Panathinaikos muscle up their frontcourt by inking Kavvadas / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Iraklis BC Credit Iraklis BC

Vassilis Kavvadas became the latest addition to the roster of Panathinaikos OPAP Athens. The experienced big signed a two-year (1+1) contract with the “Greens” on Saturday afternoon and will be added to a frontline also comprising Giorgos Papagiannis and Jehyve Floyd.

The 29-year-old Greek international had been the frontrunner for the reserve center position in the Athenian club. Contacts and discussions between the two sides proceeded over the last few days until Kavvadas signed his contract with the six-time EuroLeague champs, which will last for one year, with an option for one more.

"I feel happy to belong to the family of Panathinaikos. It is a great honor to be in a team with the history and the potential of Panathinaikos. I spoke with coach Priftis and I am ready to continue the hard work in order to help Panathinaikos achieve their goals," the player stressed through the club's official website and explained: "This transfer is a personal vindication for me. After my injury, I played for two years with Iraklis and through hard work, I managed to return to the national team, which is the highest honor for any athlete. I am determined to sacrifice myself for the team and do my best in every game and every training session."

Credit FIBA Media

Vassilis Kavvadas revealed that he contacted his former teammate and friend, Ioannis Papapetrou in order to get some info on his new team: "In addition to coach Priftis, I also spoke with Ioannis, with whom we are friends since our time at Olympiacos. He told me about Panathinaikos, their management, Dimitris Diamantidis, and Frangiskos Alvertis, the structure of the team and he was so excited. I feel happy and lucky to be teammates with him again," he noted.

Finally, the international center referred to the return of the fans to Greek stadiums, an element which is expected to give an extra boost to the "Greens": "Everyone knows how important it is for Panathinaikos to have fans on their side and how much extra strength the team gets in OAKA. We need the support of our fans to experience the mythical atmosphere they create and get that extra boost."

After his presence with the Greek NT in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in Victoria and two good seasons with Iraklis Thessaloniki, the 2.06 m center returns to Europe's premier competition, where he had made his debut with Olympiacos from 2013 through 2015. In 2018, he won the FIBA Champions League with AEK Athens.

In the 2020-21 Greek League campaign with Iraklis, Kavvadas registered 12.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1 block in 27 minutes of action. The epitome of strength, the player that Rick Pitino used to call "the beast" when they coincided at the national team, played 5 FIBA Europe games last year, averaging 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.

Current roster

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

Position Player Status PG TJ Bray Signed until 2022 PG/SG Nemanja Nedovic (story) Signed until 2023 PG/SG Kendrick Perry (story) Signed until 2022 +1 PG/SG Daryl Macon (story) Signed until 2022 +1 SG Nikos Diplaros Contract option +1 SG Lefteris Bochoridis (story) Signed until 2022 SF Howard Sant-Roos Contract option +1 SF Ioannis Papapetrou(story) Signed until 2023 SF Alpha Diallo(story) Signed until 2024 SF Leonidas Kaselakis (story) Singed until 2022 PF Okaro White(story) Signed until 2022 + 1 C Jehyve Floyd (story) Signed until 2022 + 1 C Giorgos Papagiannis Contract option +1 C Vassilis Kavvadas (story) Signed until 2022 +1 Coach Dimitris Priftis (story) Expired contract Mario Hezonja (not coming back), Shelvin Mack, Aaron White (not coming back), Ben Bentil (not coming back), Ian Vougioukas (not coming back) Rumored to leave Giorgos Kalaitzakis (story), Zach Auguste Interested Nigel Hayes (story)

See all the EuroLeague transfer market newshere.

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