Drossos and Wesson left Paok.. who's next?

K'Zell Wesson(2.01-PF/C) left the team of Paok and went back to the States. This follows directly after the statement that Dimitris Drossos made to the media saying that he can no longer be the president of Paok due to undisclosed health reasons.

Drossos is already the main shareholder(90%) of Paok and by doing this it will be the 3rd team he leaves stranded following Pagkrati, AEK and now Paok. These developments put Paok in jeopardy as there are debts and salaries to be paid before the winter holidays but now, noone is sure that they will get their money. More details to follow later.

Paok might release Wesson

According to the latest developments in Greece it is rumored in greek media that Paok might possibly release K'Zell Wesson(2.01-PF/C). Wesson and Marmarinos had a verbal argument a few days ago in practice and both of them were excluded from the team's roster for the next game against Panathinaikos in Athens, that might be last game of Dejan Tomasevic.

Wesson might be replaced given this opportunity as Paok could break the contract of the player with the excuse of a disciplanary offense without being liable to pay compensation. Rumors say that coach Kalafatakis is concerned about the PG position although Paok already has 3 players there.. Wesson has averaged 10.7 points and 8.5 rebounds in 9 games so far and is by far the most reliable player they have in the low-post so it seems a bit odd to replace him..

Nenad Krstic to return to the NBA?

Nenad Krstic(2.13-C) is close to signing a 3-year, 16 million dollar contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, multiple sources in the US and Europe told DraftExpress.com.

The 7-foot Serbian center is currently under contract with Russian team Triumph Moscow (after signing a two year, six million Euro deal this summer), but will be able to buy himself out of his deal due to his displeasure with his current situation. Krstic will reportedly give back all the money he received from Triumph so far this season in order to break the contract, although Oklahoma City will be able to contribute $500,000 under NBA rules if needed.

source : draftexpress.com

Vujcic reaches the 2,000 point mark

Olympiacos Piraeus center Nikola Vujcic(2.10-C) joined an exclusive club Wednesday with his 2,000th career point in the Euroleague. Vujcic became just the fifth player to achieve that distinction this decade when he hit a jumper from the foul line late in the second quarter of Olympiacos’s Week 8 home game against Cibona at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Athens, Greece. The select list of 2,000-point scorers includes Marcus Brown, Luis Scola, J.R. Holden and Jaka Lakovic, the last of whom reached that milestone last month.

source : euroleague.net

The end of the road for Tomasevic

Dejan Tomasevic(2.08-C) is rumored to end his basketball career, albeit in an unfitting fashion, this weekend playing his last game as a player of Paok. One of the most experienced and decorated european centers will be playing his last basketball game as a player of Paok and perhaps as a player altogether. The rumors about Tomasevic have been going back and forth ever since the Greek A1 league started and this might actually be the swansong of Tomasevic.

Tomasevic has agreed with the administration of Paok to take his earnings until now and not claim the rest of his contract. Possible candidates seem to be Ryan Stack(2.11-PF/C) or Martin Rancik(2.05-PF) who might be leaving Estudiantes after all.

On a sidenote K'Zell Wesson and Dimitris Marmarinos had a fight during practice and so they were disqualified from the team's roster in the this weekend's game against Panathinaikos in Athens. Both players are expected to pay a fine.

The return of Kambala

Kaspars Kambala is going to take part in the VTB Bank Promo Cup in Moscow this weekend. On Saturday the 20th ASK Riga will play against CSKA Moscow and in their roster will be the latvian giant, Kaspars Kambala who will be taking this opportunity to show everyone exactly in what kind of shape he really is. Veteran Roberts Stelmahers will also be taking part in the tournament with the prospect of staying with Riga until the end of the season.

Kambala's 2-year suspension from basketball ended on December 12th and quite a few teams would like to see if he's fit to play pro again.

Helios is waiving Todorovic

Helios Domzale is going to waive serbian center Ivan Todorovic(2.14-C). The serbian center's contract expired this week and so Helios decided not to renew it. There was also an announcement via the team's official website.

Todorovic averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 9 games with Helios in the Adriatic League.

Drobnjak returns to Turow

PGE Turow announced forward/center Dragisa Drobjnak(2.01-PF/C) via their official website and hence announced his return to the polish team that he played for last season. Drobjnak started the season in Krka but shortly after he was recruited by Alba with a temporary contract.

The slovenian player has made a long career for himself in Slovenia having played for Krka, Geoplin, Triglav, and Olimpija in Slovenia and his services are highly sought after in his native homeland. Drobjnak reached the polish league final with Turow last season and in the Eurocup he averaged 8.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14 games.

Marcin Gortat thinking about Europe

Marcin Gortat(2.13-C) seized the opportunity and played his heart out during the last 2 games in the starting line-up of the Orlando Magic. Gortat took advantage of Dwight Howard's knee inury and made his defensive presence known in the low-post replacing Howard even better than he might have expected. Even the fans of the Magic were impressed by the polish center.

Gortat spoke to the polish newspaper Republic where he said that he is considering returning to Europe next season even if Orlando ask him to renew his contract. If this happens Gortat is surely going to be highly sought after player in the european market.

Artland Dragons signed Tyray Pearson

The Artland Dragons signed Tyray Pearson(2.01-PF/C) until the end of February. Tyray Pearson played in the third division of Spain, playing for Blanes Almeira. He has played in Germany before, albeit shortly, for Telekom Bonn and he played for Braunschweig before that and also Benfica. Last season he averaged 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in 29 games in Spain.

Lukoil Academic inks Goldwire, releases Kruger

Lukoil Academic has undergone some roster changed before its regular season road game against Barons/LMT. Lukoil confirmed the addition of guard Leemire Goldwire(1.80-PG/SG), who replaces Kevin Kruger. Goldwire arrives from ESTIA Egaleo, where he averaged 12.2 points and 2.2 assists in 5 games in the Greek League this season.

This is his first pro season, as Goldwire finished his four-year college career at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte last spring. Goldwire averaged 18.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 34 NCAA games last season, helping the 49ers to reach the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals. Kruger had averaged 13.5 points and 2.5 steals in 2 Eurocup games with Lukoil this season.

source : eurocupbasketball.com

Orthez released Daniel Horton

Pau Orthez released Daniel Horton(1.90-PG/SG) and it was announced via their official website. Horton did not want to renew his contract with Pau Orthez after 4 games. Pau Orthez is currently at the bottom of the leaderboard with a 0-11 record and has not managed to score a single win. Tough times for sure for the legendary french team.

Horton graduated from Michigan in 2006 and tried his luck briefly in Turkey with Karsiyaka. He returned back to the States playing in the NBDL next season and halfway through he was recruited by Toulon. This season he averaged 11.3 points 4 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 4 games with Orthez.