Sasha Vujacic to Europe? The real reasons
July 25, 2008
It is no surprise that almost-NBA champion Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic has been contacted by several European teams. Kobe Bryant tells us that he would not be surprised if Sasha takes the money and runs, just because he won’t get that much money from the Lakers or any other NBA club.
So once again, money is supposed to be the reason? NO! If Sasha is treated like this by his favorite MVP, his American idol (let’s just call him Sasha’s GOD), he has to leave. Watch this:
Oh well, Sasha, Kobe doesn’t love you like you love him … but it looks like a few more people don’t like you that much, either. Like Manu Ginobili, Andrew Bynum, Carmelo Anthony, Baron Davis and even the entire Cleveland Cavaliers team. He can’t even join the New York Knicks anymore! Would you want to stay in this league when nobody likes you and you get hurt all the time? I don’t know.
Does Europe want a guy like that? I guess not - well, hold on - the Euroleague might need a substitute for that guy who made us all laugh last season, even though he knew what he was saying to make us laugh: Sasha probably doesn’t know.
If everything fails, Sasha, why don’t you look into coaching and teach some people “how to look like a hero on the court” as well as “how to fly like a mosquito bite next to you”? Nope - no typo - watch this:
D.C. Collins settles down in Rostov
June 30, 2008
Today, the Zalgiris Kaunas fans got shocking news. Crowd and journalist favorite D.C. Collins will move to Rostov, last year seventh-best in the Russian Superleague. I tried to investigate what could have motivated the American guard to move from a Euroleague team to a mediocre Russian team.
How to find a big man for Zalgiris Kaunas
June 20, 2008
The European transfer market is going crazy. Panathinaikos is signing Dimitris Verginis for €1.7 million, Khimky signs Jerome Moiso for €2 million. Additionally, former European glories come back from the NBA where they cannot earn as much as they can in the Euroleague: think Juan Carlos Navarro, Jorge Garbajosa and most likely Primoz Brezec in the near future, too. But what about this deal?
Euroleague Transfers Table 2008/2009
June 17, 2008
France Transfers - Spain Transfers (acb.com) - Germany Transfers
EUROLEAGUE TRANSFERS
Updated: 25/7/2008 17h47CET
NB: Please note that names in bold are confirmed transfers. Others listed are rumors published by various media or online discussion forums. The Budget numbers are either official announced figures or estimations. The names in italic are those that have been updated within the last 24h.
| SPAIN | Arrivals | Departures |
| Real Madrid | Marko Tomas (Fuenlabrada) Jeremiah Massey (Aris TT Bank) Pepe Sanchez (FC Barcelona) Quinton Hosley (Karsiyaka) |
Kerem Tunceri (Triumph Lyubertsy) Michalis Pelekanos (Olympiakos) Blagota Sekulic (Aris) Charles Smith (Efes Pilsen) |
| TAU Ceramica | Stanko Barac (Pamesa Valencia) Fernando San Emeterio (Girona) Dusko Ivanovic (head coach) Goran Dragic (Olimpija Ljubljana) |
Zoran Planinic (CSKA Moscow) Simas Jasaitis (Joventut) Neven Spahija (?) James Singleton (Dallas Mavericks) |
| AXA FC Barcelona | Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis Grizzlies) David Andersen (CSKA Moscow) Lubos Barton (DKV Joventut) Ricky Rubio (DKV Joventut) |
Denis Marconato (Joventut, Roma) Pepe Sanchez (Real Madrid) Gary Neal (Benetton Treviso) Alex Acker (AJ Milano) Gianluca Basile (Fortitudo) |
| Unicaja Malaga | Robert Archibald (Azovmash) Omar Cook (Crvena Zvezda) Thomas Kelati (Zgorzelec) |
Sergio Scarolo (head coach) Bojan Popovic (?) Melvin Sanders (Gran Canaria?) Daniel Santiago (NBA, FC Barcelona) |
| ITALY | Arrivals | Departures |
| Montepaschi Siena
Budget: 13M€ |
Morris Finley (Rieti) Henry Domercant (Dynamo Moscow) David Hawkins (Roma) |
Bootsy Thornton (Efes Pilsen)
Terrel McIntyre (FC Barcelona, Real Madrid) |
| Lottomatica Roma | Sani Becirovic (Panathinaikos) Brandon Jennings (High School) Primoz Brezec (Toronto Raptors) Jonas Jerebko (Biella) |
David Hawkins (Montepaschi?) Erazem Lorbek (CSKA Moscow) Roko Leni-Ukic (Toronto Raptors) |
| AJ Milano | Pier Luigi Bucchi (head coach) Mason Rocca (Eldo Napoli) Luca Vitali (Montegranaro) Jobey Thomas (Montegranaro) Yohann Sangaré (ASVEL) Ariel Filloy (Rimini) Marco Mordente (Benetton) Sam van Rossum (Ostende) Massimo Bulleri (Virtus Bologna) Jumaine Jones (Eldo Napoli) |
Sam van Rossum (loan to Pesaro) Pietro Aradori (Biella) Danilo Gallinari (New York Knicks) |
| Air Avellino | Zare Markovski (head coach) Daniele Cinciarini (Biella) Chris Warren (Cibona Zagreb) Tamar Slay (Capo d’Orlando) Angelo Gigli (Benetton Treviso) |
Devin Smith (Fenerbahce) Marques Green (Fenerbahce) Daniel Cavaliero (Montegranaro) |
| GREECE | Arrivals | Departures |
| Panathinaikos
Budget: 25M€ |
Nikola Pekovic (Partizan) Antonis Fotsis (Dynamo Moscow) Dimitris Verginis (PAOK) Drew Nicholas (Efes Pilsen) Dusan Kecman (Partizan) Romain Sato (Montepaschi) |
Sani Becirovic (Roma) Andrija Zizic (Galatasaray) Kennedy Winston (?) Nikola Prkacin (Cibona) Dejan Tomasevic (retirement ?) |
| Olympiakos | Michalis Pelekanos (Real Madrid) Nikola Vujcic (Maccabi Tel Aviv) Zoran Erceg (FMP) Theodoros Papaloukas (CSKA Moscow) Yotam Halperin (Maccabi Tel Aviv) Igor Milosevic (Crvena Zvzda) Josh Childress (Atlanta Hawks) |
Qyntel Woods (Fortitudo Bologna) Roderick Blackney (Turk Telekom) Loukas Mavrokefalidis (Maroussi) Jake Tsakalidis (Phoenix?) |
| Panionios | Alexander Trifunovic (head coach Lietuvos Rytas) Ibrahim Jabeer (Roma) Milan Gurovic (Prokom Trefl) |
Vladimir Jankovic (loanded to Mega Aqua)
Nenad Markovic (?) |
| FRANCE | Arrivals | Departures |
| Le Mans-Sarthe
Budget: 5.63M€ |
J.D. Jackson (head coach) Maleye N’Doye (Dijon) Pape Badiane (Roanne) Dee Spencer (Efes Pilsen) David Bluthenthal (Maccabi) Brian Chase (Besiktas) Herbert Hill (Philadelphia 76ers) |
Nicolas Batum (Portland?) Sam Clancy (?) Phil Ricci (?) Vincent Collet (head coach ASVEL) Luka Bogdanovic (Joventut) Raviv Limonad (Irony Naharia) Nebosja Bogavac (?) |
| SLUC Nancy
Budget: 4.98M€ |
Steed Tchicamboud (Cholet Basket) John Cox (Le Havre) Lamayn Wilson (ASVEL) Michel Morandais (Estudiantes) |
Zabian Dowdell (?) DJ Harrison (?) Mike Bauer (Ostende) Pape Philippe Amagou (?) Roger Zaki (TAU) |
| TURKEY | Arrivals | Departures |
| Efes Pilsen | Milos Vujanic (Dynamo Moscow) Sinan Guler (Besiktas) Charles Smith (Real Madrid) Ergin Ataman (head coach) Bootsy Thornton (Montepaschi) Kaya Peker (Besiktas) Engin Atsür (Benetton) Michalis Kakiouzis (Sevilla) Preston Shumpert (Besiktas) |
Serkan Erdogan (Turk Telekom) Ermal Kuqo (Pamesa Valencia) Drew Nicholas (Panathinaikos) Dee Spencer (Le Mans) David Blatt (Dynamo Moscow) Rashad Wright (ALBA Berlin) Andre Hutson (Greece, Spain ??) |
| Fenerbahce Ülker | Devin Smith (Air Avellino) Marques Green (Air Avellino) Ender Arslan (Efes Pilsen) |
James White (?) Gasper Vidmar (?) Will Solomon (Maccabi) |
| LITHUANIA | Arrivals | Departures |
| Zalgiris Kaunas
Budget: 5-6M€ |
Willie Deane (Lukoil Academik) Loren Woods (Houston Rockets) Tadas Klimavicius (AEL Larisa) Tomas Delinikaitis (Azovmash) |
DeJuan Collins (Lokomotiv Rostov) Goran Jurak (?) Mamadou N’Diaye (?) Marko Popovic (Unics Kazan) |
| RUSSIA | Arrivals | Departures |
| CSKA Moscow | Victor Keyru (Unics Kazan) Sasha Kaun (Kansas-NCAA) Terence Morris (Maccabi) Zoran Planinic (TAU) Erazem Lorbek (Roma) Anton Ponkrashov (Khimky) |
Theodoros Papaloukas (Olympiakos) David Anderson (FC Barcelona) Thomas van den Spiegel (Pamesa) Marcus Goree (Triumph Lyubertsy) Artem Zabelin (loan to Spartak) |
| SLOVENIA | Arrivals | Departures |
| Olimpija Ljubljana
Budget: 4M€ |
Damjan Rudez (KK Split) Jaka Klobucar (Geoplin Slovan) Vlado Ilievski (Montepaschi) |
Goran Dragic (TAU Ceramica, Phoenix) Hasan Rizvic (BC Kiyv) Ronnie Taylor (?) Chris Booker (?) Sasa Doncic (?) Jan Mocnik (loaned?) Maurice Bailey (?) |
| POLAND | Arrivals | Departures |
| Prokom Trefl Sopot | Piotr Szczotka (Slupsk) David Logan (Zgorzelec) Ronald Burrell (Telekom Baskets Bonn) Koko Archibong (Frankfurt) Robert Tomaszek (BK Prostejov) |
Simonas Serapinas (Azovmash) Milan Gurovic (Panionios?) Donatas Slanina (Zgorzelec) |
| CROATIA | Arrivals | Departures |
| Cibona Zagreb | Robert Troha (Helios Domzale) Velimir Perasovic (head coach) Branimir Longin (Oldenburg) Nikola Prkacin (Panathinaikos) Kresimir Loncar (Lok. Rostov) |
Ivan Sunara (head coach Krka ?) Chris Warren (Air Avellino) Barisa Krasic (?) |
| ISRAEL | Arrivals | Departures |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv
Budget: 17-18M$ |
Jason Williams (Bnei Hasharon) Dror Hagag (Hapoel Jerusalem) Yaniv Green (Samara) Effi Birenboim (head coach) Tre Simmons (Hapoel Holon) Rodney White (Arecibo) D’Or Fischer (Bree) Guy Pniny (Hapoel Jerusalem) |
Nikola Vujcic (Olympiakos) Terrence Morris (CSKA) Yotam Halperin (Olympiakos) Will Bynum (Virtus, Detroit Pistons) Vonteego Cummings (Estudiantes) Zvi Sherf (?) David Bluthenthal (Le Mans) Esteban Batista (FC Barcelona, Le Mans) |
| SERBIA | Arrivals | Departures |
| Partizan Belgrade | Jan Vesely (Geoplin Slovan) Luka Basta (Beovuk) Aleksandar Rasic (ALBA) Vukasin Aleksic (Takovo) Milan Milosevic (Tuzla) |
Nikola Pekovic (Panathinaikos) Milt Palacio (Khimky) Dusan Kecman (Panathinaikos) Dejan Borovnjak (?) Novica Velickovic (Dynamo Moscow?) Milenko Tepic (Real Madrid) |
| GERMANY | Arrivals | Departures |
| ALBA Berlin
Budget: 7-8M€ |
Adam Chubb (Artland Dragons) Steffen Hamann (Brose Baskets) Rashad Wright (Efes Pilsen) Zoran Osmokrovic (Patras) |
Goran Nikolic (?) Phillipp Heyden (Ludwigsburg) Dijon Thompson (Azovmash) Aleksandar Rasic (Partizan) Mladen Pantic (?) Goran Jeretin (BC Kiev) Bobby Brown (Sacramento Kings) |
| ULEB CUP WINNER | Arrivals | Departures |
| DKV Joventut | Sito Alonso (head coach) Luka Bogdanovic (Le Mans) Simas Jasaitis (TAU) Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Benetton) Marcelinho Huertas (Fortitudo –>loan to Bilbao) Henk Norel (return from loan: Alicante) Michael Southall (Melilla) |
Rudy Fernandez (Portland Trailblazers) Jerome Moiso (Khimky) Lubos Barton (Barcelona) Aito Garcia Reneses (Spain NT) Eduardo Hernandez-Sonseca (Pamesa) |
ACB remains leader in attendance
June 16, 2008
UPDATE (16/6/2008): BallinEurope checked the attendance figures of the different European leagues and has compiled some stats based on the averages. We didn’t see any big surprises, as Spanish ACB still tops the list.
Tony Parker at the Finals
June 14, 2008
For the French fans, the current NBA Finals are of course less interesting than recent years, as San Antonio has not qualified. And the brief appearances of Ronny Turiaf won’t change this. But Tony Parker will be at the Finals, as a spectator, in Paris.
Dirk Nowitzki in the high-school diploma questions
May 30, 2008
BallinEurope is not only a basketball blog, we also talk about the stories that are somehow related to the sport we love. So the info I found today on the net made me smile a bit as it shows the importance of Dirk Nowitzki in Germany.
Larry Bird knows Europe, or not?
May 28, 2008
Larry Bird, one of the greatest basketball players of all time and current president of the basketball operations of the Indiana Pacers recently gave an interview on the 1070 The Fan show with Eddie White and Bob Kravitz. And one of the subjects was the NBA Draft. Read more
Marcus Sloan: We did it!
May 27, 2008
We did it! After what seemed like the longest season of my life, we capped it off by winning the ‘ship!!
Russia wins it all
May 25, 2008
After winning the European Championship in 2007, the Euroleague in 2008 with CSKA, Russia has now also won the Eurovision Song Contest, the greatest music competition in the world as the organizers say. Is this all luck or is there a relation?
