Galatasaray GM reveals team's transfer agenda, future in European competitions / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Media Credit FIBA Media

Having being eliminated from the Basketball Champions League early in the season, Galatasaray NEF Istanbul tried to make the best out of the situation in the Turkish league.

Free throws this season

81%15,7Points made:15,7Accuracy:80,7%Place in standings:7Record max:22Record min:8Most made FTs:Kerry BlackshearTeamBCLStatisticsSchedule

First, by selecting Andreas Pistiolis as the head coach. Then, by signing a EuroLeague-level talent, like Isaiah Canaan. Despite DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell's injury, they managed to enter the Basketball Super League playoffs from the 3rd place by winning the last 7 games of the season.

Their first semi-final clash with freshly-crowned EuroLeague champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul ended on a very high note and with a result that not even the most optimistic Galatasaray fan could have anticipated. An impressive 105-70 blowout put the yellow-red team in charge, before Efes bounced back and took control of the series.

Game 5 turned into a whopping 104-77 road loss for Galatasaray, but -still- the future looks brighter compared to the same time last year.

Turgay Zeytingoz, the club's general manager, was a guest on Galatasaray TV. The Turkish executive revealed the next steps moving forward into the transfer period.

Regarding the non-Turkish players on the roster, Zeytingoz said that Kerry Blackshear and Devon Akoon-Purcell have a two-way option on their contracts, both from the team's and from the player's side.

"We want to keep Kerry Blackshear for next year but he's had a good season. We will talk to him. His agent knows we want to keep him," he said.

Regarding Dee Bost, the team's MVP in the playoffs, Galatasaray GM said that the player "has a very serious sense of belonging both within the team and within the community. There is a strong desire on both sides to stay together. I think Dee Bost will be with us next year."

Referring to Melo Trimble, Zeytingoz revealed that he's "in talks with a Chinese team. I think he will sign with his new team soon. There are, of course, very serious financial differences between us. I wish him success. Although it is not official, it seems that we're going separate ways."

Isaiah Canaan is a different case, though.

"He came to us as a catch. He is a very important, a EuroLeague-caliber player. After the situation in Russia, we heard that he was available and completed the transfer in a very short period of time. We are currently in talks with him, but we do not have a clear situation," Zeytingoz stressed.

"There are foreign players that we want to bring to the team and that we focus on, but there is no official situation so far. We will also make additions regarding our Turkish core of players. We are still in talks with them. There are no clear names that I can say at the moment."

Devon Akoon-Purcell is still under contract but he's been treating an injury, which won't allow him to play until December. "So, maybe we can make an optional contract with him," Zeytingoz thinks.

"We are really pleased with the performance of all of our foreign players both on and off the court this year, but we will try to increase our budget a little bit. It's a decision left at the discretion of our new management."

Zeytingoz also mentioned that everyone's desire at Galatasaray is to see the club compete against the best teams of Europe.

"It's impossible to ignore the EuroLeague, because the goal of Galatasaray is to be in the top competition. Therefore, our goal is to be a competitive, good team in the competition we're playing in.

But right now we have a three-year contract with the Basketball Champions League, which will enter its third year. This contract has a +2 option. I can say that we will take part in the BCL next year.

Then, we will try to create a structure that aims at the top. Afterwards, we will want to participate in the top competition, which is the expectation of both our fans and our community. We have very serious plans," the Turkish exec concluded.

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