Siena announced Marko Jaric

Mens Sana Basket informs you that they have signed a contract through the end of the current season with player Marko Jaric, born in Belgrade on October 12, 1978.


Marko Jaric begins his professional career in 1996 at Peristeri in Greece, where he stays until the summer of 1998 when he comes to Italy, more precisely, Fortitudo Bologna. He remains there for two seasons and wins the 1999/2000 national title.

Subsequently, he switches to Virtus Bologna’s cousins, where he definitively explodes and contributes to making a Grand Slam the 2000/2001 season. Jaric stays with Virtus Bologna the following championship as well before migrating to the NBA (2002). Chosen by the Los Angeles Clippers, he remains there until 2005, the year he’s traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The summer of 2008, he moves on to the Memphis Grizzlies. On December 22, 2009, he signed a 6 month contract with Real Madrid, and ended last season with an average of 7.1 points per game in Euroleague and 5.9 in the Spanish League.

With the Serbian Nationals, he won gold at the 2002 Worlds, the 2001 Europeans and the European Under 22’s in 1998.  In 2007, he was called to the Europeans in Spain to play with the Nationals from Serbia.


source : menssanabasket.it

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Papadopoulos in talks with Malaga to leave Paok

Papadopoulos looking for a way out or for a way to get paid?


Lazaros Papadopoulos(2.13-C) spoke to Spanish newspaper La Opinion De Malaga and he said that his agent Minas Toukmenidis is currently in talks with Malaga. During the summer the agent of Papadopoulos asked for a million euros from Malaga but back then the deal didn't go through so Malaga renewed their contract Scottish center Robert Archibald.

Now Malaga are back in talks with Papadopoulos who said that he is a player of Paok for the time being but he didn't deny the possibility of a deal with Malaga. Paok would have to be compensated to let Papadopoulos leave but that might be a big problem for them as he is their best player and they're all out of spots for any foreign players. Bosman centers are quite expensive and hard to find so this might be quite a serious blow for Paok. According to malagahoy.es, the buy-out clause in the contract with Paok is 150,000 euros and that's not a prohibiting amount for a team like Malaga.

Papadopoulos has been the cornerstone of Paok, both in the Eurocup and the Greek League averaging so far 10.7 points 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 10 games in the Greek League and also 16 points 12.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists

It's no secret that Papadopoulos is not having too much fun in Greece. The recent debacle of the Greek players strike that he led as the President of the Players' Union has turned the tides as to how he is treated by the Greek referees. In Greece Papadopoulos doesn't win as many fouls as he does in Europe and that diminishes his capacity in the game as they allow his opponents to play "tougher defense".

He is still owed money by Paok(most of his monthly salaries) so this could just be an elaborate way of  forcing the Paok administration into paying him. Finally one might think that the administration of Malaga have better things to do at the moment as Aito Reneses is rumored to be on his way out with Bozidar Maljkovic as a possible replacement. Sergio Scariolo's solution was dismissed as he is currently the head coach of the Spanish National Team and according to ACB rules its impossible for him to coach for another team in Spain.

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Elias Zouros in talks with Zalgiris

A Greek coach in Lithuania? That will be a first.


Elias Zouros is currently in Kaunas and he is negotiating with the administration of Zalgiris Kaunas to take up the head coach position. Rimantas Grigas won't stay as head coach and Elias Zouros seems to be a good choice for Zalgiris to start the Top-16 of the Euroleague.

Zouros was the head coach of Panellinios last season but when the team's budget was reduced to half of what it was and there were no financial guarantees he chose not to stay with them. He had a good run with Panellinios leading the team from the Qualifying stages of the Eurocup all the way to the Final 4. He has also coach Aris Thessaloniki, Racing Paris and Olympiakos for a short period. He has been a free agent since the beginning of the season.

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Mediterranean League - fact or fiction?

It could be closer than we think..


The rumors started last season but nowadays they keep springing up from all directions in Greece but as of yet there is nothing concrete to report. The idea is very old but the execution needed some infrastructure and most of all, some money.

Let's face it, the Greek league has seen better days. It could be classed as an example to avoid when it comes to organisation and meritocracy.

It becomes hard to find a team that doesn't owe money to players, or in taxes to the state. Some teams shouldn't even be playing in the A1 league because they can't collect all the necessary certificates that guarantee the club's financial wellbeing and stability. The president of the league becomes more of a decoration and his sole purpose at the moment is (in theory) to try and find a good television broadcast rights contract for the teams of the league. So currently we've got teams that cannot even afford hot water to have a shower after practice or teams that have changed more players and coaches than they currently have on their roster. Fortunately some other teams seem to be adapting to the

The league solely exists at the moment for the finals between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos and the same goes for the Greek Cup where (conveniently) the 2 Greek powerhouses never seem to meet before the final. This situation has the support of a body of sports journalists, who make their living out of the rivalry between the reds and the greens and also by the players themselves who can't stand up to their rich bosses. Hence one might be thinking what's the purpose of the Greek league? Let's create a new league where Olympiakos and Panathinaikos can play against more powerful opponents and one aging executive can come out as the Messiah who gave new impetus to a decomposing league.

So this is the plan.. in theory always. 3 teams from Greece, 3 from Turkey, 2 teams from Israel, the champion of Serbia, the champion of Cyprus, possibly Lukoil Akademik and last but not least one team from.. Qatar. This is not final and the specs of the league might change until the last moment. One might be thinking.. Qatar..? what the..? the rumors are that the team from Qatar will actually belong to the sponsors of the league. Hence they will provide the funds to organise the league and they will find other sponsors as well to make sure there are adequate funds to run a professional league smoothly.

The premise here is that the teams that will participate in this league will not be playing in the regular season in their corresponding countries but they would return in their local league only for the play-offs. This is the model of the Adriatic League and the purpose of it is that these teams will not be participating in a league that doesn't offer any substantial challenge. That might seem like making the league more challenging for the remaining teams but from a moral point of view it's exposing the current degradation of the league.

A Mediterranean league without teams from Italy or Spain? That sounds strange to me too but they just might be content playing for the Eurocup. For example this season we've had Gran Canaria, Estudiantes, Cajasol, Cantu, Benetton Treviso, Caserta. Why would they want to leave a league as organised and glamorous like the ACB or the LegaA1?

On the other hand, Olympiakos and Panathinaikos are gagging to leave the A1. The same goes for Fenerbahce and Efes Pilsen,  Maccabi Tel Aviv etc. The idea is that the teams picked from each country will be chosen according to their final position at the end of the play-offs. Also that the funding from the Mediterranean League itself will be significantly larger than that from Uleb leagues. This gives certain teams a motive in Greece to gain the 3rd place as it would secure their finances. The same goes for Turkey.

Chances are that the scheme will be announced some time before the end of this season and it will outline how the teams will be chosen and also the details of the league's layout. So this will be the "pilot-season" of a league that will aim to become one of the most popular leagues in Europe and rival the Euroleague, or fail miserably..


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Partizan made offer for Vujanic to Panionios

The offer has been made and is being considered.


Panionios were fortunate enough to sign Milos Vujanic to quite a low contract for the caliber of the player. Receiving less than 100,000 euros for the season signing Vujanic seemed like a bargain. The Serbian veteran seemed like a great catch but many teams seemed to avoid his case.

In numbers he hasn't actually done that well in Greece averaging 10.7 points 0.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 7 games in the Greek A1 league while shooting less than favourably. According to basketnet.gr, the buy-out clause in his contract is quite small and it comes up to 20,000 euros. Partizan made their interest known to both the player and Panionios so it should be decided within the next few days. If the deal goes through then Vujanic will be reinforcing Partizan in the Top-16 of the Euroleague.

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Flip Murray considering offer from Efes Pilsen

As the Memphis Grizzlies weigh signing free-agent guard Flip Murray, Murray is weighing European interest.


Sources close to the situation said Tuesday that Murray -- who auditioned for the Grizzlies in a workout before Christmas -- has been offered a contract by perennial EuroLeague contender Efes Pilsen in Turkey.

The 31-year-old Murray, who averaged 9.9 points in 75 games last season for Chicago and Charlotte, has been looking for a new team since the summer.

One source said Murray turned down a non-guaranteed offer from guard-stacked Golden State earlier this season.

The Grizzlies also worked out Larry Hughes with Murray and could soon make a signing to bolster their 13-man roster, with guard depth and perimeter shooting both areas of need.

Teams can start signing players to 10-day contracts Wednesday.


source : espn.go.com

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Dan Peterson returns to Olimpia Milano

What..?


Dan "The Coach" Peterson returns to action as the head coach of the team that he loved the most. According to the official website of Olimpia Milano he will be presented to the press today. Dan Peterson, currently at the age of 75, is a living legend of the Italian basketball as he coached for 14 years in the Serie A. In 1978 he became the head coach of Olimpia Milano and stayed with them winning many titles, until 1987 when he retired.

He created the powerhouse of Olimpia Milano of the 80s that dominated in Italy and Europe. Now he comes back to the aid of his favourite team replacing Pierro Bucchi. A desperate move? Only time will tell.

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