Kevin Wilson Q&A

Q: Can you describe the daily life of an international scout?
A: I get up really early, around five o’clock to catch a flight to almost anywhere. I find the gym and catch the game and do the same thing all over again the next day. Sometimes you’ll do that four or five nights a week.

Q: What languages do you speak?
A: Home base is Barcelona, so I’m fluent in Spanish and also Catalán. I can get by in French and Italian, and I can order a beer in all the other places (laughs).

Q: How much of the year do you spend in the US?
A: Between the pre-draft camp in Chicago, the draft and training camp, probably about a month. The rest of the time, I’m in Europe and there’s always something to do there.

Q: What NBA players have you had a chance to scout?
A: Basically every European in the NBA. I saw (Pau) Gasol when he was 15 and I was one of the first people to mention his name. I’ve known him for years so we’re pretty close. I saw Dirk (Nowitzki) and Peja (Stojakovic) and (Andrei) Kirilenko. I saw Tony Parker and met his girlfriend. These guys see you ten or twenty or twenty-five times a year from the time they’re juniors, and you get to know them.

Q: What are the leagues like in Europe?
A: They vary. The league in Spain is highly organized, it’s pretty NBA-like. The one in Italy is pretty good. The ones in Latvia and Lithuania aren’t quite as good.

Q: How does the style of play differ from the NBA?
A: The NBA has an athletic game, and the players in Europe aren’t quite as athletic, on average. They don’t play the game above the rim over in Europe like they do in the States. They are definitely more half-court oriented in Europe than they are in the NBA.

Q: After you’ve scouted a player, what kind of give-and-take do you have with the other scouts and the rest of the basketball staff?
A: A lot of our guys have played overseas so they have contacts, and they get input on any given player. We gather information on each prospect over a three-year period, so it’s not as if these guys are popping up overnight, even if that’s what it seems like to fans. Everyone on the staff gets a chance to see these guys, read about them, and evaluate them.

Q: Have you noticed any trends in the European players in recent years?
A: The problem with European players now, like with the Americans, is that a lot of them believe they are ready to play in the NBA when they aren’t even close. And as a result, a lot of them are going to fail.

Q: Do you ever see scouts from other NBA teams over the course of your travels?
A: Most teams have a guy scouting over there, so we run into each other sometimes. There’s some camaraderie, like if we get caught in a snowstorm. Sometimes you’ll have to drive a hundred miles to get to some small town for a game, and you’ll share a van and a driver with a couple other guys.