Leonidas Kaselakis finalizing a deal with Spanoulis' team / News - Basketnews.com

Credit BasketNews/D.Repečka

As Panathinaikos OPAP Athens continue their search for the head coach that will replace Giorgos Vovoras on the bench, GM Argyris Pedoulakis has prepared the ground for some moves that will be made regardless of who will be in charge.

Points this season

46%74,4Points made:74,4Accuracy:45,7%Place in standings:13Record max:95Record min:48Best scorer:Nemanja NedovicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

One of them is the decision for the club not to re-negotiate a new contract with Leonidas Kaselakis.

The 32-year-old forward, who's currently with his national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers contest against Great Britain next Thursday, will have no place in next year's PAO squad and the Greens announced his release after the two sides worked together for two years. He had penned a one-year deal in the summer of 2020 and then, again, in 2021.

On Monday afternoon, Kaselakis posted a farewell message on his Instagram account, thanking "the family of Panathinaikos for these 2 years of cooperation."

"We had beautiful and difficult times but we were always united. I would like to thank the coaches, the staff and above all my teammates and the fans for their support in good times and in bad times. I received a lot of love and tried to give it back. Good luck," Kaselakis wrote.

According to multiple reports, the Greek international has already found his next destination since he has an agreement in place with Peristeri, the team coached by no other than Vassilis Spanoulis.

The ambitious team from the Western suburbs of Athens won the race for his signature, offering the experienced player a closed, two-year contract with slightly better financial terms than those he had in his days at Panathinaikos.

In the 2021-22 season, Kaselakis was the player with the most appearance in PAO games, taking part in 96% (72 out of 75) of their contest across all competitions.

He averaged 3.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in EuroLeague and 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in the Greek Basket League. However, he only produced 3.3 points on 26% from the field in the finals against eventual domestic champs Olympiacos Piraeus.

Leonidas Kaselakis

MIN:15.32PTS:3.71 (46.92%)REB:2.03As:0.9ST:0.16BL:0.03TO:0.39GM:31ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

Overall, Kaselakis went for 3.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.2 steals per game over 59 appearances over the last two (2020-22) EuroLeague campaigns.

Peristeri were placed directly into the regular season of the 2022-23 edition of the Basketball Champions League. Kaselakis' stint with Promitheas Patras gave him the chance to debut in the BCL in the 2018-19 season when he registered 12 appearances. He got to play 26 EuroCup games with the Patras-based team and PAOK.

Last season, Peristeri hosted a BCL qualifying group in their own gym but were eliminated by future quarter-finalists Cluj.

The Greek club decided to participate in the FIBA Europe Cup, finishing third in Group G of the Regular Season. Domestically, they were placed 8th in the regular season and stood no chance against top-seeded Olympiacos in the quarterfinals.

Peristeri have already announced Croatian center Miro Bilan and American forward Shaqur Juston, while they're close to further bolstering their frontline with former Provence player Devin Davis.

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

Position Player Status PG Stefan Jovic Signed until 2022 +1 PG/SG Nemanja Nedovic Signed until 2023 PG/SG Daryl Macon Signed until 2022 +1 SF Howard Sant-Roos Signed until 2023 SF Ioannis Papapetrou Signed until 2023 SF/PF Lefteris Mantzoukas Signed until 2025 PF Okaro White Signed until 2022 +1 PF Nikos Chougkaz Signed until 2025 C Giorgos Papagiannis Signed until 2023 C Vassilis Kavvadas Signed until 2022 +1 Coach Giorgos Vovoras Expired contract Giorgos Vovoras, Peyton Siva, Lefteris Bochoridis, Leonidas Kaselakis (will not return), Jeremy Evans Rumored to leave Giorgos Vovoras, Stefan Jovic Interested Paris Lee (story), Panagiotis Kalaitzakis (story) Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.