Partnered with a group led by agent Warren LeGarie and Albert Hall, the NBA is taking control of the yearly EuroCamp event that takes place in Italy, the league announced in a press release.
The EuroCamp will be rebranded into the NBA Elite International Camp, with the event set to be held between June 2-5 in Italy once again. Several scouts, executives and team personnel are expected to be in attendance.
“As a GM, I found that it can be very difficult at times to get good information about prospects internationally,” VanDeWeghe told ESPN. “It can be difficult to meet them, difficult to find time to sit down and to get to know them. Even to watch them play at times. Many don’t always play a ton of minutes with their team. This is about giving teams access to the players and making sure that they have the information they want, and making sure all teams have equal opportunity to get to know these players.”
A total of 73 players have reached the NBA after attending the EuroCamp over the past 10 seasons, including Goran Dragic, Rudy Gobert and Isaiah Thomas. The event gives NBA teams a chance to see top players coming out of college and professional leagues overseas in person.
“Most of the top prospects are pretty well-known,” VanDeWeghe told ESPN. “We intend to invite somewhere between 40-50 kids. Those prospects we’ll take from team suggestions, as well as utilizing our contacts to make sure we’re getting the top prospects that teams want to see. We’ll be making sure that we work with the top agents in Europe.”
The new NBA Elite International Camp, which is being established in the midst of the well-documented NCAA scandal, will also be streamed online for fans to watch at home. Adidas had previously taken control of the camp, but the company decided to take a step back this year.
Maurizio Gherardini, current top executive of Fenerbahce and former vice president of the Toronto Raptors, will be the connecting point between the old organization and the new one.
Def Pen’s Orazio Cauchi contributed to this story.
