Andrea Trinchieri expected Spanoulis' progress, wanted Olympiacos to win EuroLeague / News - Basketnews.com

Andrea Trinchieri explained why he thinks Vassilis Spanoulis is the perfect choice for Greece's bench, named his pick for the weakest EuroLeague team of the season and commented on Partizan, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos' summer moves.

Credit: IMAGO/Contrast - Scanpix Credit IMAGO/Contrast - Scanpix

Andrea Trinchieri will spend the next season away from the benches, taking a year off coaching and embracing a new role as a game commentator for DAZN Italy.

The Italian tactician, who parted ways with FC Bayern Munich last June after a three-year spell, appeared on the Area52 show on Twitch, and had a lot to say about the World Cup, Vassilis Spanoulis' taking over Greece NT, and how the new EuroLeague season is likely to pan out.

"I'm having a lot of fun. I watch the game and talk about it like I'm coaching or preparing it. I try to have no filters. After 10 years abroad, having the chance to watch basketball from another perspective is an enrichment," Trinchieri described his new TV experience.

The 55-year-old coach, who debuted in the EuroLeague with Pallacanestro Cantu in 2012-13 before being appointed as the coach of the Greek national team ahead of the 2013 EuroBasket, had three observations to make about the recent World Cup.

"First, the team is stronger than the brightest NBA star. Second, if you have a star, it's easier to find a way for him to perform if he's a guard. Third, if you're not playing as a team, you don't win. Germany had all of the above," he said.

"The World Cup gets snubbed by NBA stars. The United States had the individual talent to win, but didn't play as a team and didn't show the desire to tell their players 'You are the first option, you are the second,'" Trinchieri noted.

One day before Vassilis Spanoulis was officially presented by the Greek Basketball Federation, Trinchieri pointed out that he didn't have any doubt that the three-time EuroLeague winner would accept the offer.

"For years, I thought it was unfortunate that some former great players had more opportunities," he admitted.

"But I came to understand that that's only fair because the experience they have accumulated in the locker room, from playing for big clubs and in big games is priceless. If a player does not put on a method of work, he won't last long," Trinchieri continued, and explained why he's happy that his former player took over the Greek NT.

"I knew he would be the coach. If there's one thing that he has, it's those balls," he emphatically stressed.

"The fact that Greece haven't won a medal since 2009 is a crazy motivation for him," the experienced coach thinks.

"Good luck to Kill-Bill. I had the honor of coaching him and talking to him as a coach. If there is a person who is set on achieving his goals, he is number one at that. He's a high-level coach already," Trinchieri believes.

Referring to the next EuroLeague season, the veteran play-caller said 16-17 teams will compete for the playoffs, with half of them being true contenders. He only left ALBA Berlin out of the race, as they went in full rebuilding mode and also lost their most important player in Luke Sikma.

"In my opinion, ASVEL are better than ALBA," he argued.

"Sikma's departure was crucial to their system. It's not easy to find a player averaging 8-9 points and 7-8 assists."

Trinchieri commented on Partizan's outlook, stressing that they appear weaker compared to last season, mainly "because they lost an irreplaceable player like [Mathias] Lessort. Maybe even [Dante] Exum, but PJ Dozier is doing better from game to game," he went on to say.

"They've added a long center like [Frank] Kaminsky and they're still missing an athletic player like Lessort."

Asked about Panathinaikos, who had an impressive offseason signing feast, Trinchieri appeared reluctant to share the view that the Greens are one of the possible Final Four contenders.

"Panathinaikos scored 11 points in 20 minutes and suffered a 27-0 run against Olympiacos in the Greek Super Cup," he reminded.

"They made bombastic signings, but then you always have to play games. I think they are borderline playoff contenders. We'll talk about it in November," he said.

Trinchieri made it clear that he doesn't think Zalgiris will be able to repeat last year's run that vaulted them into the playoffs at the expense of Baskonia and called Ignas Brazdeikis "the least Lithuanian player of all Lithuanians."

Thus, he took the chance to talk about Olympiacos and their additions.

"I want to see when he'll figure out how to play on that team," he continued on Brazdeikis.

"You're either a nuclear or space scientist in that offensive system. He and Sikma can adjust very easily on paper, then they'll have to show it on the court. They lost Vezenkov and took a different but also similar player. One who does not dribble the ball so much," Trinchieri said regarding Sikma.

However, the Italian specialist thinks that "Olympiacos' toughness level is crazy" and praised the Reds for the style of basketball they've displayed over the past couple of seasons.

"Last year, we saw one of the greatest sports injustices in the history of the game. In my opinion, they are still in the Zalgirio arena waiting to play the last possession," he joked, referring to Olympiacos' loss to Real Madrid in Kaunas.

"It would have been the most romantic thing for them to win -- the way they played and got there. But Real Madrid were good and fought back."

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