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Not in any ranking or draft
Height: 6'3" (191 cm)
Weight: 210 lbs (95 kg)
Position: PG
Hometown: Villanueva de la Serena, Spain
Current Team: Pistons
Win - Loss: 2 - 2

Articles

NBA Scouting Reports, Atlantic Division (Part Three)

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Feb 03, 2009, 03:03 am
Overview: A talented Spanish point guard that blossomed as a backup, but was inevitably going to be a starter. Has great size for an NBA point guard, and is built relatively well. Not an elite athlete, but has good foot speed and overall athleticism. Maximizes his physical skills with heady and aggressive play. Does a great job setting up his teammates, but has improved his ability to score from the perimeter. Was considered more of a shooting guard than a true point early on in his career, and has mastered the position amazingly well over the last few years. Showed the potential to be a very solid NBA player in Spain due to his athleticism, perimeter shooting ability and improving playmaking skills, and was brought over as a free agent. Was a well decorated player on the Junior level for the Spanish National Team and has become one of the staples of his homeland’s Senior National Team. Didn’t stand out enough to get drafted when he was eligible. Was one of the better backup point guards in the NBA almost immediately. Developed at a very high rate despite his age. Brings great intangibles to the table. Plays the game with a lot of verve. Great teammate. Extremely underrated.

Offense: A highly efficient lead guard that gets it done as both a playmaker and complementary scorer. Gets almost two thirds of his offense in pick and roll situations with another portion coming from spot ups and isolations. Gets the majority of his shots up from the perimeter. Has a tremendous jump shot featuring great arc and rhythm. Doesn’t need a lot of space to get his shot off. Can hit the three, but it took him a few seasons to develop NBA range. Is now one of the best 3-point shooters in the League. A great catch and shoot threat at this point. Very good shooter off the dribble. Capable of pulling up when driving in either direction, but is more effective going right. Much more effective when he drives right in general. Shows great touch on all of his shots around the rim. Able to turn the corner on the pick and roll, showing very crafty finishing ability with his right hand. Loves to go to the scoop to beat get himself a little extra separation from his defender. Finishes at a shocking rate for a point guard that isn’t an elite leaper or lightning quick. Doesn’t get to the free throw line a ton, but almost never misses once there. Has become one of the games’ top assist-men. Incredibly good decision maker on the pick and roll. Loves to fake passes to open up lanes for himself. Especially savvy when he’s hedged or draws a help defender. Turns the ball over at a very low rate for how much he handles the ball. Will be amongst the League leaders in assist to turnover ratio year in and year out. A very heady player across the board. Quite an asset considering his combination of sparkling shooting, outstanding playmaking and minimal mistakes.

Defense: Does not possess great length or lateral quickness, but will show a very good effort level and active hands. Gets in a low stance and keep his feet moving, allowing him to make a good attempt to keep up with faster players. Still, isn’t quick enough to consistently keep his man out of the lane, and will get burned fairly regularly by the better point guards in the league. Tends to show great anticipation when reaching in for steals, but will sometimes jump out of position in anticipation of a drive. Always closes out under control, but has a hard time recovering when beat. Will fight through screens. Rebounds the ball at a decent rate for a point guard. Plays a very fundamental, active brand of defense, allowing him to make up for his shortcomings at times. Can be a liability against certain matchups, though.

2005 Spanish King's Cup

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Feb 23, 2005, 01:40 am
Last summer Milwaukee offered him a two-year contract, but he refused in order to keep on improving in Spain. Both sides knew what they were doing. On one hand, Calderón is a point guard with the physical set of an NBA player, as he has the best combination of size, strength, athleticism and quickness all over Europe. But on the other, he's still in the process of learning to properly play the point, and a premature jump to the NBA could stunt that.

He's a player that needs to play physical and use his athleticism to really contribute. In the semifinals he started the game in spectacular fashion, being all over the court, scoring in a number of ways, running the floor like crazy, defending and being very aggressive. But because he was not being benched to receive some rest, his game slowed down significantly, and Tau suffered a lot. During the third quarter, coach Ivanovic finally decided to take him out for some minutes, and the contribution of reserve point guard Pablo Priggioni, a better distributor than Calderón, notably improved the fluidity of Tau's offense, helping the team come back for a dramatic ending that resulted in a loss.

He's more of a scorer than a distributor, particularly a great slasher with shooting skills that are improving everyday, but he has been constantly improving his passing skills in the last few seasons. If he keeps up the good work, we could be talking about a top-notch point guard in the near future, as has the tools to succeed at any level.

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