Semih Erden will have a lot on his mind when he plays for Turkey at the FIBA World Championship this summer.

The 24-year-old Fenerbahce Ulker star who shone for his national team at last year's EuroBasket in Poland looks set to become the latest Turk to play in the NBA.

Erden was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round a couple of years ago and is now in Bean Town, where general manager Danny Ainge has given a glowing assessment of the seven-footer in the Boston Herald.

"Semih is a very aggressive seven-foot kid that has good pro experience," Ainge said.

"He's played well the last couple of years for Fenerbahce. They were the Turkish national champions this year. He'll play a significant role for the Turkish national team this year in the world championships in Istanbul."

Turkish players have a good track record in the NBA.

Mehmet Okur and Hedo Turkoglu are established pros in North America.

Though Ersan Ilyasova wasn't an immediate hit with Milwaukee in his first spell with the Bucks, he was this season.

Ilyasova, having spent the previous two seasons with Barcelona, went back to the Bucks after EuroBasket 2009 and was one of their most important players as they reached the play-offs.

Boston fans won't know about Erden until he plays his first game.

Even then, there could be a long period of adjustment, as there was for Luis Scola in Houston when he left Caja Laboral for the Rockets.

"We watched him play this year," Ainge said of Erden, "and the game over there is so different than ours, so there will be an adjustment.

"It's just a slower game. They don't have the athletes over there that you do over here, so it's always unpredictable to know how it translates with different players. But we like his aggressiveness. We like his size, his intensity."

Erden has had the good fortune to play for Bogdan Tanjevic with Turkey's national team and at Fenerbahce.

He has improved since Boston drafted him.

"I think he's just more experienced," Ainge said.

"He's developed. He's gotten a chance to play. He's put on some weight. But more than anything, he's got some really good pro experience.

"We're just hoping he's a player that we can develop into a contributing player."

Erden's likely move to the NBA is going to add to the soaring expectations for Turkey's national team this summer.

As the host nation, Turkey will play all of their Preliminary Round games in Ankara. They are in Group C with Greece, the Ivory Coast, Puerto Rico, Russia and China.