Udrih out, Scepanovic in for Panellinios

Samo Udrih asked to leave the team and this time they let him.


Today's game was the last game of Samo Udrih(1.95-PG/SG) as a player of Panellinios. The Slovenian combo-guard will probably be playing for Olimpija Lubljana that made him an offer after the end of the regular season of the Euroleague. Coach Skourtopoulos didn't want to let him leave but Udrih didn't take it very well. Now Udrih is the 3rd player to leave the team of his own volition.

Montenegrin veteran Vlado Scepanovic(1.98-SG) will be the replacement of Udrih and the deal is 99% done according to coach Skourtopoulos. Udrih is leaving Panellinios after averaging 10.6 points 1.5 rebounds and 2 assists in 13 games in the A1 league. Scepanovic played in Murcia last season averaging 7.7 points 1.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 30 games in the ACB.

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Buducnost signed youngster Vladimir Mihailovic

Buducnost m:tel locked up a locally grown talent on Thursday when it signed Vladimir Mihailovic to a three-year deal.


Mihailovic (194, 20) arrives from Mornar, for whom he averaged 8.7 points in 12 Balkan League games last season. He was good for 10 points per game in the Montenegrin League. Mihailovic enjoyed a starring role on the Montenegrin national team last month at the European Under-20 Championships, helping his team place sixth. He was fifth in the tournament in scoring with 16.9 points in addition to 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Following his performances there, Montenegrin head coach Dusko Vujosevic selected Mihailovic to join the Montenegrin senior team for EuroBasket 2011 qualifying.

source : euroleague.net

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Nielsen and Cook candidates for Olympiakos?

2 former players of the ACB are being considered.


According to gazzetta.gr, Matt Nielsen(2.08-PF/C) is a candidate for Olympiakos. The Greek portal says that according to their exclusive information the Australian forward/center could be the first transfer for Olympiakos. The article says that negotiations are under way and it is possible that the deal could be finalised soon. Nielsen helped Valencia to conquer the Eurocup last season and he was also crowned MVP of the Final Four. 

Nielsen has also played for Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania and Paok in Greece. Last season he averaged 8.8 points 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 36 games in the ACB and also 9.6 points 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 17 games in the Eurocup.

According to another source, Omar Cook(1.86-PG) is the first alternative for Olympiakos in case the deal with Spanoulis goes sour. Cook shares the same agent with Spanoulis and an initial discussion has been made although no offer has been made. Cook recently parted ways with Malaga. He averaged 9.8 points 1.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 16 games playing for Malaga in the Euroleague. Cook holds a Montenegrin passport that allows him to play as an EU player.


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Pekovic out, Maric in?

Out with Montenegrin, in with the Australian?


Nikola Pekovic(2.11-C) made it clear that he wants to move to the NBA and to become a part of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Pekovic spoke to vesti-online.com on Friday and said that he is leaving Panathinaikos to join Minnesota and that he couldn't resist the offer etc.

The funny thing is that all of the Greek sports websites discovered this today and that started a chain reaction that spread the news like wildfire. But it's only 3 days old. Could be worse I guess..

On another issue, Nikola Pekovic's transition to the magic world of the NBA might bring Aleks Maric(2.11-C) closer to Panathinaikos according to the latest rumors. This can be accomplished relatively easily for Panathinaikos. Pekovic's contract would amount to 1.8 million euros and according to the old tax system in Greece it would cost Panathinaikos roughly 2.2 million euros as they would also pay the taxes to the Greek State.

Now if Pekovic moves to the NBA, Panathinaikos would get one way or the other 1 million dollars because of the clause in the contract. This translates loosely to 800,000 euros and that is the biggest portion of the 1 million euros buy-out that Partizan would want for Maric. If Maric were to get a 1 million euros contract, according to new tax system in Greece it would cost Panathinaikos 1.8 million euros in total.

So in other words it's not a far fetched scenario. More on this in the days to follow..

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