask him to play.
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