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Pelicans International Scouting: Catching Up With Karlo Matkovic And Co.

The New Orleans Pelicans landed a draft-and-stash steal judging by Karlo Matkovic's EuroBasket campaign.

Chris Dodson

Pelicans International Scouting: Catching Up With Karlo Matkovic And Co.
Pelicans International Scouting: Catching Up With Karlo Matkovic And Co. /
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The New Orleans Pelicans have been watching several FIBA tournaments this summer to gather some good scouting tape while hopefully avoiding any injuries. Jose Alvarado opted out of playing with Puerto Rico during this international window while Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania), Willy Hernangomez (Spain), and Karlo Matkovic (Croatia) have sacrificed their summers to help their national teams through World Cup and EuroBasket qualifications.

No slights intended. Alvarado sacrificed as well. Those games against Mexico and Team USA were so rough the Pelicans let him skip out on all of the planned NBA Summer League developmental minutes. New Orleans looks all the wiser resting their point guard. The Las Vegas squad was ravaged by injuries in July and Valanciunas limped to the locker room after a tough double-overtime loss versus Germany.

Valanciunas helped Lithuania escape the toughest group of the tournament with a 13-point, 15-rebound, 5-assist night against Bosnia. Jonas will now joust with the Hernangomez brother in the Round of 16. Lithuania and Spain will face off on Saturday at 1:45 Central Time to decide who moves on to the EuroBasket quarterfinals.

Jonas is a known commodity who will fight through the pain for both club and country. Hernangomez knows his NBA role yet still stars for Spain with his brother, taking up the mantle of the Gasol brothers. Karlo, the 52nd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, looks like a draft-and-stash steal judging by his EuroBasket performances.

Matkovic is still proving he belongs at this level but is acquitting himself well, having only missed one shot while putting up 17 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks in a warm-up win over Switzerland. He had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist on a perfect 8/8 shooting night in Milan to lead Croatia to a 73-70 win over Estonia in Game 3 of group play. He played only 19 minutes but was named Player of the Game by at least one European outlet.

Matkovic says Croatia is "getting better" and "making adjustments" as they get to know each other. As for his plans with the Pelicans, "Right now I'm with Cedevita Olimpija for a year and then, after hopefully a healthy season, we will see about probably going over...In Summer League I played only one game and got injured (hand) so I didn't get to play the rest of it but it was a really nice experience, to develop with a great organization. It felt like family there."

Croatia is relying on Matkovic to continue this breakout rise up the European ranks. They fell just short of upsetting Greece before beating Team Great Britain. The Estonia win was closer than the betting odds gave credit. Matkovic was a nonfactor in the 81-76 loss against Italy. The Croatians are moving on to the knockout rounds after playing Ukraine but do not yet know their opponent.

The Pelicans do not yet fully know what they have in Matkovic but all signs are pointing to a serviceable rotation piece. He is holding his own against Europe's best, and playing better than some big men (Ivica Zubac, Dario Saric) already collecting NBA paychecks. If New Orleans needs to bring in some affordable bench options, Matkovic could join that exclusive club as soon as next season.

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Chris Dodson
CHRIS DODSON

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