Rumors for Zouros and Grundy

According to superbasket.gr, coach Ilias Zouros will be staying as the head coach of Panellinios. Panellinios was kicked out of the play-offs by Maroussi in the first round with 2-0 and especially in the last game they had a heavy loss. Nevertheless coach Zouros provided a steady team that even managed to beat the current Euroleague champion Panathinaikos. The article says that coach Zouros is already preparing the team for next season.

As for the players of the team, some of them still have a contract and they will stay next season as well like Radenovic, Kalaitzis and Papamakarios. There is one player though that although he is by far the most valuable player of the team there are rumors that his contract will not be renewed next season and that is Anthony Grundy(1.89-PG/SG). 

According to the article the administration of Panellinios are not too happy about his nightlife. Grundy was the top scorer of the greek league with 15.1 points and also averaging 3 rebounds 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals. He was by far, the most efficient player of Panellinios so this rumor can be only be regarded with sceptiscism..

Williams to part ways with Valencia

According to laprovincias.es, Shammond Williams(1.89-PG) will soon be leaving Valencia. The article says that coach Neven Spahija is not happy with the american point-guard and although he's got one more season in his contract with Valencia his agent has already been informed to start looking for a new team.

If Williams claims his entire contract, that comes to one million euros for next season it might be difficult for Valencia to sign another point-guard for the starting five-line up. Williams, who is currently 34 years old and holds a georgian passport averaged 9.9 points 3.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 30 games of the ACB as a player of Valencia. 

Williams has had a long career in the NBA with Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, Denver, Orlando, New Orleans and Los Angeles. In Europe he has played for Unics Kazan, Barcelona and in the last 2 seasons he has played for Valencia. The article also says that the best option for Williams given his EU passport is to look for a team in Italy.

Marconato to return to Italy?

Denis Marconato(2.13-C), actually with Bruesa after some years with Barcelona, may go back to Italy soon. In fact Milano, Roma and Virtus Bologna are interested in the big man for the remainder of season.

Milano and Roma are facing some important injuries in the frontline and are seeking the market. Armani has Sow and Beard out of action while Roma cannot count on Gabini for the rest of the season and has Alessandro Tonolli out. Virtus Bologna, instead, wants to strengthen its frontline for playoffs in order to finish ahead of Roma and get the Euroleague three-year license.

However Bologna and Roma can still ink an extra EU player even if they already have six foreign players in the roster. With Bruesa #Marconato scored 3.9ppg and grabbed 3.4rbg. The 12th of May is the last day available to sign players in Italy.

source : sportando.net

Andersen's comments on his NBA rights

After the game, we managed to catch up with Andersen(2.11-PF/C) in the VIP area, which gave us an opportunity to pick his brain on where he stands in terms of the NBA.

Andersen didn’t hesitate to indicate his interest in playing for the Atlanta Hawks, or any other team that might be interested in his services. He did seem a bit frustrated by the predicament he’s in, thought, with his NBA rights essentially being held hostage by the Atlanta Hawks.

“I just wish they would give me a straight answer either way. Every year it’s the same thing. If they want me, great, but if not, I would like to go play somewhere else. I can’t force the tender and go play on a non-guaranteed minimum contract, but I don’t think I’m asking for crazy money either.”

Andersen has another year on his deal with Barcelona, but has a clear NBA escape clause in his contract that that he can exercise until July 15th. That is a difficult situation for Barcelona, as they will be in serious limbo until that point—essentially the very tail end of the signing period for elite European clubs, where there will likely be few if any big men of Andersen’s caliber on the market. Barcelona has an option to buy out Andersen’s contract, and may be forced to do so if they feel like they cannot wait on the NBA to act.

source : draftexpress.com

SK Cherkasy Monkeys released all foreigners

After headcoach Jovica Arsic departed recently, the team of SK Cherkasy Monkeys decided now to release furthermore all foreigners too. Namely, Vladislav Dragojlovic (2.06-C), Ivan Koljevic (1.86-PG), Ivan Kuburovic (2.01-SG/SF), Miljan Pupovic (2.09-C) and Chris Hill (1.78-PG) all had to leave.

SK Cherkasy Monkeys enjoyed a good regular season finishing 4th on the table, but could not manage to keep up the good form and finished on a dissapointing last spot in the playoff qualification round. They are now playing against Gryfony for final qualification (Position 9 and 10). The team decided to go into the reminder of the season with its domestic players.

source : eurobasket.com  

Kalampokis confirmed for Benetton

Giannis Kalampokis(1.95-SG/PG) spoke to greek website sport-fm.gr and confirmed that he has packed his bags and this evening he is flying to Italy and more specifically Treviso where he will play for Benetton Treviso. He said that Benetton approached him after his last game with Panionios, when he was no longer bound for a contract and the deal was finalised this Saturday.

He said that he will play at least 4 games with Benetton and then obviously it will depend on Benetton's performance in the play-off. Kalampokis averaged 10.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 27 games of the greek A1 league, including the play-offs games.

Rumors about Pesic and Real Madrid

Rumors surfaced on spanish blog, Basket Confidencial, that the administration of Real Madrid want to replace coach Joan Plaza with european veteran Svetislav Pesic. Coach Pesic is currently leading Red Star Belgrade to the playoff finals of the serbian league against Partizan, if they go through FMP Zeleznik. Pesic is a highly decorated coach and his contract with Red Star is said to finish this June.

According to the article the administration of Real are not happy with the progress of the team under Plaza's guidance and they are planning a rigorous restructuring of the team. The basic players that seem to be on their plans are Llull, Bullock, Oleson, Reyes and Hervelle. Even Mumbru is considered expendable. 

Kalampokis close to Benetton Treviso?

According to basketblog.gr, Giannis Kalampokis(1.95-SG/PG) is close to signing with Benetton Treviso. The greek combo guard visited Treviso during Thursday and Friday in order to go through a try-out to see if he is in good condition.

According to the article, the deal will be closed shortly if everything goes as well, especially the amount of the contract. If he were to sign he would play for Benetton for 3 more weeks and then it will depend of the outcome of the play-offs. Nothing has been discussed yet as far as playing for Benetton next season. Kalampokis averaged 10.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 27 games of the greek A1 league, including the play-offs games. 

No Go for Messina and the NBA?

Ettore Messina’s chances of coaching in the NBA next season appear much slimmer these days than they did a few months ago, and he didn’t appear to appreciate me bringing up the topic in the press conference following the game. 

“I’m happy for the good publicity all of you are making with this gossip. Until some of this gossip will result in an actual phone call, we’re talking about nothing,” Messina announced in a stern tone. “If all the gossip leads to the fact that no one calls me, then that’s a problem,” he added.

With the Sacramento Kings looking exclusively at coaches with NBA experience, the Toronto Raptors a lock to rehire Jay Triano according to sources, and the Nets having decided to stick with Lawrence Frank, it’s difficult to see a spot that Messina fits in at the moment. 

Barcelona is rumored to be an option for Messina, should they fail to win the ACB championship, and his hometown team of Armani Jeans Milano will also reportedly make a very strong push to get him back in Italy, as they may increase their budget substantially with new contributions for their main sponsor Giorgio Armani. According to Messina, “my first idea is to talk with CSKA.”

source : draftexpress.com

Prelevic to lead Paok, Johnsen to Puerto Rico?

According to sport24.gr, Branislav Prelevic will lead Paok as their new president. As it was pointed out in a previous article, the district court of Thessaloniki will appoint a new administration group and Branislav Prelevic will be in the proposition that will be submitted by the members of the semir-pro Paok Sports Club. The semi-pro club is the founding comittee of the pro club that is currently Paok, as it is for every other pro team in A1 league of Greece.

Prelevic is seen as a leading figure of the past that will hopefully unite the fans of Paok under his wing much like the current president of Paok football club, Theo Zagorakis, a promiment member of the Greek National Team that won the Euro 2004. At the moment the situation is quite fluid and rumors say that Prelevic will want to have full authority on all decisions concerning the team.

On a side-note, Britton Johnsen(2.05-PF) is rumored to continue his career in Puerto Rico.   

NBA draft window to close sooner

A new rule approved Thursday by the NCAA's Board of Directors requires early entrants to withdraw from the draft by May 8. Current rules allow players to make that decision by June 15.

The change will take effect this fall. It's a compromise to an ACC proposal that would have required players to pull out by mid-April.

The NCAA said it favored the May 8 date after receiving advice from NBA officials and the NBA Players Association. The NBA also has agreed to move individual tryouts up to April 30.

How the notification will be done has not been determined.

The full article can be found here.

Rumors about Velickovic and Maccabi

According to eurobasket.com there are articles in the serbian sports media saying that Novica Velickovic(2.05-PF/SF) has agreed to continue his career in Maccabi Tel Aviv. Wishful thinking one might say as Maccabi is "hot" for transfers rumors but nothing concrete has surfaced yet, such as statements of the player of his agent. Other websites around Europe followed suit reproducing the rumor but at this point in time it's anyone's game.

Velickovic, much like Pekovic drew the spotlights on him leading the team of Partizan throughout the Euroleague and the Adriatic League and even won the award for Rising Star that is given to players 22 years old and below. He finished the season in the Euroleague as Partizan's top scorer, with 11.5 points per game, and it's second best rebounder, with 5.1 on average. Velickovic was also among his team's best three players in steals, assists and blocks.