Mike Brown could have Messina in Lakers

And why not?


Ettore Messina could be the newest addition to the coaching staff of the LA Lakers according to their new head coach Mike Brown. He spoke to Gazzetta Dello Sport and said that he'd like to have Ettore Messina with him. The news would have been finalised on Thursday according to Brown's statements on Tuesday but still nothing has been made known about it.

Messina stepped down as head coach of Real Madrid earlier this season citing differences with the attitude of certain players and so he took the fall for the team in a way. Others said it was a tactical move and he never really left giving instructions via his assistant who stayed on.. who knows really? If Messina makes the next step in his career towards the other side of the Atlantic, it will immediately put an end to many rumors lurking in the shadows about him moving back to Italy among other things.

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David Blu renewed with Maccabi TA

Another one renews with Maccabi.


Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, who are attempting to preserve as far as is possible the same team that brought them the Israeli Cup, the vice-championship of the Euroleague, and the Israeli League Championship this past season, have successfully added David Blu to the list of players who will be returning for the 2011 – 2012 season. Blu, who was named MVP of the Israeli Final Four last month, has signed for an additional year with the club. It will be his third straight season, and sixth overall, with Maccabi.

Blu, who is known for his smooth touch from outside the arc, finished the Israeli League last season with averages of 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, and no less than 49.2% shooting from three point range. The forward also enjoyed an excellent season in the Euroleague, averaging 8.9 points and 3.1 rebounds and 42.7% shooting from downtown. Blu was also outstanding in the Euroleague Final Four in Barcelona, where he finished with 10 points against Real Madrid in the semi-final, and 14 points against Panathinaikos in the final.


source : maccabi.co.il

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Seibutis denies rumors about Galatasaray

He is saving himself for someone else?


According to lrytas.lt, Reinaldas Seibutis(1.96-SG/SF) has not signed a contract with Galatasaray and denies any rumors implicating him with that. He did say though that Galatasaray are interested in him but he hasn't signed a contract with them.

He even said that his agent went to China, perhaps a contract to be found there, but Seibutis just wants to relax now with relatives in Lithuania. He did have a very good season with Olin in Turkey leading the team in scoring with averages of 18.7 points 2.7 rebounds and 4 assists in 33 games.

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Lietuvos Rytas signed Predrag Samardziski

His good season in Turkey paid off.


Lietuvos Rytas announced the signing of center Predrag Samardziski(2.14-C) via their official website for 1 season with the option to extend the contract for one more season. This will hopefully be Samardziski's first gig in the Euroleague after a long career in the Adriatic League playing for Partizan and FMP Zeleznik.

This season he played in Turkey for Olin where he was the starting center averaging 12.1 points 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 35 games.

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Maccabi announced Shawn James

Maccabi strengthen their front line.


Maccabi Tel Aviv announced via their official website the signing of forward/center Shawn James (2.08-PF/C). He's come a long way since he joined Bnei Hasharon 3 years ago and this season was his best so far by achieving the title of the MVP of the Israeli League. The duration of the contract wasn't announced but it's rumored to be for 2 seasons.

As head coach David Blatt said, James brings certain skills to the table that Maccabi were missing this past  season, rebounding and blocking. These are areas that James excels at and it's the main reason he was picked by Bnei Hasharon in the first place. This season he averaged 13.1 points 10.6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 30 games in the Israeli league making him a force to be reckoned with, within the paint.

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Maccabi announced Pargo for 2 more seasons

They managed to keep him.. provisionally..


Maccabi Tel Aviv announced via their official site the renewal of Jeremy Pargo's(1.88-PG/SG) contract for 2 more seasons via their official website. The most exciting player of Maccabi Tel Aviv will be staying with the Euroleague runner-ups unless of course he signs an NBA contract by the end of July.

Pargo was pivotal in leading MTA to the final of the Euroleague(averaging 13 points 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 22 games) where they lost to Panathinaikos and Pargo displayed that he is made of the stuff that great players are made of but he lacks the experience and this could be it for him. Many rumors appeared the last few weeks implicating many European powerhouses but Pargo will play for MTA alone if he stays in Europe.

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Sferopoulos has offer from CSKA

Best Greek coaches are leaving the country..


Giannis Sferopoulos, former head coach of Kolossos Rhodes BC for the last 3 seasons, gave an interview to basketnet.gr where he did admit that he is thinking about leaving the country because he has an offer from CSKA Moscow and he is thinking about it.

Obviously this means he will be the assistant coach of Jonas Kazlauskas, much like he was his assistant in the National Team of Greece. Sferopoulos had 3 successful season with Kolossos where he managed to create competitive teams with very little money and have a decent run in the A1 league leading his team in the play-offs each season.

Sferopoulos spoke about the bad situation of the Greek A1 league where coaches cannot work undisturbed, hinting that teams don't really pay their players or if they do it's months later of when they should have. Sferopoulos was implicated in rumors regarding Aris BC earlier this season so this might also be in his list of options.

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