NBA commences lockout of its players

It's migration time..


NEW YORK -- The National Basketball Association announced that it will commence a lockout of its players, effective at 12:01 am ET on July 1, until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached with the National Basketball Players Association.

"The expiring collective bargaining agreement created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for our teams," said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. "We need a sustainable business model that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship, fairly compensates our players, and provides teams, if well-managed, with an opportunity to be profitable."

"We have made several proposals to the union, including a deal targeting $2 billion annually as the players' share -- an average of approximately $5 million per player that could increase along with league revenue growth," said Silver. "Elements of our proposal would also better align players' pay with performance."


"We will continue to make every effort to reach a new agreement that is fair and in the best interests of our teams, our players, our fans, and our game."

During the lockout, players will not receive their salaries; teams will not negotiate, sign or trade player contracts; players will not be able to use team facilities for any purpose; and teams will not conduct or facilitate any summer camps, exhibitions, practices, workouts, coaching sessions, or team meetings.


source : nba.com

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Maccabi renewed with Schortsanitis for 2 more seasons

Sofoklis Schortsanitis Extends Contract with Maccabi


Schortsanitis, who was one of the top players for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv last season and who was named to the All-Euroleague First Team, has extended his contract with the team for the coming season, with an option for 2012 – 2013.


The management of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv is pleased to announce that, following a meeting with Sofoklis Schortsanitis’ representative, an agreement was reached wherein the center will remain with the team for the coming season (2011 – 2012). The agreement includes an option for the 2012 – 2013 season, as well.



source : maccabi.co.il

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Picks of the day

Some interesting transfers.


Braunsweig added Serbian power forward Branko Jorovic who played for Kavala BC in Greece last season and averaged 13.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 27 games in the Greek A1 league.

Villeurbanne also added another player, center Hilton Armstrong(2.08-C) who had little playing time in the NBA last season playing for the Hawks and Wizards but getting very limited playing time. Another personal choice of Tony Parker for his hobby team.

Alba pinched the MVP of the BBL from Frankfurt and announced the signing of DaShaun Wood(1.85-PG) for the next 2 seasons. Wood followed head coach Gordon Herbert from Frankfurt. Wood averaged 19 points 4.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 42 games in the BBL.

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Bourossis and Olympiacos parted ways

As expected..


This is all over the Greek media but I'll use redplanet.gr as a reference as they are affiliated with Olympiacos and the general consensus is that Giannis Bouroussis is a player of Olympiacos no longer. He'll most likely continue his career outside Greece as Panathinaikos is very unlikely to sign him and no other Greek team can afford him.

It's not clear whether Bouroussis will claim the 200,000 euros compensation from Olympiacos or not but there are bound to be some announcements tomorrow that will shed some light to the situation. Bouroussis now becomes a free agent but it's uncertain which team will want to risk signing him after his alleged involvement with forbidden substances.

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Villeurbanne announced Jamie Skeen

Tony Parker recommended him..


ASVEL Villeurbanne announced the signing of power forward Jamie Skeen(2.05-PF) via their official website. He signed a contract until the end of next season and this will be his first pro contract in Europe. Skeen was the revelation of the March Madness in the NCAA helping Virginia Commonwealth University to the final four. Skeen was a transfer from Wake Forest but he shone as a player of Virginia Commonwealth in his final season.

Although he plays as power forward he is a very good 3-point shooter and had a great season averaging 15.7 points 7.3 rebounds and 1 blocks in a total of 39 games last season with the Rams.

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CSKA announced Darjus Lavrinovic

Forward Darjus Lavrinovic (31 years, 212 cm) has become our team’s new player. Lithuanian signed 1+1 contract.


One of famous twin brothers played outside the former USSR for two seasons only, taking stints in Real Madrid (2009-10) and Fenerbahce Ulker (2010-11). Before that he played in Lithuania (Alita – 1996-2003, Zalgiris – 2003-06) and Russia (UNICS – 2006-08, Dynamo – 2008-09). His collection includes Lithuanian League titles (2003-05) and Turkish League gold (2011), All-Euroleague Second Team election (2006) and 2007 Eurobasket bronze. His averages in 2010-11 Euroleague season are 8.0 points, 4.4. rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocked shots in 21.7 minutes. His averages in Turkish League are 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocked shots in 19.6 minutes.

Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
We were looking for the player who can play on two positions – 5 and 4. It’s good to have Khryapa and Vorontsevich at 4, but we experienced some problems defending against power forwards who are good in post-up play, for example, Loncar. We also had problems when we had one center left. Surely, we hope that newly signed Krstic will be ok. But you have to had reserve in the case of illness or injury. That’s why we needed the player who can help on two positions and we are glad to have Darjus Lavrinovic with us.

Darjus Lavrinovic:
I am glad to be in the club with rich history and highest goals. I will try to give all of myself, I will try to prove that I deserve to be a part of CSKA. Surely, I am happy to play under my compatriot Jonas Kazlauskas and alongside Ramunas Siskauskas. I know well the level of organization, and I had no doubts in taking the decision.

source : cskabasket.com

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Fotsis agreed terms with Barcelona

End of an era for Fotsis.


This is confirmed by prasinanea.gr, a website affiliated with Panathinaikos and it confirms that was rumored some time ago. Antonis Fotsis(2.09-PF) will be playing for Barcelona next season. The news spread like wildfire in the Greek media and it seems that Barcelona increased their offer their last few days, especially after the recent developments.

Fotsis will be replacing Terrence Morris(2.07-PF) and their offer comes to 1.3 million euros per season for the Greek power forward. Fotsis was making 1.6 million euros previously at Panathinaikos but it was certain that if he had signed another contract with them it would have been much lower.  He averaged 8.4 points and 5.1 rebound in 22 games in the Euroleague. If all goes well he will be travelling to Barcelona on Friday to sign his new contract with the Spanish champions.

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CSKA made an offer to Milos Teodosic

CSKA back on the money spending spree!


According to basketnet.gr, CSKA made an offer to Milos Teodosic of 2.5 million euros per season for 2 seasons for a total of 5 million euros. They're also offering to pay the buy-out of 1.3 million euros to Olympiacos to snatch the player. This comes as no surprise after the decision of the owners of Olympiacos to step down and leave the team to it's own devices.

1.3 million euros could easily fund 2 other teams in the A1 Greek league but what it might have seemed as peanuts for Olympiacos 2 years ago now it might be one of the building blocks of the roster they will present next season. There is nothing new as to what Olympiacos are going to decide but if the amount of 2.5 million euros per season is true they will have to match the offer if they want to keep the player. The irony is that this is a type of contract that they fashioned in the style of NBA contracts. This is hot news for Russian and Greek fans alike and there is definitely more to follow..Spanoulis is also back on the market and he will sell his hide dearly.

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Villeurbanne interested in Pat Calathes

Many teams will be interested this summer.


He is the not so well known brother of Euroleague champion Nick Calathes but this summer he will become well known too. We're talking about Pat Calathes (2.09-SF/PF) who has been playing for the last 3 seasons in Greece using his dual nationality and thus not occupying the slot of a foreign player. Calathes finally had his breakout season after 2 sour seasons in Maroussi where he struggled to get playing time in the overflowing SF position.

In Kolossos he was the go to man and the MVP of the team leading them safely past the relegation zone and into the play-offs once more. He averaged 14.3 points 8.1 rebounds 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 28 games in the A1 league. Now eurobasket.com says that Villeurbanne are interested in signing the talented Greek-American forward and next year he might be a France resident.

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CSKA announced Evgeny Voronov

Evgeny Voronov has become a CSKA player


Guard Evgeny Voronov (25 years, 194 cm) signed 1+1 contract with our club today. The Russian National Team player spent the previous season in Dynamo Moscow.

Voronov’s career went through its longest stint in Lokomotiv (2002-06). After that the guard played for Dynamo St. Petersburg (2006-07), CSK VVS Samara (2007-08), UNICS (2008-09), Krasnye Krylia (2009-10) and Dynamo Moscow (2010-11). He won the U20 European Championship in 2005 and made his debut for the Russian National Team during the World Championship last year. Voronov averaged 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists in 29.8 minutes last season.

Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
To create the team’s chemistry we need not only the leaders and their backups but deep reserves also. They should create competition, work on practices, improve and be ready to step up maintaining the team picture. I think Voronov is exactly this kind of player. He is young enough, determined to improve, defends well, aggressive and ready to work hard. Evgeny started to play for the National Team recently, showed the good level of play, had good season last year. We will observe his improvement and possibly he will become a CSKA leader one day.


Evgeny Voronov:
When Andrey Vatutin told me about CSKA’s interest I did not believe at once. When the best club in the country is interested, when its managers and coaches are interested, it feels great. I am happy, full of emotions. I am ready to face the critics who will question my decision because of the decrease of playing time. But I still think that you can have a chance like this only once in a lifetime. I’d like to test myself on top-level, to prove the coaches and fans that there were no mistake in choosing me. I understand that CSKA is a winner-team; that the goals are high and the result depends on collective work not the efforts of one individual.

source : cskabasket.com

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Siena announced David Andersen for 3 seasons

A great addition for Siena.


Mens Sana Basket announces that they have reached an agreement with David Andersen, who signed a contract that links him to the green-and-white club for the next three seasons. The Australian center with a Danish passport was born in Carlton, Australia on June 23, 1980 and is 212 cm tall.

Recruited at a young age by the Australian Institute of Sports, he’s part of the Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20 regional teams for the state of Victoria in the mid 90’s.

His debut in Australia’s NBL (Australia’s highest league) comes in the 1998/1999 championship with the Wollongong Hawks and good performances earn David Andersen interest from NBA scouts as well as from some European clubs.

In the summer of 1999, he signs with Virtus Bologna. During his four years there, rich in prestigious wins (Euroleague, national title and Coppa Italia in 2001, the latter repeated in 2002), Andersen receives a call from the Atlanta Hawks, who add him to the 2002 draft at number 37. However, he doesn’t go to the NBA and remains with Virtus Bologna for another season. The following summer, Andersen gets signed by Mens Sana Basket, with whom he wins the 2003/2004 national title and plays Euroleague’s Final Four in Tel Aviv. Such an extraordinary end to the season makes him quite appetizing to the European market, and he switches to CSKA Moscow the summer of 2004. His adventure in Russia lasts four seasons, during which he affirms himself as one of the old continent’s best centers and contributes to his team’s Euroleague wins the 2005/06 and 2007/08 seasons, as well as to several other national titles. The summer of 2008, he’s signed by Barcelona, where he plays only one season before beginning the following season in Houston, where he remains one year. He then heads to Toronto for a few months at the start of 2010/11, then moves to the New Orleans Hornets in November, his least team before returning to Siena.

source : menssanabasket.it


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Batzokas has offer from Budivelnik

He's still bound though..


Giorgos Bartzokas, head coach of Panionios, has an offer from Ukrainian club Budivelnik. The offer is quite good but it would be the first time outside Greece for Bartzokas should he choose to accept it. He is still bound under contract with Panionios at the moment but it's unclear what the terms on the contracts are.

Bartzokas will have a meeting with the president of Panionios,Ilias Lianos, for starters, in order to discuss whether he would remain in Panionios or if he will accept the offer from Budivelnik. But there might be more offers on the table in the next few days..

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End of an era for Olympiacos, the owners are leaving

I bet you weren't expecting that for a Monday afternoon..


The Aggelopouloi brothers announced their departure from Olympiacos via the official website of the team. This might come as a shock to some people but they've hinted on numerous occasions that they're thinking about leaving Olympiacos. This might seem like really bad timing now that in Panathinaikos they're looking for new owners.

They base their decision on a shadowy system that fights them behind the scenes and doesn't let them win the Greek league by controlling the referees. Obviously they bring no evidence to this argument but their departure is nonetheless final. This also seems like a strange timing especially now that the Greek sports betting scandal has erupted in full force so perhaps they're leaving before the shit hits the fan? Who knows..

And what of Olympiacos now and all the overpriced contracts..? the next weeks are going to be quite interesting!

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CSKA announced Giannis Sferopoulos

Giannis Sferopoulos who coached Kolossos Rhodes for three seasons is named CSKA assistant coach. The specialist with experience of work together with Jonas Kazlauskas signed 1+1 contract.


Sferopoulos’ career started in 1986, when he came to Apollon Kalamarias playing in lower Greek divisions. He stepped onto the next level in 1997 when he became the assistant coach in PAOK. He spent 8 years in Thessaloniki and worked as a head coach in part of 2000-01 season. Sferopoulos worked as an assistant coach in Olympiakos from 2005 to 2008. He helped the National Team coaches Giannis Ioannidis, Panagiotis Giannakis and Jonas Kazlauskas in 2001-04 and 2009-10. Worked as a head coach in Kolossos Rhodes from 2008 to 2011. His resume includes 2009 Eurobasket bronze, Greek Cup (1999), five Greek League finals (1998, 2000, 2006-08). Kolossos qualified for Greek League playoffs for the first time ever under Sferopoulos.

Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
I worked with Giannis for 4 seasons together and I don’t have to explain my system, my ideas to him. I don’t have to teach him the principles of defense and offense. He is very demanding in practicing process and I like it, he can substitute me if it’s needed, he is very active, tries to get maximum out of the team. Giannis is great in studying the opponents, he can coordinate the work on this process. And the main thing is that I trust him and he trusts me. I think we will have good link. I can add that he is an experienced coach, he worked with me in Olympiakos and Greek National Team and he beat many club’s records during his three-year stint with Rhodes.

Giannis Sferopoulos, CSKA assistant coach:
I am happy and honored to be a part of CSKA team. This is a big club with glorious history which always stayed on top of European basketball. I would like to thank all CSKA organization, President Vatutin, coach Kazlauskas, who gave me a chance to help the great club to succeed. I promise to do all I can to reach the team’s goals. I know coach Kazlauskas from 2005 when we started to work together in Olympiakos. With relatively small budget we were step away from qualifying for the Euroleague Final Four and played in Greek League finals. Then we worked with the National Team winning the Eurobasket bronze in Poland. I consider Kazlauskas one of the best specialists, the person who influenced on my career. We understand each other very well and I think we will help CSKA together.

source : cskabasket.com

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Ben Hansbrough to play for Bayern

One long night of uncertainty last week was enough for former Notre Dame guard and 2011 Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough.


Hansbrough, who was not selected Thursday in the NBA draft, received offers from “several” teams to join them when - maybe if - training camp begins this fall. Rather than wait out the NBA lockout, which will start Friday and could cut deep into the regular season, Hansbrough knew it was time to make a decision about his basketball future, and even take it in a different direction.

Hansbrough’s professional career will commence in Germany, where he will play for FC Bayern Muenchen, a Bundesliga 1 (high level) team in Munich. Bayern, which featured former Georgetown guard Jonathan Wallace, was 17-13 last year in a 30-game season that stretched from late September to late April.

Hansbrough, who led the Irish (27-7) in scoring (18.4 ppg.) and assists (4.3) last winter, leaves for Europe in mid-August.

source : southbendtribune.com


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Spartak made an offer to Mavrokefalides

Twice what he makes now..


According to sport24.gr, Spartak St. Petersburg made an offer to Greek forward/center Lukas Mavrokefalides(2.05-PF/C). The offer to Mavrokefalides is of the order of 1 million euros per season and he will have a starting five position in the team as well. Mavrokefalides' soft touch around the basket and his basketball IQ are favored by the newly appointed head coach of Spartak, Jure Zdovc and also his assistant Stefanos Dedas who was an assistant in Paok when Mavrokefalides played there.

He is the only player that reduced his salary from 650,000 euros to 550,000 euros when the owners of Olympiacos asked the players to do so. This might win him some points with them but then again the offer from Spartak is worth twice as much. The article says that he wants to stay in Olympiacos as his first choice but then again 1 million euros is a lot of money, especially these days. Mavrokefalides averaged 8.4 points and 4 rebounds in 18 games in the Euroleague and also 9.8 points and 4 rebounds in 33 games in the A1 league.

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Raznatovic gave Olympiacos a deadline to pay up

Show me the money!


According to basketnet.gr, the players of Olympiacos have still 4.5 instalments of their contracts to receive. As you can understand this is quite a hefty amount of money for the high earners like Vassilis Spanoulis and they're not very happy about it. It's also rumored that the owners of Olympiacos offered 50% of that amount to settle the debt because they don't feel that their players tried hard enough to beat their arch-rivals.

Spanoulis' agent, Misko Raznatovic however warned the owners of Olympiacos that if they don't pay he put Spanoulis back on the market and it's very likely that another team will grab the opportunity and sign him with a salary similar to what he has now.

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Papadopoulos out, Vyaltsev in for Khimki

Out with the old, in with the new.


Greek center Lazaros Papadopoulos won't play in BC Khimki next season. The contract with Lazaros was signed up to the end of the 2010/2011 season. Now the agreement has been expired and new negotiations about the continuation of cooperation are not conducting. BC Khimki thanks Lazaros and wishes him all the best in his future career!

source : bckhimki.ru


BC Khimki signed a two-year contract with Egor Vyaltsev, a shooting guard.

General Manager of our club Victor Bychkov has commented upon the first off-season transfer.
Victor Bychkov, BC Khimki General Manager:

— Egor is a very interesting player with a good throw and good spurt, playing well as in defense as in attack. Vyaltsev was one of the most talented juniors in our country and now he is at his best playing age. We believe in BC Khimki he will be able to realize his talent and help the club achieve new success.

ABOUT THE PLAYER


EGOR VYALTSEV


Birthday – 15 October 1985.
Position – shooting guard.
Height – 193 cm.
Weight – 88 kg.
Entry to club since 2011


Sports career


Teams played:
2001-2002 – Pulkovo (Saint Petersburg, Russia),
2002-2003 – CSKA-2 (Moscow, Russia),
2003-2004 – CSKA (Moscow, Russia),
2004-2005 – CSK-VVS (Samara, Russia), Ural-Great (Perm, Russia) (on loan),
2005-2007 – Ural-Great (Perm, Russia),
2007-2011 – Triumph (Lyubertsy, Moscow Region, Russia),
Since 2011 – BC Khimki


Achievements:
2004 – Russian champion,
2005 – European Youth championship winner,
2008 – EuroChallenge FIBA Europe bronze medalist,
2011 — BEKO PBL All-Star Game participant


2009 – Russian national team player
2009 – European championship in Poland participant

source : bckhimki.ru

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CSKA and Sani Becirovic part ways

Our club did not use the contract option to leave guard Sani Becirovic on team’s roster for one more season.


CSKA appreciates Sani’s help in the end of the season and wishes him all the best in future.

Though he barely played in the VTB League Final Four (7 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist), Becirovic was one of our team’s key reserves in BEKO PBL, where he played 17 games, averaging 5.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.4 steals in 13.3 minutes.

Andrey Vatutin, CSKA President:
Sani took a difficult decision in March to change the club in the course of the season. We appreciate his professionalism, hard work, the desire to be an integral part of our team. He helped CSKA a lot in the end of the season, he starred in several games and lessened the load on our veteran leaders. His charisma, open character, sense of humor added a lot of positive energy into our team chemistry in difficult days for all of us. We’d like to thank Sani for his work which helped us to win just another championship title and we wish him all the best in his future career.


Sani Becirovic:
Surely, I hoped that I will be needed by CSKA in future. I think I was able to help the team as much as I could; I gave all of myself on the court. I am sorry that I did not have another chance to show myself but that’s life. In my opinion, I had good experience, and I leave CSKA with warm feelings towards the great team and organization, and I wish all the best to CSKA in future!

souce : cskabasket.com

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Bouroussis implicated in doping scandal, Olympiacos to release him

Mr Makis, just so you know I've ran out of the medicine!

What follows is my best attempt at a translation. It's a translation of the original transcript of a conversation that  was held between Giannis Bouroussis(2.10-C) of Olympiacos and former president of Kavala FC, Makis Psomiadis. The latter was arrested recently during the unfolding of the biggest Greek sports betting scandal so far. Let's note here that Bouroussis is engaged to Psomiadis' daughter, which explains the familiarity between them. It was published by gazzetta.gr and goes as follows:

Bouroussis : Good morning mr Makis, how are you?

Psomiadis : Good morning, congratulations to you my boy, know what I mean?

Bouroussis : Thank you very much.

Psomiadis : My guys have the same thing as you, they can't sleep.

Bouroussis : Yes mr Makis, well, I haven't slept at all.

Psomiadis : The same thing happens to others and my guys as well. They can't sleep.

Bouroussis : Does it happen that much mr Makis?

Psomiadis : The more they play, the more it happens. Let me tell you, yesterday they were watching, we were watching it with mr Mantzourakis, the general manager, at the Sofitel hotel. Do you know what they all said? "the only guy that plays with a heart is Bouroussis and he is prepared to kick their asses!". They didn't know anything though..(laughing)

Bouroussis : Oh.. so they don't know, they have..(indistiguishable)..(laughing)

Psomiadis : Everyone else was lagging a move behind you, know what I mean? Both from Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. Just so you know, you were playing once.. no.. twice as hard as them. During a moment there you slammed that dunk, it was at the last 2 minutes, the Aggelopouloi brothers jumped up and cheered; they were live on TV.

Bouroussis : The idiots(Aggelopouloi) came down to talk to me but I just played dumb and I left. Mr Makis, just so you know I've ran out of the medicine!

Psomiadis : Don't worry son, I'll get ya some. When do you need some more?

Bouroussis : Eh.. I need some for the finals.

Psomiadis : When about is it my boy?

Bouroussis : Mid May.

Psomiadis : It's alright son, don't get all crazy. I'll have it ready for you, know what I mean?Alright, you'll have some by then my boy.

Bouroussis : Alright mr Makis. Are you off to Kavala or are we going to see you before that?

Psomiadis : Nah, I'll come over in the evening and over to you guys and I won't go to the stadium. I won't make 'em the honour, those scumbags. The day after tomorrow I'm probably going back to Kavala for 1-2 days, to go and pay 'em, know what I mean?

Bouroussis : Alright then, we'll talk again.

Psomiadis : Okay my boy, congratulations my lad!

Obviously as you can understand Giannis Bouroussis(former heartthrob, NBA prospect and pillar of Olympiacos among other things) is between the rock and the hard place and his future in Olympiacos looks ominous to say the least. There is an exit clause for Olympiacos in Bouroussis' contract that allows the team to break the contract by paying him 200,000 euros. One might say this is very acceptable collateral damage for Olympiacos.

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Unics Kazan announced Savrasenko

Another big man for the champs.



Eurocup title holder and Euroleague newbie, Unics Kazan, announced via their official website the signing of Russian-Greek Center Alexey Savrasenko(2.15-C). Savrasenko comes from Russian club Khimki and brings with him lots of experience.

He has played for Olympiacos, CSKA, Peristeri, Dynamo, Spartak and now Unics Kazan. He averaged last season 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16 games in the Euroleague, 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12 games in the VTB league.

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Eidson to Barcelona for 3 seasons

FC Barcelona and American guard Chuck Eidson have reached an agreement for the next two seasons. The former Maccabi Tel Aviv player is the first signing of the 2011/12 season.



Chuck Eidson comes to Barça as one of the most powerful outside forwards in Europe. Coming from Maccabi, the American offers great versatility and vision, following his brilliant performances in the Euroleague.

Extensive experience in Europe 

Born in Summerville (United States) 30 years ago, Chuck Eidson was educated as a team player at the University of South Carolina. The U.S. player, 2.02m tall, has solid experience in European basketball. After first playing in Germany, in Giessen (2004-06), and France, in Strasbourg (2006-07), Eidson began to shine for the Lithuanian team Lietuvos Rytas, where he played for 2 seasons. Maccabi Tel Aviv signed him in the summer of 2009 and there he became one of the key players over the last two seasons.

Multipurpose

 Eidson can play as either a 3 or a 4, he’s one of Europe's most powerful outside players. Intelligent, strong defensively, good rebound player, and good passer of the ball, he has the capacity to score from anywhere and has the character of a leader, and great vision.

Great season in the Euroleague

This season, with Maccabi, Eidson had an average of 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 ball recoveries in the Euroleague. He was also one of the leading players in the Final Four and became Real Madrid’s nemesis in the semifinals, where he played his best game this season, with +33 valuation (19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 ball recoveries, 2 assists, and a tap).

source : fcbarcelona.cat


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CSKA announced Krstic and Mejia

2 new signings from CSKA.


Center Nenad Krstic (27 years, 212 cm) signed the contract with our club until the end of 2012-13 season. Serbian National Team captain joined CSKA after almost 7 years in NBA.

Krstic started his pro career in Partizan Belgrade earning the first round draft choice in 2002. He went overseas in 2004 and played for New Jersey for 4 seasons. Nenad started 2008-09 season in Triumph Lyubertsy, but his tint in Russia came to end in December, when he got back to America. Krstic played for Oklahoma-City until the February 2011 and was traded to Boston.

Krstic averages in NBA: 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds in 25.2 minutes in 419 regular championship games, 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds in 25.2 minutes in playoff games.

Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
Nenad is a veteran player with the experience of European and American basketball. I used to meet him in the National Team games last years, I know him well for his play in Eurobaskets and World Championship. We need his experience, his strength under the basket, we need a center who can score from the distance not only from the paint. Krstic is exactly that kind of player.

Guard/forward Sammy Mejia (28 years, 197 cm) joined our team today. Dominican-American player signed 2-year contract with CSKA.

Mejia’s career has started from modest DePaul University, second round draft choice, NBDL and small European clubs. New York native was improving year-by-year statistically. Two seasons in Cholet made everyone serious about Sammy. He won the French League in his first year qualifying for the Euroleague. On second year he earned the Euroleague Game 5 MVP award and was named Foreign MVP in France.

Mejia’s averages for the last season: Euroleague – 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals in 32.4 minutes in 10 games, French regular championship – 18.0 points, 5.1 points, 4.0 assists, 1.0 

33.2 minutes in 30 games, French playoffs – 18.0 points, 5.4 points, 1.8 assists, 0.8 перехвата за 32.6 minutes в 5 games.

Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:

Mejia plays 2 and 3 positions, he is good on pick-n-roll’s, able to find the teammates, knows how to score. We needed one more player who can attack the basket himself, who can link the partners. Mejia was a best foreign player in France, and that means a lot. You know that Lietuvos Rytas signed Eidson from France one day, and many people questioned that decision. But life proved them wrong. We hope that Sammy will show himself in a big club, that he will remain as valuable and good as he was in Cholet.

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Malcolm Delaney will play for Chalon

Tracking the whereabouts of former Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney has been a chore in recent weeks, as he’s traveled around the country for pre-draft workouts with nine NBA teams — including the Washington Wizards.


His journey came to an end Tuesday, when the Memphis Grizzlies welcomed the Baltimore native for a private evaluation. Yet there are no assurances the two-time all-ACC first-team selection will hear his name called during Thursday’s NBA draft.

Many draft experts are predicting he’ll go undrafted, a significant distinction with the potential of a prolonged NBA lockout looming.

So last week, Delaney took an unusual step towards eliminating some of that anxiety. He signed a conditional one-year contract with Elan Chalon, a team in France’s top professional league, Ligue Nationale de Basketball, based about 200 miles southeast of Paris.

Chalon General Manager Remy Delpon wrote in an e-mail that the agreement is worth $130,000 after taxes and stipulates Delaney will report to the team’s training camp in early August if he’s not on an NBA roster by July 20.

“It’s a back-up plan, and with people saying the lockout is going to be bad, I didn’t want to sit around and not make money,” Delaney said. “This is a big week, but I’m not as stressed as I would have been because I know I have something to fall back on either way.”

Though Delaney had explored playing overseas ever since declaring for the NBA draft without an agent last year, the tipping point for Delaney’s conditional contract came in April when the NBA decided to cancel its annual summer league in Las Vegas. It’s traditionally a proving ground for fringe prospects, but also serves as a key recruiting period for European teams looking for talent.

Now, July will likely be a dead period for undrafted free agents — and even those that are drafted — because once the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30, no teams will know for sure what the salary cap or rookie wage scale will look like for next season.

“It’s a fairly common maneuver by agents, and you’re gonna start to hear about a lot of [conditional contracts] once the lockout starts to take hold,” said Delaney’s agent, Andrew Vye of ASM Sports. “We just moved a little faster than most, and that was a calculated decision on our part to beat people to the punch. We were lucky enough to get a really good team to cooperate with us a little earlier than they normally do.”

source : washingtonpost.com

editor's note : If you read the entire article you'll agree that Chalon is not part of the the Euroleague.

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Lokomotiv Kuban to make offer to Markopoulos

Will he take it though..


According to basketnet.gr, Lokomotiv Kuban are interested in signing Greek head coach Soulis Markopoulos. The Greek veteran of the benches has attracted the Russian team's interest with his ability to get his teams to quaalify for the Euroleague as he did with Maroussi and Paok. In Paok's case he managed to do it with measly players' budget that barely exceeded 600,000 euros.

The offer is going to be big and it will be probably the only chance Soulis Markopoulos will get to handle a budget of the size of Lokomotiv. They finished 4th in the Russian Superleague this season but the actual location of the team begs the question.. will he be willing to travel so far out of Greece at his age? If the money is right perhaps he will. It remains to be seen what happens next.

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Jomantas renewed with Lietuvos Rytas

6th season in a row.


Last renewal comes from Lietuvos Ryvas that signed a new contract with Lithuanian small forward Arturas Jomantas(1.99-SF) for another season with the option to renew for one more season. The deal was announced via the team's official site. This will be 6th season for Jomantas that has been with the team since 2006. This season he averaged 5.3 points 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 32 games in the Lithuanian LKL league.

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Azovmash added Radoslav Rancik

Time for a change of climate.. quite literally.

Azovmash pinched from Turkish finalists Slovakian veteran Radoslav Rancik(2.06-PF/C) and they announced it today via their official website. Rancik averaged 6.5 points 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 34 games in the Turkish league and this will be his first time in the Ukraine.

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Varese renewed Ranniko and Talts

One good renewal, one good last minute addition.


Another renewal was announced by Varese that renewed the contract of Finish point guard Teemu Ranniko(1.89-PG) and also Estonian center Janar Talts(2.06-C). Ranniko averaged 7.5 points 1.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28 games in the Lega A1. Talts who was signed from Tartu Rock for the play-offs averaged 5.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 8 games for Varese.

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Vasquez renewed with Barcelona for one season

he's taking some time off this summer..


Fran Vasquez(2.09-PF/C) dispelled all the rumors about him leaving Barcelona by renewing with them for one more season. The deal was announced today via the team's official site. Vasquez averaged 8.1 points 4.3 rebounds and 1 blocks per game in a total of 20 games in the Euroleague for Barcelona.

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Galatasaray announced Özer and Arslan

Two are better than one.



Cevher Özer signed a two-year contract with Galatasaray. Özden played for Beşiktaş Cola Turka during the 2010-2011 basketball season.

Ender Arslan transferred from Efes Pilsen signed with Galatasaray for three years. Arslan’s basketball career includes the Slovenian club Union Olimpija, the Spanish TAU Ceramica (aka Saski Baskonia) and the Greek Panionios as well.


source : galatasaray.org

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Bobcats' Diaw picks up $9 million option

Charlotte Bobcats forward Boris Diaw has exercised his player option for next season that will pay him $9 million.



Agent Doug Neustadt said Tuesday they informed the Bobcats of the decision earlier this week.
Diaw said after the season that with the potential labor uncertainty this summer, it was a "no-brainer" to pick up the option and avoid becoming a free agent until 2012.

The move comes after owner Michael Jordan criticized Diaw's play in the 2010-11 season. Diaw, who was nearly traded twice last season, could be a potential target to be moved as Jordan seeks to revamp Charlotte's roster.

The 29-year-old Diaw averaged 11.3 point and 5 rebounds last season.

source : usatoday.com


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Zouros to stay with Zalgiris for another season

Greeks are doing better abroad..


Elias Zouros will be the head coach of Zalgiris Kaunas for the next season as it was announced today via the official website of the team. Zouros took up the helm of the team halfway through but still managed to lead the team to the conquest of the Baltic League, the Lithuanian League and Cup.

Not a bad start for Zouros who is expected to make a team that will promote the young talents of Zalgiris according to the words of the owner of the team Vladimir Romanov.

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CSKA renew Siskauskas and Vorontsevich

He will stay with them forever it seems..



Forward Ramunas Siskauskas (32 years, 198 cm) re-signed with our club for two more years. Lithuanian player defends CSKA colors from the start of 2007-08 season.

Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
I know Ramunas very well, starting from my time with Lithuanian National Team. He played against me when I was coaching Zalgiris, then he played for me for three years in Lietuvos Rytas. He is a very good player, he proved that in several clubs during his career. That’s why he signed with CSKA one day. I believe in him. He played great during last month, but unfortunately missed the finals due to injury. I think Ramunas’ experience, respect he has from the teammates, are the factors our team needs. I am sure he will help us to win.

Ramunas Siskauskas:
I am happy to stay. My family and myself like Moscow, we like the team. Surely I am glad to be needed by CSKA. I will do everything I can to support our winning traditions, I still have enough power left. Everyone wants to play for this club – famous, great, ambitious – and I am no exception to that.

Forward Andrey Vorontsevich (23 years, 207 cm) signed new contract with the club until the end of 2013-14 season. Andrey started playing for CSKA in 2006.

Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
Vorontsevich represents the new generation, and the time has come for him. Andrey started the season slowly, and I was waiting for him to show himself, especially when we had players out with the injuries. But the end of the season was good for him. I remember him for the games played for Russian National Team. He also played several good games in this season’s playoffs, demonstrating the level which we liked, he improved his defense, rebounding, he scored. We believe in his future and we hope he will live up to our expectations.


Andrey Vorontsevich:
I could not imagine better way to continue my career. I am happy and proud to be needed by such a classy team, great club. I feel that the coach, management trust me, I know that I can professionally grow alongside strong and experienced teammates and I promise to work hard to meet all the expectations.

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Picks of the day

Busy day today transfer-wise..


The first 3 announcements of sort, come from the Beobasket agency where the motto is, announce them before the press does! First announcement is for Croatian head coach Drazen Anzulovic who didn't make it with Cibona but takes up the helm at Cedevita Zagreb instead.

The other announcement has to do with one of the most underrated big men in Europe, Serbian forward/center Marko Scekic(2.07-PF/C) who will continue his career with the Italian league finalist, Cantu. Scekic was transferred from KK Buducnost for the Italian play-offs and very soon he made a difference for Cantu averaging 12.1 points 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 9 games. Scekic will be an Italy resident for the next 2 seasons.

Croatian center Luksa Andric(2.10-C) will be continuing his career with the Turkish finalist Galatasaray for the next 2 seasons as well. He averaged 9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 42 games in the Turkish league.

In France now, local shooting guard Fabien Causeur(1.93-SG) renewed his contract with Cholet until 2013, that is for another 2 seasons as it was announced today via their official website. The youngster will probably be getting some more playing in the future. This season he averaged 6.9 points 2.9 rebounds 2.4 assists in 14 in the ProA.

Efes Pilsen were quite eager to announce Dusko Savanovic(2.04-PF) but it seems that they haven't paid Valencia the buy-out clause yet. It's not a measley amount too.. it's 1.5 million euros that need to paid to the Spaniards or else they could just as easily block the transfer.

Last but certainly not least Pete Mickeal(1.98-SF) is back with a vengeance, also with a 2-season extension on his contract but we knew that was coming anyway.

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Yotam Halperin returns to Maccabi

Return of the prodigal son..



Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv is happy to announce that Yotam Halperin has signed a contract for the next three seasons. Maccabi head coach David Blatt had this reaction to the agreement: “We’re very happy. We wanted to bring him to the team last season. It was very important to bring him back, and to renew Pnini’s contract, and I’m very pleased we were able to do both of those things. The players that come to us do so because they want to, and their decisions involve making some concessions. We’re talking about one of the top players in Europe, a player that I and everyone else in the Maccabi system wanted on the team.”

Halperin (27, 1.96) played in the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth league, where he won both the state cup and the championship twice. In October of 2001, when he was only 17 years old, Halperin made his first appearance with the Maccabi Tel Aviv professional team. Four years later he was signed by Union Olimpija Ljubljana, where he also won both cup and championship. That summer, Halperin tried his luck with the N.B.A. draft, where he was chosen in the second round at number 53 by the Seattle Supersonics and was not guaranteed a contract.


Halperin returned to Maccabi for two seasons starting in 2007. In the 2007 – 2008 season he led the team to the final game of the Euroleague Final Four. He finished that season with averages of 10.2 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds per game. In 2008 he signed with Greek powerhouse Olympiacos for two seasons. With them he reached the final game of the Final Four in 2009, and won the Greek Cup the following season, when he helped his team defeat arch-rival Panathinaikos.

Halperin finished his second season with Olympiacos with averages of 8.2 points (45.2% shooting from three-point range) and 1.9 assists in the Greek league, and 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in the Euroleague. To date, Halperin has won 5 Israeli championships, 2 European cups, 4 Israeli cups, one Slovenian championship, one Slovenian cup and two Greek cups.


source : maccabi.co.il



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Olympiacos interested in Vangelis Mantzaris?

A strategic move..


According to basketnet.gr, Dusan Ivkovic has asked for information regarding Vangelis Mantzaris(1.95-PG), one of the best point-guards of his age group. Mantzaris had his break-out season with Peristeri where he was trusted the helm of the team and he didn't do bad at all. He averaged 8.6 points 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 28 games in the Greek A1 league.

This could be regarded as a future investment for Olympiacos or even a strategic move, as in collecting all the young players with potential from the market. Mantzaris has been implicated in rumors with Panathinaikos as well so it could be a wise move cutting off the main rival's supply line. Mantzaris is now a free agent so it will be interesting to see where will he end up.

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Chuck Eidson waiting for an offer from Panathinaikos

Highest bidder wins?


According to allstarkourouna.blogspot.com, Chuck Eidson(2.02-SG/SF) is waiting for an offer from Panathinaikos before he makes up his mind. It seems that Eidson has offer from quite a few teams including Unics Kazan that offered him 4.5 million euros for 3 seasons and Barcelona who offered close to 3 million euros for 2 seasons.

But it seems that Eidson is waiting to see if Panathinaikos will be making him an offer as Eidson is on the top of the list of players that Obradovic wants to sign. This is all well and good however the situation is still uncertain in Panathinaikos and should the owners of the team leave noone knows who's going to pay for the current contracts, let alone signing another expensive player like Eidson. There is also another factor here according to the article and that is the player's wife, who'd rather move to a warmer climate instead of the mountains of Kazan..

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Maccabi announced John Scheyer for 2 seasons

Another one for Maccabi.


Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv is proud to announce that it has signed Jewish-American guard Jon Scheyer (23, 1.96) to a two-year contract.

Scheyer, an intelligent, talented and competitive player, was born in Illinois. As a stand-out high school player, Scheyer led the Glenbrook North Spartans to an Illinois High School Association Class AA championship. In his senior year, Scheyer once scored 21 points in the final 75 seconds of a game, earning national recognition for what was called at the time one of the best high school performances ever. In his final year of high school Scheyer averaged 32 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals per game. In addition to his nickname, the “Jewish Jordan,” Scheyer earned the title of Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2006.


source : maccabi.co.il



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Gist and Bogdanovic to sign with Fenerbahce

Another double whammy!


James Gist(2.06-PF/C) and Bojan Bogdanovic(2.00-SG/SF) will be the 2 new additions of Turkish champions Fenerbahce according to milliyet.com. Gist comes from a good season at Partizan Belgrade where he won the Adriatic League and also the Serbian League averaging 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in 14 games in the Euroleague and also 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 23 games in the Adriatic League.

Bojan Bogdanovic has had his last season with Cibona and now he's got the transfer he wanted to a wealthier and more powerful club. He is also a member of the Croatian National Team. He averaged 18 points and 3.5 rebounds in 10 games in the Euroleague and also 18.9 points 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24 games in the Adriatic League.

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Sašo Filipovski to coach Union Olimpija

Sašo Filipovski returns home!


Union Olimpija Ljubljana agreed terms with Slovenian head coach Sašo Filipovski. Filipovski already spent more then a decade in Slovenia's only Euroleague team as an assistant coach and as youngest Euroleague head coach during 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons. Filipovski signed a 3-year deal with Union Olimpija Ljubljana.

Sašo Filipovski, Head Coach of Union Olimpija: "I am extremely happy to return to the club where I already worked for ten years. I have great memories and I am already excited about the work and new challenges which come with new responsibility in Union Olimpija. In my opinion, it is good that we signed a 3 years contract because I think we can do great things in this period of time. I would like to thank everyone for the trust they are showing me and the responsibility they gave me. Right now, I am still in Italy but I am returning to Slovenia on Monday and I will immediately start working."

source : union.olimpija.com


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Maccabi Tel Aviv interested in Giorgi Shermadini

This just came in..


According to sources of the Hoop from Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv are in talks with Panathinaikos regarding Georgian center Giorgi Shermadini(2.16-C)

Shermadini had a great season with Union Olimpija Ljubljana (on a loan agreement from Panathinaikos) as he was 2010-11 All-Euroleague Honorable Mention averaging 7.4ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.1bpg, 3rd in field goal percentage (71.4%), with a free throw percentage of 84.8%, all that in the Euroleague.

He was 1st in field goals in the Slovenian League (68.55%), 2nd in the Adriatic League (72.1%) and 3rd in the Euroleague (71.4%). He is also a central member of the Georgian National Team and led the Euroleague Top 16 in blocks with 2.2 blocks per game.


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