Biggest winners of the EuroLeague off-season / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP – Scanpix Credit AFP – Scanpix

With the pre-season incoming for EuroLeague clubs, here at BasketNews, we decided to take a look at what happened during the summer and give our perspective about those teams that did particularly well during the off-season.

So we asked ourselves: who are the biggest winners of this summer? Which teams might sneak into the playoffs this season? We asked three members of our team to bring some perspective on what happened over the summer.

Who are the biggest winners of the off-season?

Orazio Cauchi: "I liked how Fenerbahce re-shaped the roster after last season. The additions of Polonara and Henry are really good, and I'm also really intrigued by Marial Shayok, I think he could be a potential surprise. Yeah, their coaching situation has been troubling with the sudden departure of coach Kokoskov and the hiring of Sasha Djordjevic to replace him but my belief is they'll be better than last season. Efes was also among the winners because they were able to keep Micic and Larkin and confirming most of last season's roster. Zenit was already a pretty good team in the past season and after the summer they had they're even more dangerous, their offensive firepower might be something really special, if coach Pascual will be able to make Frankamp, Lloyd and Napier work together, something really good might happen."

Mindaugas Gobikas: "The champions Anadolu Efes. It's hard to win, and it's even harder to repeat. And I would say it's nearly impossible to repeat with a new team. So Efes' ability to bring back most of their core, I thought, was impressive. Especially last season's MVP Vasilje Micic, who, in my mind, was all but gone to the NBA."

Uygar Karaca: "I think the biggest winners of offseason are the ones who managed to keep main parts of their roster intact after a successful season. In that sense, I guess Milan did a remarkable job. Their level of basketball was not convincing almost the entire season and eventually, they lost the domestic title. However, the additions of Nicolo Melli, Gianpaolo Ricci, and Konstantinos Mitoglou, bolstered their frontcourt immensely. They had problems with size last season so this was well-advised. Yes, they lost Zach Leday and Kevin Punter to Partizan's rebuilding process but along with other additions, Milan became a formidable roster with a lot of variety at the 4 and 5 positions. Perhaps more importantly, their level of leadership was remarkably enhanced."

Which teams, that didn't make the playoffs last season, are most likely to make it this year?

Orazio Cauchi: "I like what Maccabi Tel Aviv did so far on the market. Last season was kind of messy for them but they're gonna have more firepower this season with guys like Derrick Williams, James Nunnally, and Jalen Reynolds. They have to fix some things defensively but I trust coach Sfairopoulos will be able to find a way. Bayern lost a couple of very important players over the summer and Maccabi is definitely one of those teams that might sneak into the playoff picture. I'd also keep an eye on Baskonia. They made several smart signings this summer and they're always a very tough team to beat. Especially on the perimeter, they might become a very dangerous team with guys like Marinkovic, Fontecchio, Giedratis, and Granger. But the real dark horse might be ASVEL. Tony Parker's team made some really intriguing additions over the summer, they'll have one of the best prospects in the world in Victor Wembanyama, they brought back to Europe Elie Okobo. They'll be very intriguing to watch, young but dangerous."

Mindaugas Gobikas: "In my power rankings, I had the same eight playoff teams as last year. Just different order. But the closest would be Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. They were hit by COVID past season and couldn't fully unearth their potential. I like their off-season acquisitions, mainly because they added high-character guys, who, combined with the team's current core, should produce excellent results. However, the latest news out of Israel regarding the coronavirus and delay of domestic basketball season could throw a wrench to Maccabi's plans once again."

Uygar Karaca: "This would be a close call. The main candidates are Baskonia, Zalgiris, and Maccabi. Baskonia had a busy offseason and made some shiny signings like Fontecchio, Wade Baldwin, and Granger. But they also lost crucial parts: Henry and Polonara. They're restructuring but not a step forward here. The spectator factor is going to come back hopefully next season which puts Maccabi and Zalgiris in pole position for the fringe playoff spots. I would pick Maccabi, as Sfairopoulos now has a hard-working and effective complementary squad built around Wilbekin-Caloiaro-Dibartolomeo-Zizic core. Derrick Williams and Jalen Reynolds signings are intriguing as superior athletic abilities sometimes get complicated with their unpredictability but Sfairopoulos would love all those challenges. The roster could suffer from lack of familiarity but still so many things to prove."

Which one was the most "underrated" signing of the offseason according to you?

Orazio Cauchi: "I don't know if we can really consider it "underrated', especially after the summer that he just had with his NT, but I really liked the Fontecchio's signing for Baskonia. He improved so much in just one season under coach Aito Garcia in Berlin and he seems definitely ready to become a key contributor next season for Baskonia. With the Italian NT he was almost perfect this summer, a constant scoring threat, a great rebounding guy, and a plus factor on the defensive end. He's really becoming that kind of all-around player that many wished he could have become when he was still playing in Italy. He looked so confident in his game that at times you just knew that he was gonna score, regardless of who was guarding him. I believe it's gonna be Fontecchio's breakout season."

Mindaugas Gobikas: "I think it's yet to come. I'm waiting for someone hungry to emerge out of those unlucky NBA Summer League leftovers. Someone who's gonna be pissed and will carry a massive chip on his shoulders. And he won't care about the money for a year. And some team will luck out on him."

Uygar Karaca: "If no last-minute changes occur, I think Efes keeping Larkin and Micic was the most important work of the summer in terms of roster management. Since they were already a part of last years’ title-winning squad, their retainment was sometimes overlooked. We are talking about one of the most impeccable duos in EuroLeague history, so that is huge. Other than that, I guess Simone Fontecchio is a much more valuable addition than I have been estimated until now. He had the season of his career with ALBA and the Olympic tournament with Italy. He could create various kinds of threats from the wings and forwards positions; a very mobile player with decent physical strength and displays almost textbook slash and flash cuts that destabilize defenses constantly. He could be glue-guy for Baskonia this season."

Of the two new EuroLeague clubs, Monaco and Unics, which one do you think will do better this season?

Orazio Cauchi: "I think UNICS has more chances to make a good impression. They were able to keep a couple of key players from last season, mostly Isaiah Canaan and John Brown, and they made some very good signings with players like Will Thomas, Mario Hezonja, Lorenzo Brown, and Tonye Jekiri. Sure, coach Pritfis is no longer there but Perasovic is a pretty solid replacement. He has already a lot of Euroleague experience and can make things work for this team. Monaco made some good additions too, so far, with Westermann and Andjusic, but the rest of the roster still looks a bit incomplete and with not enough depth to face a long season both in France and Europe. Let's see what's gonna happen in the next few weeks but for the moment I believe that UNICS has definitely more chances to surprise than Monaco."

Mindaugas Gobikas: "I have UNICS. First of all, they need to revenge the loss of the EuroCup finals. And second, how can I go against Super Mario? UNICS have a nice mix of veteran players at the key positions, which, I think, will be extremely important and will show during critical moments of close games. And there will be plenty of them at the elite competition of European club basketball."

Uygar Karaca: "I guess Monaco will do better. Honestly, I admire UNICS organization because of its stability at the top level of European basketball. Playing at EuroCup with occasional visits to EuroLeague could distract clubs in terms of budget and personal management. UNICS got over those challenges and came back to EuroLeague over and over again. This time, however, they have one huge casualty: coach Dimitris Priftis. Velimir Perasovic is obviously an important coach with lots of EuroLeague experience and success. The team managed to keep John Brown and Isiah Canaan but other than that, they had to build the squad from scratch which brings about a danger of falling into “the first year after EuroCup success” trap. Monaco, on the other hand, kept coach Zvezdan Mitrovic and the main parts of a team that won EuroCup: Rob Gray, Marcos Knight, Rudy Demahis. In these types of situations, a stronger bond with the preceding seasons’ structures obviously helps."

Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.