1. Tomas Satoransky
Position: Guard
Country: Czech Republic
The 27-year-old former Washington Wizards 6-foot-7 combo guard Tomas Satoransky was one of the two high-profile free agent signings for the Chicago Bulls this summer. The Bulls snagged Satoransky from the Wizards on a bargain bin deal for three-years worth about $10 million per.
The signing of Satoransky by way of a sign-and-trade package with the Wizards is starting to look really good for John Paxson and Gar Forman. Satoransky is a good fit for the Bulls rotation and should be an easy plug-and-play for head coach Jim Boylen.
But Satoransky also showed a lot of promise during his run with the Czech Republic in the FIBA World Cup debut in China and through the friendly games. His efforts weren’t quite enough to push the Czech side past the United States on Sep. 1, but he did draw them close for a bit in an eventual 88-67 defeat.
The Czech Republic is still alive in pool play with the versatile and skilled Satoransky leading the way. He has to be considered one of the 20 or 30 best overall players in the World Cup competition. The problem for him with the Czech Republic is the lack of a supporting cast.