Varese announced Arizona Reid

Cimberio Varese managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat this time and announced the signing of Arizona Reid(1.96-SF) one the NCAA's top scorers, ranking 8th in the score boards averaging 23.9 points per game. Reid took part in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament where he had some good games but didn't manage to secure a contract in the NBA but is destined to have a long career in Europe.

Reid averaged 23.9 points 11 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in 31 games for the High Point Panthers last season.

Spartak to sign Igor Mecheriakov

According to championat.ru Spartak St. Petersburg is close to sign belarusian power forward Igor Mecheriakov who played last season for Azovmash in Ukraine and help his team to conquer the league. According to sources in Russia Spartak offered 500.000 euros to Mecheriakov to sign him.

He averaged 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 20 games in the ukrainian superleague last season.

Bilbao close to sign Blums

According to La Marca Bilbao is closing to signing latvian point-guard Janis Blums. Blums is one of the best latvian players in the european courts and last season he played for Eldo Napoli in the italian league and is also a member of the latvian National Team.

He averaged 8.7 points 2.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 30 games in LegaA1.

Dynamo Moscow close to Gordan Giricek

The surge of NBA players returning to europe continues.. Another player rumored to be returning to Europe and leaving the glamour of the NBA behind him is the croatian guard/forward Gordan Giricek who according to sovsport.com is currently in negotiations with Dynamo Moscow for a
different type of glamour..
Giricek averaged 5.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 56 games in the NBA last season playing for Utah, Philadelphia and Phoenix.

Pooh Jeter close to Menorca

Eugene Pooh Jeter(1.79-PG) is close to signing to Menorca according to basketcentral.it. The american point-guard who played last year for BC Kyiv didn't manage to impress any NBA teams in the Las Vegas Summer League this year reaching average perfomances so back to Europe he goes. Menorca is close to signing the player and there might be an official announcement sometime soon.

Jeter averaged last season 14.5 points 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 14 games of the Uleb Cup last season.

Detroit Pistons signed Will Bynum

The Detroit Pistons signed Will Bynum who played for Maccabi Tel Aviv last season leading his team all the way to the final of the Euroleague where they were defeated by CSKA. Bynum impressed Joe Dumars in the Las Vegas Summer league averaging 11.8 points 3 assists and 2 rebounds in the Vegas Summer League 2008.

The Chicago native played last season for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli League where he averaged 10.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Buducnost keeps Nikola Otasevic

Buducnost Podgorica has started to build its roster for the upcoming 2008-09 Eurocup season by keeping playmaker Nikola Otasevic for one more year. Otasevic (1.84-PG) arrived in the team last season and helped Buducnost to reach the ULEB Cup elimination round and win the Montenegrin League title. He has also played for Uzice, Beopetrol, Ergonom, Zdravlje and OKK Belgrade in Serbia in the past, as well as for Anwil Wloclawek in Poland. Otasevic helped Anwil to win the Polish League title in 2007 and has also been a member of the Yugoslavian under-18 national team.

Otasevic averaged 9.1 points 1.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24 games of the Adriatic League last season.

Terrell Castle close to Olympia Larissa

According to eurobasket.com Terrell Castle(1.83-PG) is close to returning back to Greece for Olympia Larissa. The american point guard with the bosnian passport played in Greece for the last 4 years for Aris Thessaloniki and last year he was released and transferred to Unicaja Malaga where he didn't get much playing time.

He averaged 7.2 points 2.1 rebounds 3.2 assists in 12 games of the greek league A1 before transferring to Malaga.

BC Kyiv announced Scoonie Penn

BC Kyiv signed another euroleague level player. Today they announced the signing of Scoonie Penn via their official website. Scoonie Penn has played for many european teams in the past making a breakthrough as a player of Cibona in the Euroleague. Coach Pedulakis in Makedonikos didn't believe in his skills and released him so he went on to Scavolini and after that season he attracted the eyes of Cibona. Penn has also played for Olympiakos and Efes Pilsen and Red Star Belgrade.

He averaged 10.9 points 2.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 20 games in the Euroleague last season.

Orlandina announced Tyus Edney

Orlandina announced european veteran Tyus Edney. Edney signed for Orlandina at the age of 35 and he is one of the most recognised and decorated players in the european leagues. He won the Champions Cup(latter Euroleague) with Zalgiris Kaunas in 1998 and was the MVP of the final four. Edney also 2 italian league and 3 italian cup titles with Benetton Treviso and played intermittently for the Indiana Pacers in 2000 and later on played for Roma and Olympiakos. Last season he won the ukrainian league as a player of Azovmash.

He averaged 10.9 points 3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 17 games.

Wideman close to MMT Estudiantes

According to spanish media experienced center Tom Wideman(2.09-C) who played for Fuenlabrada last season is closer to Estudiantes. According to Mundodeportivo.es Estudiantes is hoping that the american center will say yes to their offer although he has other offers but none from the ACB. Wideman is known for a steady presence in the presence and his experience is valued by Estudiantes.

He averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 33 games in the ACB last season.

Vladimir Kuljanin close to Egaleo BC

According to eurobasket.com Vladimir Kuljanin(2.08-C) is close to signing with Egaleo BC. The canadian center is also a member of the Canadian Men's National Team. He also has a bosnian passport that allows him to play in Europe as an EU player.

Kuljanin had a very good season with NC Wilmington ranking 2nd in the NCAA in 2p shots (66.7%) behind the giant Kenny Gregory. He averaged 12.8 points 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 33 games for NC Wilmington.

Ben Gordon considering playing in Europe

Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls told the Daily Herald that he is considering playing in Europe as he has british citizenship. The UK basketball federation traced the roots of the London-born NBA player and issued him with british citizenship so that he can play for the British National team. The same thing was done for his teammate Luol Deng, who is a sudanese fugitive, and also for Pops-Mensa Bonsu.of DKV.

Ben Gordon said that he will consider moving to Europe now that the Euro is on the rise and having seen the example of Josh Childress other players might be tempted as well.

Ben Gordon averaged 18.6 points 3.1 rebounds and 3 assists in 72 games with the Chicago Bulls last season.

Galatasaray annnounced Strickland and Graves

Galatasaray Cafe Crown improved its backcourt for the 2008-09 Eurocup Qualifying Rounds by inking combo guards Marshall Strickland and Antonio Graves. Strickland (188, 25) arrives from Alpella Istanbul, where he averaged 16.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 26 Turkish League games. Alpella has been his only professional club since finishing his four-year career at Indiana University (NCAA). Meanwhile,

Graves (190, 23) arrives from Pau-Orthez, where he averaged 20.4 points on 43.5% three-pointers and 2.8 assists in 18 French League games last season. Not only he was the second top scorer in the French League last season, but Graves also had a 40-point performance in a road win against Adecco Asvel. Graves has also played for the Pittsburgh Xplosion in the CBA since
finishing his college career at the University of Pittsburgh (NCAA). Both players signed respective one-year deals and will be ready to face BC Siauliai in the Eurocup first qualifying round.

Cantu signed Sundiata Gaines

Cantu announced the signing of "African Warrior" Sundiata Gaines. The talented point-guard had a great year at Georgia being the star of the team and the most indispensable player of the team. Gaines is known for his athleticism and his fighing spirit which made him very popular with the fans at Georgia.

He averaged 14.8 points 4.2 assists and 6 rebounds in 34 games.

Nymburg announced Goran Jagodnik

The czech champion Nymburg signed the slovenian veteran Goran Jagodnik who played last year for Hemofarm STADA. Jagodnik had a good year with Hemofarm where he averaged 14.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 18 games in the Adriatic League.

Marios Matalon agreed with AEL 1964

According to greek media Marios Matalon agreed to play for AEL 1964 in the next season on-loan from Aris Thessaloniki. Matalon had offers from Kolossos Rhodes and also from 2 israeli teams, Hapoel Holon and Ramat Gan but chose to play for coach Alexandris.

Matalon played under the guidance of coach Alexandris in Kolossos last year, also on-loan from Aris and that was a key factor in his decision and another key factor was the amount of playing time he would get.

Matalon averaged 2 points and 0.8 assists in 10 games in 8.3 minutes playing time in Kolossos last season.

Panionios and Paok after Vasileiadis

According to greek site basketblog.gr Panionios and Paok are after Kostas Vasileiadis who seems to be redundant in the new roster of Olympiakos. The 24-year old guard/forward was bought by Olympiakos and was given a 3-year contract in an effort to build a strong roster full of young greek players but the administration of Olympiakos went a few steps too far since then.

Vasileiadis played in Paok before and is a fan's favourite and naturally a crowd-pleaser so there is a possibility that Drossos will be keen to have him in the team trying to attract the fans.

Panionios on the other hand plays in the Euroleague and lacks a peripheral shooter having lost Newley to Panellinios and Sakota that returned to Panathinaikos. So it remains to be seen what will happen.

Vasileiadis averaged 7.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in 28 games of the greek league shooting at 40% behind the arc.

Taurean Green for Zaragoza

According to Herald.es the negotiations for Taurean Green(1.83-PG/SG) are close to be completed and he could be the first transfer for Zaragoza in their return to the ACB. The 22-year old player moved to the Knicks but he wasn't guaranteed a contract. Sources within the team say that the deal is very close to be completed.

Green was selected in number 52 in the 2nd round of the 2007 Draft by Portland. Since then he didn't get much playing time and wandered between the NBA and the D-League.

Green averaged 4.4 points 1.2 rebounds 0.6 assists in a total of 17 games in the NBA.

Toronto Raptors announced Willie Solomon

The Toronto Raptors have announced via their official website the signing of Willie Solomon as a free agent. Solomon is one of the most popular players in the Euroleague and returns to the NBA after 6 years where he last played for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Since then he played for Aris Thessaloniki, Hapoel Jerusalem, Efes Pilsen, Maccabi Tel Aviv and lately the last 2 seasons for Fenerbahce Ulker winning the turkish league both seasons.

He averaged 17.8 points 3.2 rebounds 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 13 regular season games last season in the Euroleague whereas he averaged 20.5 points 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 6 games in the Top-16.

Solsonica Rieti announced Donnell Harvey

Solsonica Rieti announced Donnell Harvey (2.03-PF/C) via their official website. Harvey played for Banvitspor in Turkey last season and before that he has played for Panionios in Greece and also played in the NBA for New Jersey, Phoenix, Orlando, Denver and Dallas. Harvey is known for his athleticism and strong physical game near the rim.

In Banvitspor he averaged 15.7 points 10.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 25 games.

Dickau rumored to have offer from Unics

According to american media (realgm.com) Dan Dickau (1.83-PG) received an offer from Unics Kazan. The european player market is on the rise and many european teams are trying to keep up with the signings of NBA players.

Another that wants in on the fame is Unics Kazan that has made an offer to Dickau that is 4 million dollars per season. According to realgm.com this was reported on russian TV so it's not possible to further confirm these rumors.

Dickau averaged 5.3 points 1.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 67 games with the LA Clippers last season.

Granada announced Aleks Maric

Granada announced the acquisition of australian-croatian center Aleks Maric for the next 2 seasons. Maric will play as an import player as he has not yet acquired a croatian passport but Granada was keen to sign him nevertheless. His name was mentioned in greek media for Aris and Panionios but he preferred the ACB instead.

Maric had a very good year with the Nebraska Comhuskers where he averaged 15.7 points 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in 33 games in the NCAA. Maric tried his luck in several summer leagues but he didn't manage to impress any NBA teams in order to get a contract. His last appeance was at the Vegas Summer League where he averaged 2.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 7 games.

Valencia announced Van Der Spiegel

Pamesa Valencia announced Tomas Van Der Spiegel. The belgian center who played for Prokom and CSKA Moscow last season agreed to play for Pamesa Valencia for the next 2 seasons as it was announced by their official website.

Van Der Spiegel started the season for Prokom Trefl but due to financial problems he was released and he returned back to CSKA to help them out after the injuries of Smodis and Savrasenko. He averaged 10.6 points and 7.6 rebounds in 10 games with Prokom and 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 8 games with CSKA in the Euroleague.

Pamesa Valencia also announced that the negotiations with Dikoudis are proceeding and very soon he will be announced as well for 1+1 contract.

Granada interested in Uros Slokar

Granada is interested in Uros Slokar(2.09-PF) according to ideal.es. The spanish site makes mention of Granada's interest in Slokar that was playing for Triumph Lyubertsy last season in Russia and that has also played for Toronto Raptors in the past.

The administration of Granada want to pair him with Curtis Borchardt but the offer they made to the player is not enough according to sources around the player's staff. They think that the offer is too low for someone with an NBA background although his career in the NBA was unsuccessful and shortlived due to the player's lack of athletic skills. The slovenian forward wants to wait a bit more in case something better comes up.

He averaged 8.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in 23 games in the russian superleague.

Galatasaray signed Andrija Zizic

Galatasaray signed Andrija Zizic(2.07-PF/C) according to eurocup.com. The croatian forward/center had an unsuccessful year as a player of Panathinaikos and both sides decided not to continue their cooperation in the next season.

Zizic averaged 6.1 points and 2 rebounds in 33 games in the A1 league.

Hector Romero for Udine

According to italian site mondobasket.it Hector Romero is one of the main targets of Udine alongside Brandon Hunter. The venezuelan forward has played for numerous european teams including AEL 1964, Murcia, Scafati and lately Montepaschi Siena.

Last season he averaged 13 points and 6.9 rebounds in 10 games for Scafati and 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 6 games for Siena.

Mario Austin close to Besiktas

According to turkbasket.com Mario Austin(2.06-PF) is close to signing with Besiktas. This is the 2nd addition to the roster of the turkish team within the last few days following the acquisition of Mire Chatman.

Mario Austin who is a natural scorer, played for Benetton Treviso last season but coach Mahmoodi didn't want him to continue in the team in the next season. He played for Hapoel Jerusalem and Biela in the past. Austin averaged 13.6 points 7.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 34 games in the LegaA1.

Zalgiris signed Loren Woods

According to euroleague.net Loren Woods has returned to Zalgiris that he played for in the past. The experienced center (2.18-C) played for Efes Pilsen last year but was released from the team due to the Belgrade incident when he refused to board the plane with the rest of the team amongst other players like Drew Nicholas and Andre Hutson. He then proceeded to play for Houston Rockets who later on released him. Loren Woods played for Zalgiris in the past.

He averaged 8 points 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 16 games in the Euroleague last season.

Lottomatica Roma announced Brandon Jennings

Lottomatica Roma announced Brandon Jennings via their official website. The former high-school player will be arriving shortly in Italy to sign his contract with Roma. Roma was the first team to show interest in the young player according to his agent Sonny Vacaro and there is an option for the player to play in the NBA if he can secure a contract later on.

Jennings is one of the best point-guard prospects of his year but he decided to take the leap into Europe and skip college entirely. The 1.85 point guard averaged 35.5 points per game for Oak Hill Academy this season and totaled a school-record 1.312 points.

Cherkassy Monkeys close to Diamantopoulos

Another greek player after Panagiotis Liadelis will play in the ukrainian league and this is Georgios Diamantopoulos.

Cherkassy Monkeys announced the acquisition of greek guard/forward Georgios Diamantopoulos. (1.96-SG/SF) according to ukrainian media. It will soon be announced on their official site as well.

Cherkassy offered 350.000 dollars per year to Diamantopoulos but at the last minute his agent changed his mind and asked for a higher amount. It seems now that the gap has been bridged and Diamantopoulos will be the new player of Cherkassy.

Diamantopoulos averaged 14.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 18 games of the A1 greek league for Kolossos Rhodes last season.

DKV booked Pops-Mensa Bonsu

DKV has come to an agreement with ghanese power forward Pops-Mensa Bonsu(2.05-PF) who was trying his luck with the Dallas Mavericks but didn't manage to secure a contract yet.

Bonsu has also british citizenship and he is part of the British National Team so he plays as a bosman player for DKV. He attracted the interested of spanish teams when he helped Granada stay in the league leading the team to a victory against Tau scoring 22 points 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. As a player of Benetton in the italian league he averaged 9.2 points 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 31 games in the LegaA1.

If he manages to get a secured NBA contract until 22nd of July then the deal with DKV is void.

Napoli announced Nikagbatse

Napoli announced Eyinmisan Nikagbatse(1.92-SG) via their official website. The german shooting guard is very experienced player that played for Olympiakos, Udine, Roseto, Montegranaro and Koln in the past.

Last season he averaged 8.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in the german league.

Malaga and Panathinaikos after Giricek

According to italian site mondobasket.it Gordan Giricek appears to be a target of Unicaja Malaga and Panathinaikos. The article says that Unicaja Malaga made an offer to Giricek but it doesn't seem to have made an impact and that Giricek is also a target for Panathinaikos.

Giricek is one of the most sought-after free agents in the european market and this time of year the speculations of any of the european NBA players are soaring high.

Giricek averaged 4.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 22 games for Utah Jazz.

BC Kyiv DENIES rumors signing Scoonie Penn

According to ukrainian media the administration of BC Kyiv denies the signing of Scoonie Penn. Ukrainian basketball site basket.com contacted the administration of BC Kyiv regarding a story from greek website superbasket.gr about the signing of point guard Scoonie Penn to BC Kyiv.

The administration of BC Kyiv called the news from superbasket.gr the "regular duck" an expression which means that it's a regular type of news that is not true.

Click here to read the original text from superbasket.gr that BC Kyiv names it as untrue.

Aris announced Anton Gavel

Aris Thessaloniki announced slovakian combo-guard Anton Gavel for a 2-year contract. Anton Gavel has been playing for the last 2 seasons for Murcia and before that he played in Germany for Giessen 46ers. He is also a member of the slovakian National Team.

Gavel averaged 4.4 points 1 rebound and 0.8 assists last season in 34 games in the ACB for Murcia.

Caserta announced Jamar Butler

Juve Caserta announced Jamar Butler(1.85-PG) via their official website for a one-year contract. Jamar Butler played for Ohio State last season alongside Kostas Koufos and going through the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament he nailed a contract in Europe like many others before him. Butler was in the starting-five in Ohio State in all of the games this season averaging an impressive 36.2 minutes on the court.

He also averaged 15 points 5.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game in 37 games in the NCAA last season.

Sandro Nicevic close to Benetton

Sandro Nicevic is close to signing a contract with Benetton Treviso. The croatian center had a good season with Besiktas in the turkish league and according to spanish media the next step in his career will be Benetton Treviso. Nicevic is currently playing with the National Team of Croatia. He also played for Le Mans, AEK and Unicaja Malaga in the past.

Nicevic averaged 12.5 points 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 27 games with Besiktas in the turkish league.

Fortitudo Bologna announced Qyntel Woods

Fortitudo Bologna announced Qyntel Woods via their official website. The contract that Woods signed is for one year plus another year if the team wants to renew it. Qyntel Woods had a drug test in Greece during the play-offs and cannabis was detected in the test. Henceforth Olympiakos distanced themselves from Woods and now he is part of Fortitudo.

Woods averaged 10.7 points 4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in 23 games in the Euroleague last season.

BC Kyiv denies interest in Kalambokis

According to ukrainian media the administration of BC Kyiv denies the rumors that they are interested in Ioannis Kalambokis who played last season for Panionios BC and will probably renew his contract for 2 more years.

Ukrainian media report that the rumors from superbasket.gr regarding an offer from BC Kyiv are not true. BC Kyiv said that they haven't even made an offer to the player.

Kalambokis averaged 12 points and 2.8 rebounds in 35 games.

Kus returning to Cibona

According to solobasket.com Davor Kus has good chances of returning to Cibona after a season in Malaga. Cibona lost Chris Warren to Air Avellino who will be playing in the Euroleague next season so now they want to get Kus back. Other teams in Spain like Bruesa are after the talented croatian combo-guard who played for Cibona in the season 2006-2007.

Kus averaged 7 points 1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 34 games in the ACB league.

Bruesa wants Roe, Hopkins and Popovic

Bruesa GBC after ascending back to the ACB wants to make sure they're not relegated again. According to El Mundo Deportivo they want to renew the 35-year old forward Bernard Hopkins who was a vital member of the team and helped the team to return to the ACB.

They also want to sign a legend of the spanish courts and former MVP of the league, 35-year old Lou Roe who played for Murcia last season. Roe averaged 12.6 points and 5.5 rebounds last season for Murcia.

Brusa also requested Bojan Popovic from Malaga who still holds a contract with the serbian PG. Popovic was not on best terms with coach Scariolo and didn't much of the court last season. He averaged 4.7 points 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 34 of the regular season in the ACB.

Manolopoulos returning Greece and AEL 1964

After the acquisition of Michalis Tsairelis on-loan from Aris Thessaloniki, AEL 1694 want another youngster in their ranks. According to basketblog.gr they managed to convince Sotiris Manolopoulos(2.04-SF/PF) to return from LEB and Mallorca back to Greece. The greek forward has been released from Mallorca and coach Alexandris wants him to play for him next year in AEL.

Manolopoulos averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12 games least season for Mallorca in the LEB.

Solsonica Rieti announced Jerry Green

Solsonica Rieti announced via their official site the signing of Jerry Green(1.91-PG). Jerry Green played for Telindus OC Oostende last season in Belgium. Before moving to Belgium he played in Germany for Ludwigsburg and Mitteldeutscher BC and in Poland for SSA Czarni Slupsk.

Last season he averaged 11 points 2.8 rebounds and 3 assists in 12 games in the Uleb Cup.

Benetton trying to convince Hackett

Benetton Treviso are trying to convince Daniel Hackett to return to Italy and play for them. The american-italian guard/forward has one more year to go in the NCAA but Benetton Treviso are already trying to convince him to return to Italy.

Hackett averaged 8.6 points 3.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 29 games for USC Trojans last season.

Azovmash and Siaulai after Boisa

According to greek website goalday.gr Vladimir Boisa will be continuing his career in northern europe, a terrain that is not unfamiliar to him. According to the story Boisa has offers from ukrainian champion Azovmash Mariupol and lithuanian team Siaulai.
Azovmash is hell bent on creating a very strong team in order to concquer the Eurocup this year so the owner of Azovmash is sparing no expenses. Boisa did not have a good year with Aris Thessaloniki that he joined after leaving Spartak Vladivostok. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18 games for Aris in the greek A1 league.

Lakovic stays, Sada arrives?

According to El Mundo Deportivo Jaka Lakovic does not want to leave Barcelona. He said that he has one more year of contract with Barcelona and he intends to fulfill it. Rumors appeared earlier this week that Efes Pilsen is after the slovenian combo-guard but the turkish team denies the rumors.

It would be foolish of Lakovic or Efes Pilsen to admit any interest since the player is already bound with a contract. Coach Pascual wants Terrell Mcintyre in Barcelona but Siena wants them to pay 1.5 million euros to buy his contract out and then they would have to pay another 1.5 million euros per year for McIntyre's contract.

Barcelona is also after Victor Sada of Girona that faces serious financial problems.

Udine interested in Rashad Anderson

Udine is interested in american shooting guard Rashad Anderson (1.95-SG) according to italian media. Rashad Anderson is an excellent shooter behind the arc and last season he played in the LegaA2 for Livorno.

Rashad Anderson also played for Egaleo BC in Greece. Last season he averaged 19.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 30 games averaging 41.2 % from behind the arc.

Zadar signed three players, Gecevski undecided.

Zadar signed 3 new players but is still waiting on the decision of Todor Gecevski who is the team's leader. Damir Rancic and Dejan Ivanov signed a 1+1 year contract that has an option for another year whereas Malik Dixon only signed a one-year contract. Malik Dixon won the israeli league with Hapoel Holon last season whereas Rancic was playing in Panellinios (where Dixon has also played briefly) and Ivanov comes from KK Split.