Childress out for 40 days

Olympiacos Pireaus on Tuesday announced that forward Josh Childress will undergo hernia surgery today and miss most, if not all, of the Top 16. Childress (2.03-SF) is the third-best scorer (10.7 ppg.) and second-best rebounder (5 rpg.) for the Reds, while leading the team in minutes played (26.3 mpg.). Childress returned to the United States over the weekend for medical attention concerning an inguinal hernia. It was decided that he would undergo surgery for the problem on Tuesday at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The club statement said that Childress is expected to return to action in approximately 40 days. Childress had already missed the last Euroleague regular season game played by Olympiacos, a home loss to Le Mans, as well as the team's last Greek League game. Childress spent the first four seasons of his professional career as a double-digit scorer with Altanta of the NBA and three seasons before that at Stanford University. Olympiacos finished second in their regular season and start Top 16 play on Thursday, January 29, against Armani Jeans Milano in Milan, Italy.

source : euroleague.net

Rumors in Greece also speak of Milos Teodosic's possible departure from Olympiakos. Another article speaks of possible candidates. 2 players seem to have been proposed to Olympiakos and they are Bracey Wright(1.92-SG/SF) and Dejuan Collins(1.88-PG/SG).

Paok to release Gregory and Diarra?

According to sport24.gr Paok is going to release Kenny Gregory(1.97-SG/SF) to begin with and perhaps even Mamoutou Diarra(2.03-SF/PF) in the future. The administration of Paok is trying to cut down on expenses as the team is currently without a president and noone to fund them.

Kenny Gregory is currently looking for a team, perhaps one that will participate in the Euroleague TOP-16 and as far as Diarra is concerned, if there is an offer to buy the player. Gregory averaged 15.7 points 4.8 rebounds in 12 games for the Greek league and is by far the best player of Paok.

Rumors about Eidson and Tau

Many rumors are going around the spanish media today regarding a possible transfer of Chuck Eidson(2.02-SF) to Tau Baskonia. The rumors are saying that Lietuvos Rytas will try to sell the american small-forward to the spanish champions in an effort to reinforce their team for th upcoming Top-16 phase in the Euroleague.

Nothing official on the matter has been published yet on the subject. Chuck Eidson has averaged 14.5 points 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 6 games of the Eurocup.

Bosna signed Elvir Ovcina

Elvir Ovcina(2.12-PF/C) signed a contract with ASA BHT Bosna on Monday and it was announced via their official website. He is expected to play his first game on Wednesday for the Adriatic League against Buducnost .

The bosnian center played for BC Oostende last season where he averaged 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 12 games for the Uleb Cup and also 8.7 points and 6 rebounds in 31 games of the Belgian League.

Olimpija released Marko Milic

Another release today. Olimpija Lubljana released Marko Milic (1.99-SF/PF). The captain of Olimpija will be leaving the team and that was announced via their official website. Milic is not in the plans of coach Zdovc to build the new team of Olimpija and so his presence in the team was deemed unnecessary. Part in this could have also played his knee injury that kept him out of the couts for 6 weeks.

Milic averaged 9 points, 3,7 rebounds, and 1,3 assists in 6 Euroleague games and 10,2 points 4,7 rebounds and 1,8 assists in 10 games of the Adriatic League. He is now a free agent and quite possibly a highly sought after player in Europe.

Badalona released Bracey Wright

DKV Badalona released Bracey Wright(1.92-SG/SF) and that was announced via their official website. Bracey Wright had family issues that kept him out of action in a few games. Badalona decided to terminate the contract with Bracey Wright and now he is a free agent.

He impressed the european crowds in his first year in the Euroleague averaging almost 15 points per game. He graduated from Indiana where he played for the Indiana Hoosiers. Then he moved to the NBDL where he played for the Florida Flame and later that year moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves where he stayed for 2 seasons. He had his first european experience when he moved to Aris Thessaloniki. He averaged 14 points 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 14 games in the ACB as a player of Badalona.

Kavaba BC signed Torrell Martin

Kavala BC signed Torrell Martin(1.96-SG/SF) and it was announced via their official website. Martin started the season in Antalya and he has also played for Slask in Poland. Martin is known for his great athletic skills that allow him to play both shooting guard and small forward positions with the same ease.

In his last season in the NCAA he averaged 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in 27 games for the Winthrop Eagles. As a player of Antalya he averaged 13 points and 6.7 rebounds in 15 games.

Dan Dickau to Bamberg?

Nothing has been made official yet but according to the agent of the player, Priority Sports, the next team of Dan Dickau(1.83-PG) will be Brose Baskets. The american(with polish roots) point-guard who signed a lucrative contract with Air Avellino in the summer (but left before playing) might be returning to Europe one more time.

Dickau, 30, has appeared in 300 regular-season games during his six-year NBA career, owning career averages of 5.8 points, 2.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 15.4 minutes per game with Atlanta, Portland, Dallas, New Orleans, Boston and the Los Angeles Clippers. The 6-0 guard spent last season with the Clippers, appearing in 67 games (eight starts) and averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 assists in 15.5 minutes, while shooting 41.9% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 82.9% from the free throw line.

Devon Hardin to replace Patterson in Egaleo BC

DeVon Hardin(2.11-C) was signed by Egaleo BC to replace Andre Patterson(2.06-C) that didn't manage to help them very much. DeVon Hardin started the season in Mersin but was later on released due to a prolonged injury that he has been carrying with him throughout the summer. The injury is a stress fracture on his right foot that will keep him at least a month out of action.

DeVon Hardin didn't take part in the Vegas Summer League due to this injury and he last played in the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp. He was drafted at number 50 in the 2nd round by the late former Seattle Supersonics but didn't manage to secure a contract in the NBA. His foot injury will keep him at least a month out of action and he will most probably find a contract later on in Europe but with a seriously reduced salary. He averaged last season 9.3 points 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 30 games for the California Golden Bears in the NCAA.

Ben Gordon hopes to play for UK

London-born Ben Gordon may finally turn out for Great Britain this summer when they play at the EuroBasket in Poland. The Chicago Bulls guard, who grew up in the United States, has yet to represent the country but he wants to play for Chris Finch's team when the Brits go up against world champions Spain, Slovenia and Serbia in group play this summer.

The main issue affecting his availability is that Gordon still doesn't know which NBA team he will play for next year.

"I'm just hoping this summer I'll be able to play," said Gordon.
"If everything goes according to plan, I will. I'm going to be an unrestricted free agent which gives me a little bit more freedom with different teams. I'm just hoping I can get my deal out of the way and move on with a clear mind in time for Great Britain."

source : fibaeurope.com

Fortitudo wants to buy Papadopoulos' contract

Real wanted to get rid of him and Fortitudo can't get enough of him.. Shocking as it may sound Fortitudo Bologna have found their messiah in Lazaros Papadopoulos(2.10-C) who has been given a second chance to prove that he is not wasted goods, according to marca.com.

The Greek center is going through a renaissance of sorts, as a player of Fortitudo, averaging 11.2 points and 8 rebounds so far in the 6 games he has played. Hence Fortitudo want to buy off his contract from Real Madrid.

Zoran Savic, the GM of Fortitudo explained this phenomenon: "Lazaros is a player that needs the team to play for him in order to get into the game. In Real there would be times that he wouldn't touch the ball even after 3 consecutive offensive rounds or he would get minimal contact with it. Despite his limitations he knows the game very well".

Roma released Allan Ray

Lottomatica Roma officially announced that it has come to terms with guard Allan Ray(1.88-PG) to dissolve the player’s contract. Ray joined Lottomatica in the summer of 2007 and played in 21 Euroleague games over a season-and-a-half – 16 as a starter – averaging 8.6 points and 2.3 assists per game.

His last game for the club was in Week 6 against Alba Berlin. He is now free to join another club before the start of the Top 16.

source : euroleague.net