E'Twaun Moore signed with Benetton Treviso

A great pick for Benetton but with an NBA-out clause.


Boston Celtics second-round draft pick E'Twaun Moore has officially signed a deal with Benetton Treviso of Italy's Lega Serie A, according to his agent.

Moore's deal includes the much-coveted opt-out clause that will allow him to return stateside should the NBA lockout end during Treviso's season.

"It's a great situation for E'Twaun," Moore's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. "Treviso is a terrific team that plays top European competition and, if the lockout ends, there's an option to terminate the contract -- a small window of time -- so we'll just see what happens.

"It's an exciting chance for him to play -- play at a high level -- and make some money in a great environment."

Overseas reports indicated Moore, the 55th pick in June's draft, had secured a deal with Cimberio Varese of the same Italian league earlier this week, but the deal never got finalized, in part because of Moore's desire to have a non-restrictive opt-out clause.

Moore's camp expressed gratitude toward Treviso for structuring the contract in a way that will give him the chance to compete for an NBA job.

"Treviso was willing to show the flexibility and realize E'Twaun's dream of playing in the NBA," Bartelstein said. "We're extremely grateful for that flexibility."

Moore is expected to head overseas around Aug. 15 in order to join the team before it opens its 2011-12 training camp.

Treviso -- whose colors are, coincidentally, green and white -- wasted little time promoting Moore on its website, and general manager Claudio Coldebella expressed great satisfaction in bringing him aboard.

"He's a mature player despite his young age," Coldebella said in a release. "And as such, the choice of another young player fits in with choices we've made before, to form a group of young players who has talent and enthusiasm."


source : espn.go.com

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Real Madrid announced Martynas Pocius

The 25 year old Lithuanian shooting guard played in the NCAA and spent the last two seasons at Zalgiris Kaunas.


Martynas Pocius (28-04-1986, Vilnius, Lithuania) is a small forward that stands out for his speed and powerful jump. The player has signed for Real Madrid after two great seasons at Zalgiris Kaunas.

Pocius is 25 years old and 196 cm tall. He will bring speed, intensity and physical strength to Real Madrid, as well as versatility and tactical discipline both in defence and offence. With Zalgiris he averaged 8.1 points, 2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in the first year, and 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the second season.

Pocius was a student at the US' prestigious Duke University. He played with the Blue Devils four years before graduating, but he really started to shine in his return to Europe. He joined Kaunas in 2009 and soon became one of the pillars on both his club and national sides. He played in the Euroleague with Zalgiris and won the Bronze Medal in last year's World Championships with Lithuania, becoming his national team's third top scorer and averaging 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

Pocius' venture into the basketball elite was not easy. At 13 he suffered partial amputation on three of the fingers of his left hand with a grinder during some school lessons. A long surgery allowed him to recover two, but he lost his middle finger. Pocius fought back and continued playing basketball at the Marciulonis basketball academy before leaving for the NCAA.

His father helped him pull through harsh times and offered constant support in the pursuit of his dream. "You will be different, but you must show people what you're really capable of," he used to tell his son. And he did. After finding success at the club that saw the birth of Arvydas Sabonis, Pocius arrives at Real Madrid ready to follow in the footsteps of one of the best players in the history of Lithuanian basketball.

Career
2005-09: Duke University
2009-11: Zalgiris Kaunas
2011/ - : Real Madrid

Honours
World Championships, Bronze Medal: 2010
Lithuanian league: 2011
Baltic League: 2010, 2011
Lithunaian Basketball Federation Cup: 2011



source : realmadrid.com

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Olympiacos to sign Matt Howard?

It's all over the news..


According to basketblog.gr and the vast majority of the Greek media, the next player that will sign with Olympiacos is Matt Howard(2.06-PF). This seem like an odd choice for the team that signed Josh Childress not so long ago. He will be the second undrafted player from the class of 2011 for Olympiacos if he signs but although he might not seem physically adequate for the testosterone-pumped world of the NBA, he seems to be ideal to play in Europe.

Again the question here is, what exactly will Olympiacos with yet another inexperienced youngster from the NCAA. Apart from a vast collection of awards and titles the last 4 seasons, perhaps his most notable trait is his shooting ability behind the arc. It's an element that was missing from his game for the first 3 seasons and then all of a sudden in his 4th season he started scoring like a seasoned shooter. Howard averaged 16.4 points 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 37 games for Butler this past season.

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Olimpija announced Aleksanda Capin

Good addition for Olimpija


Union Olimpija signed one-year contract with Slovenian point guard Aleksandar Ćapin today. He started his career in youth categories of Partizan Belgrade but he soon moved to Krka, where he stayed for three years. He applied for Slovenian citizenship and played for Slovenian National Team on two European Championships. Last season he was part of Lithuanian Euroleague club Žalgiris Kaunas.

He didn't get much chance to play during last season, but year before he averaged 6.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in Euroleague. Besides Partizan, Krka and Žalgiris, Aleksandar Ćapin played for German club Telekom Baskets Bonn, French Gravelines Dunkerque, Italian clubs Reggio Calabria and Varese, Greek Panionios and Panellinios, Ukraine's Azovmash Mariupol and Russian Lokomotiv Kuban where he already had the chance to work with current Union Olimpija's coach Sašo Filipovski.

source : union.olimpija.com

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Varese announced Yakhouba Diawara

Colpo grosso by Varese!


Varese announced the signing of French forward Yakhouba Diawara(2.01-SF) via their official website. The deal is valid until the season and so they bagged themselves a quality player with a European passport. Diawara is no stranger to Italy and before playing for Brindisi he had played for Fortitudo Bologna.

He started his career in Dijon as a youngster and after graduating from Peperdine he went back to Dijon and then played for Fortitudo. After that he played in the NBA for 3 seasons playing for Denver and Miami before returning to Europe for Brindisi. Last season he averaged 13.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 30 games in the LegaA1.

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Olimpia Milano announced Malik Hairston

Interesting choice for Olimpia.


The latest addition for Olimpia Milano is American small forward Malik Hairston(1.97-SF), formerly of the San Antonio Spurs. The deal is valid until the end of the season and it was announced via Olimpia's official website. Hairston played for the enemy last season, namely for Siena and he did quite well. He was drafted in 2008 in the 2nd round and the 48th overall position by the Suns, but consecutive trades brought him to San Antonio.

He played 2 seasons in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs although his playing time wasn't that great nor were his stats with them. He also spent some time in the NBDL but he made his debut in Europe this past season signing with Siena. However he was injured in the beginning of the season. It was a back injury that could have ended his contract but Siena chose to wait for him and it wasn't in vain. Hairtson averaged 8.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16 games in the Euroleague and also 10.3 poits and 2.7 rebounds in 23 games in the LegaA1.

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Olympiacos made increased offer to Zisis?

It's curious how this player makes so much money.


According to sday.gr, Nikos Zisis(1.95-PG/SG) has a better offer from Olympiacos. The Greek finalists want to have a decent partner in the backcourt for Vassilis Spanoulis, who all of a sudden has found himself all alone, with Gordon, Teodosic, Halperin and Papaloukas gone.

At the moment he only has Kostas Sloukas and Kalin Lucas to back him up, who might be young and ambitious but they lack the quality to take up such a task. It's rumored, yet unconfirmed, that there is a buy-out clause in the contract of Zisis around the order of 200,000 euros. Should that be paid, then Zisis would be free to join Olympiacos if he wants. At the moment there is nothing solid on this but it would be a good comeback for Olympiacos should they manage to secure Zisis. He averaged 6 points 1.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 22 games in the Euroleague with Siena and also 6.5 points 1.9 rebounds and 3 assists in 36 games in LegaA1.

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