As Dale Hofmann of the Milwaukee Journal reports, when the Dallas Mavericks fell out of the playoffs this week, it was like watching the withdrawal of a United Nations peacekeeping force. The setback was viewed as bad news in Mexico, South Africa, Germany and China as well as Texas.

On the other hand, National Basketball Association fans in northern California, Serbia and Turkey were pleased with the result, and who knew 10 years ago that there would even be NBA fans in Serbia and Turkey

You had only to see the Dallas offense riding Dirk Nowitzki while Hidayet Turkoglu was snatching every third rebound for Sacramento to understand that America's best basketball players are frequently from somewhere else. In this particular series, four Mavericks and three Kings had arrived from foreign shores.

Turkoglu is a Turk, and Nowitzki is a German and a considerable local embarrassment. The Milwaukee Bucks gave up his rights in 1998 for Robert "Tractor" Traylor in what ranks, pound for pound, as the worst transaction in franchise history.

Consider this: Every team that made this year's playoffs had at least one foreign-born player. There were 51 of them from 30 countries and territories when the season began, and the Bucks were among only three clubs in the league without at least one. The others were the New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards, both of whom will be joining Milwaukee at Sunday's raffle.

"You always try to get the best player who can help you, and these guys have proven they not only belong, but they can excel," said Bucks GM Ernie Grunfeld, who recently attended the European Final Four.

"Foreign players are very skilled. They shoot the ball well, and they have good size. Most of them pass the basketball well, and they handle it well."

No question passing the basketball well is a skill foreign to the Bucks' experience, but they should be willing to cope with the unusual. They do have Sam Cassell, after all.