Lefteris Bochoridis(1.96-PG/SG) is the next big thing of Greek basketball and the prize that Olympiakos and Panathinaikos will fight for. The first has already started but it's an underground fight. According to Antonis Gkatzios of basketplus.gr none of the 2 teams approached Aris.
Olympiakos approached the coach of Aris, Vaggelis Aggelou, who was Dusan Ivkovic's assistant coach and the owners of the team had and still have a good relationship with him. One might say he was their "messenger" of sorts in some affairs. Anyway, the Aggelopoulos brothers approached Aggelou to ask him about Bochoridis and he referred them to the administration of Aris.
Panathinaikos approached the player himself. Not the agent, not the coach, not the team but the player. So in effect they want to talk to the player before the team which is a common practice for Panathinaikos and Olympiakos.
A respectable European club like Barcelona approached Olympiakos first before approaching Papanikolaou. In the NBA you're not allowed to negotiate with a player that you don't own his rights in Europe.
The president of Aris said that if there is an official offer then the club would consider it. Olimpia Milano have expressed interest in the player through the agent but they have not discussed an offer yet. An official offer could arrive within the next few days though and this will go straight to the team.
This could very easily turn into an auction and then we'll see who wants Bochoridis the most. One final detail that could play a part in the negotiation is a resale percentage. If Aris had placed a resale clause in the Papanikolaou's sale to Olympiakos they would have been the recipient of much needed cash.
If I were to make a prediction I'd say Olympiakos have the upper hand if they decide to go for the player. They have money to spend now and they have a good relationship with Bochoridis' agent. Panathinaikos on the other hand have not buried the hatchet with Nick Lotsos yet and Olimpia Milano might not give as much money to Aris but Aris might accept to have the player on loan from them which is something they wouldn't do with Olympiakos and Panathinaikos.
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Why wouldn't Aris accept to sell the player to Panathinaikos and keep him on loan for another year? Maybe half the money they ask for the player and another couple of young Panathinaikos' players on loan would do the job. Bochoridis will hardly go to Italy, he will either end up in one of the two big Greek clubs or he will stay with Aris.
ReplyDeleteDon't you ever publish comments??
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn't Aris accept Panathinaikos offer, including cash and a couple of players on loan? All the problems Aris has cannot be solved by PAO. Anyway if they don't let the player come, they will have to lose hime in 2 years, as a free agent!
giati grafete sta agglika afou elaxistoi ellhnes kai kanenas 3enos de sas diavazoi?
ReplyDeleteI write in english as my audience is international so it would be easier for them to understand rather than going through google translate and get lost in translation!
ReplyDeleteAccepting players on loan is a prestige issue for a historic club like Aris. A team lends players to inferior teams so they get more playing times. In a way it's an indirect admittance that Aris have decided they're not good enough for their history.
ReplyDeleteWhat comes out in the media is that the administration of Aris will not accept players on loan, especially if it's Bohoridis. It's a bit degrading in the eyes of the fans keeping a player on loan, getting him ready for your competition.
This is the gist of it and although I can't speak 100% for the administration of Aris they will only accept players on loan when they become so desperate that the team is heading to the B'National division because of the overwhelming debts.
I hope this covers both comments. Thanks