Bilbao wants to loan Pappas

Bilbao is interested in loaning Nikos Pappas(1.91-SG) to Caceres in LEB Gold in order to get playing time as the playe is not likely to get any playing time in Bilbao this year. The administration of Bilbao believes that the player is not ready for professional level and staying out of action for a whole year might geopardise his career.

Nikos Pappas who recently conquered the U-18 European Cup with the Greek U-18 National Team was released by his team Panellinios as his agents activated the buy-out clause in his contract by paying the administration of Panellinios the amount of money that was required by the contract.

Pappas was the captain of the Greek team and he averaged 13.4 points and 3 rebounds in 8 games of the European Cup.

Maccabi wants to get rid of Fizer's contract

Maccabi wants to get rid of Marcus Fizer's (2.03-PF/C) contract according to israeli media(ynet). It seems that the results of the MRI-scan about the knee injury of the american center wasn't as good as they expected and the player is likely to lose a large portion of the preparation stage and maybe some games. This is the meniscus injury he suffered in a Euroleague game against Olympiakos last February. Fizer has also played for Chicago, New Orleans, Milwaukee and Murcia in the past.

He averaged 11.5 games 3.6 rebounds in 15 games in the Euroleague last season.

Trikala steps in for Kommatos

After AEL another greek team makes a good offer for Nestoras Kommatos and this is Trikala 2000. The A1 rookie team wants to ensure its stay in the big league by signing Kommatos who according to greek articles has offer from 4 greek teams in total.

In the past he has played for Aris, AEK, Fortitudo and Maccabi Tel Aviv with which he conquered the Euroleague in 2005. Last season he played in Lokomotiv Rostov but only played 14 games and then returned to Greece for personal reasons. He averaged 10 points 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14 games shooting at 37.2% behind the arc.

Hyeres-Toulon is close to Drew Lavender

According to eurobasket.com Hyeres-Toulon is close to Drew Lavender(1.70-PG) who comes from Xavier where he played the last 2 seasons after transferring from Oklahoma. Lavender also tried his luck in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament some try-outs for NBA teams but it seems that he is undersized for the PG position in the NBA. The player has not been announced by Toulon yet but it seems that the deal is almost certain.

He averaged 10.8 points 2.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 36 games for Xavier last season.

Ruffin on a try-out in Bosna ASA BHT

With only nine players currently on the roster Bosna ASA BHT is still far from completed the team fro the 2008/09 season but one move might be done already in a couple of days since American guard Daniel Ruffin(1.78-PG) came on a try-out on Friday according to the Adriatic League official site.

Daniel Ruffin played in Bradley in the NCAA the last 4 seasons and he averaged 14.3 points 3.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game in 26 games last season.

Aris is interested in Haritopoulos

Aris BC announced today that the team will head out for the main preparation stage before the new season. The team also included in the announcement that they will be taking Dimitris Haritopoulos with them.

Haritopoulos(2.07-PF/C) played for Aris 2 years ago but left the team for rival Paok where he stayed for 2 seasons. He is not popular with the fans of Aris for some remarks he made as a player of Paok. The player will take part in the preparation and leaves the possibility open for a potential transfer, a tactic that is becoming popular amongst european teams.

Even so the transfer seems very unlikely. Haritopoulos averaged 6.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 26 games for Paok.

Cai Zaragoza announced Green and Lewis

Cai Zaragoza announced Green and Lewis today via their official website.

Taurean Green (1.83-PG/SG) comes from the NBA and Portland. 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.

Larry Lewis(2.01-SF/PF) is a veteran of the ACB and the european courts and he has played for Alicante, Unicaja Malaga and Gran Canaria in the past. The 38-year player brings lots of experience with him accumulated from numerous games in the ACB and the CBA. He averaged 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds last season in 33 games in the ACB with MMT Estudiantes.

Olimpija and Maurice Bailey mutually agree to release

Olimpija and Maurice Bailey mutually agree to part ways and the official site of Olimpija released the following announcement:

In light of its current roster, Union Olimpija has an overload at the guard positions. Olimpija and guard Maurice Bailey have come to a mutual economic agreement to release Bailey from the second year of his contract so he can pursue other options in Europe.

Last season at Olimpija, Bailey averaged 11.2 ppg, 2.3 assists and shot 50.5% from the field and 36.8% from the three in the Adriatic League, averaged 9.1 ppg and 2.2 assists and shot 48% from the field and 84.8% from the line in Euroleague and averaged 10.7 ppg and 2.1 assists and shot 48.6% from the field and 38.6% from the three in the Slovenian League.

Olimpija's Director and CEO, Igor Dolenc stated, "Maurice was an outstanding point guard for our club and was a true professional both on and off the court. Based upon the amount of guards on our roster, we understand Maurice's desire to seek out other opportunities in Europe and we respect him and everything he has done for our Club and want all the best for him."

Nancy announced Rod Benson

SLUC Nancy announced power forward Rod Benson (2.08-PF) via their official website. The french champion reinforces its ranks with Benson who comes from a good season in the NBDL with the Dakota Wizzards. He also tried his luck in this summer's Vegas Summer League with the Toronto Raptors but didn't get enough playing time.

He played college basketball in Berkeley but from then on he didn't manage to get into the NBA. He also played the 2006 and 2007 NBA Summer Leagues, but in the 2006-07 season he signed for the Austin Toros of the NBDL, from where he was released before joining the Dakota Wizards. So logically the next step was to try his luck in Europe.

He averaged 13.6 points 12.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 49 games with theDakota Wizards.

Partizan agreed with Zarko Rakocevic

Partizan Igokea agreed terms with montenegrin power forward Zarko Rakocevic (2.05-PF) according to eurobasket.com who will be helping them next season in the Euroleague.

Rakocevic also played for Buducnost for about 6 years and he won the National Cup in 2007 with them. In March he moved to ukrainian team Khimik. He played 12 games in the Adriatic League with Buducnost where he averaged 8 points and 3.9 rebounds. In the ukrainian superleague 8.5 points 6 rebounds and 1 steals per game.

Kasun is leaving Barcelona

According to El Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona reached an agreement with Mario Kasun to terminate his contract. The reasons for that are too many; he didn't perform as was expected, many and frequent injuries, even cardiac arrythmia and bad behaviour in and outside the courts are showing the croatian center the door to the exit.

According to ballineurope.com Kasun might be heading to Efes Pilsen, although the turkish team has already a substantial amount of non-turkish players and due to rules of the league there have to be at least 2 native players in the court at all times. It remains to be seen though.

KK Buducnost signed Marko Simonovic

KK Buducnost signed forward Marko Simonovic (203, 22), for the next three years according to the Eurocup official site. Simonovic arrives from BC Hemofarm Stada where he spent the second half of last season. The previous season he played with BC Oostende of Belgium. Simonovic grew up with Radnicki Belgrade of Serbia and also played for Smederevo, Lavovi and Ergonom before he moved to Belgium.

In Vrsac he didn't get full confidence from the coaching staff as he averaged over 7 minutes of play in 5 ULEB Cup games, Simonovic contributed 1.6 points and 0.4 rebounds. He also played 10 games in the Serbian League and two in the playoffs. His contribution was 14 points and 6 rebounds in total for an accumulated 44 minutes that he spent on the court.

Kommatos close to AEL

Nestoras Kommatos(2.03-SF) is close to signing with AEL next season. According to greek sources the greek veteran will be joining the rest of the team of AEL in the next few days to begin preparation with them. In the past he has played for Aris, AEK, Fortitudo and Maccabi Tel Aviv with which he conquered the Euroleague in 2005.

AEL has assembled a team of youngster on loan from various greek teams and Kommatos seems like an ideal addition to provide some experience and wisdom to a team that lacks it clearly. Last season he played in Lokomotiv Rostov but only played 14 games and then returned to Greece for personal reasons. He averaged 10 points 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14 games shooting at 37.2% behind the arc.

Napoli announced Kaniel Dickens

Napoli signed Kaniel Dickens(2.03-PF) and announced it via their official website. This is another class foreign player for Napoli after signing Gary Forbes. Dickens was one of the best scorers in the NBDL for the Colorado 14ers. He averaged 19.2 points 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 38 games in the D-League. Earlier this year he was in negotiations with the Cherkassy Monkeys but the deal didn't go through.

He is an NBA-class athlete but he lacks defensively. Albeit his offensive qualities are numerous especially his shooting behind the arc where he averaged 40.3% this year.

Tanoka Beard signed with Tartu Rock

Euroleague legend Tanoka Beard(2.05-C) signed with Tartu Rock according to lithuanian media. Beard who started the season with Zalgiris but after 3 games and many arguments with the administration and the coaching staff Beard left Zalgiris and moved to Hapoel Holon but didn't stay there much either. He has played in numerous european teams like Real Madrid, Valencia, Badalona, Fenerbahce to name a few but he is more famous for his 5-year long career in Zalgiris where he even released his hip-hop album!

He will now be a member of estonian champion Tartu Rock and will be helping them in the estonian league and also in the Baltic League. Tanoka Beard currently holds the highest score in the Euroleague rating with 63, scoring 35 points and 19 rebounds against Skipper Bologna in 2003.

The Lakers are close to Sun Yue

The 6-foot-9 (2.06) Sun Yue, a member of the Chinese national team playing in the Beijing Olympics, is expected to play mostly at shooting guard. The Lakers and their 2007 second-round draft pick Sun Yue agreed to terms, the team announced according to the Los Angeles Times. Lakers spokesman John Black said Friday that the deal could be signed within the next few days.

Sun yue averaged 6.8 points 1.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 6 games of the Olympic Games.

Panionios announced Aaron Miles

Aaron Miles(1.86-PG) was earlier this season a target of Virtus Bologna and Cajasol. He was also trying to obtain a european passport but he was unsuccessful. Today Panionios announced Aaron Miles via their official website and he will be their 2nd foreign player for the next season alongside Lonny Baxter.

Miles is a pass-first point guard that puts emphasis in passing the ball in every way possible. He didn't manage to settle in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors and came over to Europe and played for the Pau Orthez in the Euroleague 06-07. Next season he played for Cajasol in the ACB. He is the 7th leading player in assists of all time in the NCAA and was the 6th leading player in assists in the regular reason of the 2006-2007 Euroleague.

He averaged 9.3 points 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 34 games in the ACB playing for Cajasol.

Fortitudo is after Kieron Achara

Fortitudo seems to be losing Bagaric to the Atlanta Hawks, that is if he manages to go through the medical tests and so Savic will be focusing his efforts on acquiring Kieron Achara(2.08-PF/C).

The nigerian forward/center has a scottish passport that allows him to play as a european player. The player has an impressive wingspan and athletic skills that allow him to become a very effective defender in the paint.

Last season he played for the Duquesne Dukes and he averaged 11.3 points 4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 30 games.

Videnov in Granada

Granada has closed an agreement with bulgarian guard/forward Filip Videnov(1.96-SG/SF). Like Vlado Scepanovic he will join his team after September 20th as he is in the preparation of the bulgarian national team at the moment. Videnov has played in quite a few teams. He started his career in CSKA Sofia and has also played in KK Split, Nancy, Cajasol and Solsonica Rieti. He is known for his shooting abilities behind the arc.

Last season he played for Solsonica Rieti and then played in the Las Vegas Summer League but didn't manage to secure a contract in the magic world of the NBA. He averaged 7.2 points and 2.1 rebouns in 14 games in the LegaA1 last season shooting at 40.5% from behind the arc.

Gran Canaria gets Albert Moncasi

CB Gran Canaria, which will play the Eurocup's second qualifying round, added depth to its frontcourt by signing big man Albert Moncasi(2.10-C). Moncasi will be loaned to Gran Canaria from Barcelona as he won't get any playing time next season so Grana Canaria seems like an ideal choice.

Moncasi debuted in the Euroleague with one brief appearance for Barcelona in the 2006-07 season. Last season he played 4 games total in the Euroleague for Barcelona, averaging 4 points, 2 rebounds and a steal in just 10 minutes per game. He averaged 1.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 17 games in the ACB.

Krka signed Ricky Shields

Three weeks into the practicing camp Krka signed another new player on Monday when Ricky Shields was officialy announced as the new member of the team. He is supposed to join his new team-mates on Wednesday according to the Adriatic League website.

Shields (1.93-SG) was playing for the Turkish team Kolejililer in the last two previous seasons while in 2005/06 he was member of Polonia. He is the third new player Krka signed this summer after Smiljan Pavič and Simon Petrov but according to the coach Sunara the club plans at least one or two new additions in the next weeks.

He averaged 13.5 points 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22 games in the turkish league.

Louis Flores to Hapoel Holon

Hapoel Holon the israeli champion signed their second foreign player, shooting guard Luis Flores (1.88-SG) according to eurobasket.com. Flores was picked at number 55 in the second round at the 2004 draft by the Houston Rockets.

In the NBA he played for Golden State, Denver, Sacramento and New Orleans. In Europe he played for the italian team LidoRose Roseto Basket but got injuerd and left during the season. Last year he was signed by Olimpias Patron in Greece but he asked to break his contract invoking personal reasons. In November he moved to Indesit Fabriano In Italian SerieB where he averaged 22.2 points 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Paok announced K'Zell Wesson

Paok hasn't stopped announcing players and this time it's K'Zell Wesson(2.01-PF/C) who will be added to their roster. Wesson is a very strong player who specialises in rebounding and playing in the low post. Last season he played in AEK Athens and before that he played in Bamberg. He has also played in the past in France with Cholet, Gravellines and Strasbourg and also in Italy with Roseto.

Wesson acquired a bulgarian passport this summer so he will cover the position of a european player instead of a foreign player so there might be another signing for Paok down the line. He has been the top rebounder of the league in more than occasions in his career and he did it last season with AEK as well. He averaged 12.4 points and 8.8 rebounds in 27 games.

Sam Hoskin to China

Sam Hoskin (206-PF/C) decided to sign in China with the ZHEJIANG WANMA CYCLONES according to eurobasket.com instead of accepting offers from Russia, Turkey and Greece(Paok). Last season Sam Hoskin played for Cibona while he has also played for Olympiakos, Dynamo Moscow, Ural Great and Hapoel Galil Elion.

Hoskin was set to sign in Russia with either Enisey or Ural Great or with the Greek team Paok before the chinese team convinced the player. According to the article Hoskin intends on returning to europe to help a quality team in March since the Chinese season last for seven months instead of the nine month european season.

Hoskin averaged 13.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 13 games in last season's Euroleague playing for Cibona.

Olympiakos signed Sloukas and Giannopoulos

Olympiakos is boistering his reserves by signing two of the most promising greek talents. They signed Kostas Sloukas and Haris Giannopoulos.

Sloukas (1.87-PG), the youngster point guard who led the Greek U-18 National Team to the gold medal in the European Cup had become the object of interest for quite a few greek teams. Olympiakos made the best offer to Mantoulidis college and signed Sloukas for the next 5 seasons. According to greek media he will probably be loaned to another team to get more playing time. He averaged 15 points 5.9 rebounds 4 assists and 2.5 steals in 8 games in the FIBA European Cup competition.

Giannopoulos (201-SF/PF), who was part of Paok's junior team, plays at both forward positions. He signed a four-year contract with Olympiakos. Giannopoulos helped Greece win the silver medal at the 2007 European Junior Championships in Madrid last summer. In this year's U-20 European Cup he averaged 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 6 games.

Cholet signed Randal Falker

Cholet Basket keeps getting ready for the Eurocup qualifying rounds by signing Randal Falker(2.01-SF/PF) to a one-year deal according to the EuroCup official site. Falker is set to make his professional debut with Cholet, as he arrives from the Southern Illinois University (NCAA). ,He helped his team to reach the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Falker helped the Salukis to win the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) title in 2006.

He averaged 13 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 33 games last season.

Paok announced Dimitris Marmarinos

Paok announced Dimitris Marmarinos(2.05-PF/C) via their official website. The greek power forward/center will be added to their rapidly growing roster featuring the return of Kostas Vasileiadis and veteran Christos Harissis.

Marmarinos has played for Panionios, Lokomotiv Rostov, Maroussi, Teramo and Napoli. Last season he played in Lokomotiv Rostov where he averaged 5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 7 games. He finished the season with Pepsi Caserta in LegaA2 in Italy but he only played in one game without scoring.

Pecile goes to Cajasol

Andrea Pecile(1.87-PG) will be staying the ACB after all. He will be continuing his career in Cajasol for one season according to solobasket. Pecile at the age of 28 is already a veteran of the european courts having played in numerous european teams such as Scavolini, Siena, Air Avelino and last season he played for Granada. He is also a member of the Italian National Team.

He averaged 11.8 points and 2.7 assists in 33 games in the ACB for Granada.

Ferrara announced Ndubi Edi

Carife Ferrara that will be playing in the LegaA1 next season announced nigerian power forward/center Ndubi Ebi(2.06-PF/C). Ebi is a very athletic player who can cover both 4 and 5 positions in defense.

This summer he tried his luck in the Vegas Summer League but didn't manage to get an NBA contract. Last season he played in Bnei Hasharon where he averaged 14.4 points 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 27 games.

Svetislav Pesic close to Red Star

The hottest candidate to take over Red Star Belgrade is currently Svetislav Pešić was confirmed after the latest meeting between Pešić and the club’s management according to the Adriatic League website.

„I do believe that we will name the new coach until the end of the week. I am very satisfied with how our negotiations proceeded. Red Star will get a reknown expert,“ said the general manager of the club Milan Opačić.

At the club level, Pešić won the triple crown in 2003 with FC Barcelona.

* 1982-1987 Bosna Sarajevo
* 1987-1993 Germany national team
* 1993-2000 ALBA Berlin
* 2000-2002 FR Yugoslavia
* 2001-2002 RheinEnergie Köln
* 2002-2004 FC Barcelona
* 2004-2006 Lottomatica Roma
* 2006-2007 Akasvayu Girona
* 2007-2008 Dinamo Moscow

Virtus agreed with Koponen

According to mondobasket Petteri Koponen agreed to continue his career in Virtus Bologna and signed a 4-year contract with the italian team. There were 2 more teams competing for the finnish point-guard, rival Fortitudo Bologna and Tau Vittoria. Apparently Virtus got the player to sign after agreeing to pay the buy-out clause of 500.000 euros to Honka Playboys, his former team in Finland.

He was drafted in 2007 at number 30 by the Philadelphia 76ers was lated traded to Portland. Koponen played for the Honka Cowboys in Finland last season leading his team to win the league title and he also took part in the Las Vegas Summer League where he did pretty well averaging 13.2 points and 3.4 assists in 5 games starting in all five of them. Koponen is known for his passing ability and his very mature decision making in the fast break. Koponen's new contract for 4 years will benefit him 2 million dollars and there is an NBA-escape clause in the contract for each year.

Koponen averaged 18.3 points 3.3 rebounds 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 33 of the finnish league.

Olympiakos is interested in Glyniadakis

According to the greek media Olympiakos has renewed his interest in Andreas Glyniadakis(2.15-C). The cretan center who even got his shot to play in the NBA for a few nights was rumored to be on the sighs of Olympiakos but because of the Olympic Games the story got sidelined.

It started appearing in greek media today and some rumors say that coach Giannakis got Glyniadakis in the National Team in order to test him out against tougher opponents. Glyniadakis already has a contract for next season with Maroussi and Olympiakos will put an offer through if they decide to go after the player.

He averaged 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 4 games with the National Team in the Olympic games.

Pau Orthez signed Jameson Curry

Coach Bergaud said that he couldn't leave the opportunity go to waste when he found out that Jameson Curry was released from the Chicago Bulls. Curry was drafted in 2007 in the 2nd round in number 51 by the Chicago Bulls.

He finished 3 successful seasons in Oklahoma State and in his last season he averaged 17.3 points 3.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 35 games. Since then he played in several summer leagues and tried for a position in the Chicago roster but was sent to the NBDL and Iowa where he played 13 games averaging 20.2 points 5.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds.

In their announcement via their official website Pau Orthez say that there will be a press-conference to properly announce the player.

Olimpija signed Jonathan Wallace

Jonathan Wallace(1.86-PG) will be playing for Olimpia Ljubljana next season as it was announced by their official site. Olimpija added a seasoned shooter to their roster.

The american point-guard signed a one-year contract with the slovenian champion and he will have the opportunity to make a professional debut next season following his graduation from Georgetown. The 22-year old player was one of the leaders of the Hoyas and holds the record for most 3-pointers in the history of college with 250 made 3-pointers.

Last season he averaged 10.7 points 2.6 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 34 games shooting at 44.7% behind the arc (71/159).

Kus heading back to Cibona

According to Malaga Hoy the croatian combo-guard Davos Kus is heading back to Cibona. Kus played for Unicaja Malaga the last season but the administration of Malaga are not impressed by his performance especially if you take into consideration his 500.000 euros contract. They want to break his contract by giving him as less as possible as a buy-out.

Cibona was offering up to 300.000 euros to gain back Kus and by the looks of it the deal will become official shortly.

Last season he averaged 8.1 points 1.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 20 games in the Euroleague.

Tau and Virtus Bologna are after Koponen

Petteri Koponen(1.93-PG) has become a sought after player, especially after the imminent transfer of Dragic to Phoenix. The finnish point-guar who was drafted in 2007 at number 30 by the Philadelphia 76ers was lated traded to Portland.

Koponen played for the Honka Cowboys in Finland last season leading his team to win the league title and he also took part in the Las Vegas Summer League where he did pretty well averaging 13.2 points and 3.4 assists in 5 games starting in all five of them. Koponen is known for his passing ability and his very mature decision making in the fast break.

According to italian media Tau and Virtus had made offers to the player although the article says that Virtus has the upper hand in the race.

Koponen averaged 18.3 points 3.3 rebounds 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 33 of the finnish league.

Fortitudo signs Earl Barron

Fortitudo Bologna signed center Earl Barron(2.13-C) who last played in Miami Heat of the NBA according to the EuroCup official site. Barron won the NBA title in 2006, the first of his three seasons with Miami, although he was not on the post-season roster.

Barron started his career at University of Memphis, where he spent four seasons. He has spent part of one season in Europe before this, playing 17 games for Tuborg Izmir of the Turkish League in 2003-04, where he averaged 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. He spent the remainder of that season and part of the next in Hunstville of the NBA Development League before switching to Barako of the Phillipines League, were he averaged 26.9 points and 15.4 rebounds in 14 games.

Last season he averaged 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 82 games in the NBA.

Darryl Middleton stays in Girona to help

Veteran power forward Darryl Middleton has decided to stay with Girona in the next season that they will be playing in LEB Bronze. The 43-year old american player said that money is not an issue and he wants to help Girona return to the big leagues. He also played for Girona last season but the team's financial problems led the team to the lower leagues.

Air Avellino announced Antonio Porta

Air Avellino announced a 2-year deal with Antonio Porta(1.88-PG), the argentinian point-guard with the italian passport. Porta returns to the italian league after a short pass via Russia and Spartak St Petersburg.

He is currently playing with the Argentinian National Team in the Olympic Games. The administration is quite happy with this transfer and this will probably be the final one. Last season he averaged 7 points 3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 10 games in the russian superleague.

Fenerbahce announed Gordan Giricek

Fenerbahce suprised everyone today announcing Gordan Giricek for a 2-year contract. The croatian guard-forward will be the last transfer of Fenerbahce and will help the team in the turkish league and the Euroleague next season. Giricek was expected to sign in a russian team with all the rumors flying around.

Giricek averaged 5.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 56 games in the NBA last season playing for Utah, Philadelphia and Phoenix.

Likholitov in Ural-Great

Fedor Likholitov was announced by Ural-Great for next season. Below is the announcement from the Ural-Great official site:

Russian center Fedor Likholitov (28 years old, 210 cm) who played the two previous seasons in Triumph Lubertsy signed contract with Ural Great. Fedor will soon join our team in Slovenia.

Fedor Likholitov is the winner of FIBA Champions Cup 2003, Greek Cup 2004 and ULEB Cup 2006. He played in Baltika S.Petersburg (1996/97 – 1997/98), Virginia US HS (1998/99 – 2000/01), Spartak S.Petersburg (February 2001), Virginia (2001/02), Strasbourg France (May 2002), Aris Greece (2002/03 – 2003/04), Dynamo Moscow (2004/05 – 2005/06) and Triumph (2006/07 – 2007/08).

BC Kyiv is viewing Arturas Masiulis

BC Kyiv is examining the case of lithuanian center Arturas Masiulis who played for Siaulai last season according to the BC Kyiv official site. Masiulis helped his team in the Uleb Cup but didn' qualify any futher than the regular season.

He averaged 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 10 games in the Uleb Cup.

Bryce Taylor to Montegranaro

Bryce Taylor(1.95-SG) will be the last transfer for Premiata Montegranaro by the look of things. He is the son of Brian Taylor who played basketball professionally in the States although his career was limited to the ABA.

He tried his luck in the Vegas Summer League with Minnesotta but he didn't managed to secure a contract. He also played in the Treviso camp where his coach Tarcisio Vaghi said: "Bryce Taylor can do everything - was his comment - and has no major technical limitations. 'Altruistic, fits into the team system, is also good to trigger his teammates."

Last season with the Oregon Ducks he averaged 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in 30 games.

Czarni Slupsk has signed Jack Ingram

Czarni Slupsk keeps getting ready for the Eurocup Qualifying Rounds by signing center Jack Ingram(2.07-C) to a one-year deal according to the Eurocup official site. Ingram has played for Zlatorog Lasko in Slovenia, the Rome Gladiators in the WBA and Ydra Asfalistiki ENAD Nicosia in Cyprus and last season he played for Helios in Slovenia, helping his team to reach the title series against Union Olimpija.

He had previously helped the University of Illionis to reach the NCAA Tournament final in 2005. He also helped Illionis to win the Big 10 title that season. Ingram also won the WBA title with the Gladiators in 2006. "He is a very efficient player in offense and rarely takes bad decisions on court," Czarni Slupsk head coach Andrej Podkowyrow said.

Playing for Helios Domzale he averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 25 Adriatic League games last season.

Tsiakos heading to Ventspils

Georgios Tsiakos(2.04-PF) was released from Paok today and seems to be heading to latvian team Ventspils according to greek media.

The greek power forward played for Paok last season and had one of the biggest contributions in the fight of his team to stay in the league. Paok wasn't relegated due to a lucky result at the end of the regular season. Coach Pedoulakis though, doesn't want Tsiakos in the team as he doesn't fit the game profile he wants and he has already signed Demetrius Alexander in the power forward position. Tsiakos played for AEL 1964, Maroussi and Kolossos in the past.

Tsiakos averaged 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 25 games in the greek A1 league.

Paok close to Alexander

Demetrius Alexander(2.04-PF) seems to be the next transfer of Paok according to greek site gazzetta.gr. The 33-year old power forward played for Barons last season and played in 3 competitions, the Baltic League, the Latvian League and the FIBA Eurocup.

He has also played for Cajasol and Valladolid in Spain, Udine in Italy and also Pau Orthez in France. He had a short pass through the NBA but never got enough playing time with the Utah Jazz. Alexander can do everything in offense and defense displaying a variety of skills.

Last season he averaged 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 24 games of the Baltic League and 15.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in 13 games of the FIBA Eurocup.

Aaron Miles close to Panionios

Aaron Miles(1.86-PG) was earlier this season a target of Virtus Bologna and Cajasol. He was also trying to obtain a european passport but he was unsuccessful. According to greek site basketblog.gr Miles seems to be a target of Panionios for the next season.

Panionios already has Ivan Zoroski and Vasilis Xanthopoulos but is seeking the starting point-guard in the american market. Miles is pass-first point guard that puts emphasis in passing the ball in every way possible. He didn't manage to settle in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors and came over to Europe and played for the Pau Orthez in the Euroleague 06-07. Next season he played for Cajasol in the ACB.

He averaged 9.3 points 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 34 games in the ACB.

Giricek close to Triumph this time..

The name of Gordan Giricek has already been heard about offers made by Panathinaikos, Malaga, Dynamo Moscow and most recently Triumpy Lyubertsy...

Russian media speak about a deal agreed close to 2 million euros per year for the croatian guard/forward to wear the shirt of Triumph next season.

Giricek averaged 5.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 56 games in the NBA last season playing for Utah, Philadelphia and Phoenix.