Italian Serie A 2012-2013

[boyd20]

Surprisingly, Siena signed Aleksandar Rasic as their new backup PG and Mario Kasun as their starting C. The roster should be sealed unless they opt to make some changes in the frontcourt (Mancinelli? Diogu?) where Kangur's position is still questionable.

Roma signed young Polish forward Olek Czyz. He's a rookie with NCAA experience, he played for Duke and eventually transferred to Nevada, where he averaged 13.8 ppg and 6.5 rpg last year. They also signed Lorenzo D'Ercole as a backup PG, nice picks for the bench. They're now expected to make a couple more moves, as they still need to sign starting SG and C. The guard may be either Phill Goss (Virtus Bologna also interested in him) or Austin Freeman (who's being pursued also by Pesaro). I'm enjoying their new philosophy, they dramatically cut their finances but they're signing young and talented players which is smart when you're not particularly ambitious.

Caserta signed veteran Lithuanian SF Zygimantas Jonusas (Phoenix Hagen), to a 2-yr deal. He comes off a very good season (14.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 55% 2p, 40% 3p, 71% ft). They keep eyeing Marco Mordente to seal the roster.

Brindisi may have lost C Dejan Borovnjak for the season as he just underwent surgery and will have to be sidelined for a long time. He will likely be released and replaced in the next few days.

Avellino officially inked forward Nikola Dragovic and big man Ndudi Ebi. They're still waiting for Coby Karl's decision but meanwhile they're targeting Chris Warren in the same position (backup G/F). Mustafa Shakur should be their starting PG as Jacob Pullen appears to ask for too much money.

[Ilovebasket]

Can you tell me is Ernest Bremer still in EA7 ?

[boyd20]

Can you tell me is Ernest Bremer still in EA7 ?

No, he was not confirmed. I heard he was close to sign for a team in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago.

[boyd20]

- Roma announced the signing of shooting guards Phil Goss (Varese) and Ade Dagunduro (Leuven Bears). The latter will be considered as a Cotonou-player being Nigerian, he signed a 2-yr deal and will be Goss' backup. Roma is expected to add one last player, the starting C, which won't be Ekene Ibekwe, who will play in Spain. Could it be Alade Aminu (Chalon)?

- After releasing Dejan Borovnjak due to health issues, Brindisi signed USA/Bulgarian C Cedric Simmons (Estudiantes Madrid). Had a terrific season in Greece in 2010-2011 but was disappointing in Spain. I guess it's a fair good pick, since Brindisi is an athletic team which will play a fast-paced basketball, therefore Simmons could be the right guy for them.

- Pesaro finally managed to sign their first import as they inked rookie PG Reggie Hamilton (Oakland), who's been the NCAA top scorer last year (26.2 ppg, 42% 3p). Meanwhile, they're about to lose veteran backup F Simone Flamini who didn't accept to play for a lower salary. Lately they're considering to make an offer to PF Valerio Amoroso, who's still a free agent despite a good season with Teramo (11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg).

- Montegranaro completed their starting five with the signing of veteran SF Tamar Slay (Venezia). They're now looking for a young backup big man, which should be Luca Campani, last season in LegaDue (Forlì).

- Avellino keep struggling with their negotiations, as surprisingly Mustafa Shakur turned down their offer and they're still working to find a way to sign a SF. Apparently they have agreed to terms with Chris Warren, but they either need to sign a European PG or they'll have to find a European/Cotonou passport for one of their US players. It is rumored Dwight Hardy could get a Congolese passport, we'll see. So, after "losing" Shakur they're still searching for a PG, they could chase Marques Green back (although it is rumored their new coach Giorgio Valli doesn't like him a lot) but he seems close to signing with Cedevita, Jacob Pullen (Georgian passport) could be the other option, although he may be too expensive for them...

- Caserta close to inking veteran SG Marco Mordente (Roma).

[boyd20]

- Roma announced the signing of shooting guards Phil Goss (Varese) and Ade Dagunduro (Leuven Bears). The latter will be considered as a Cotonou-player being Nigerian, he signed a 2-yr deal and will be Goss' backup. Roma is expected to add one last player, the starting C, which won't be Ekene Ibekwe, who will play in Spain. Could it be Alade Aminu (Chalon)?

Nope, it will be Gani Lawal.

Caserta may have lost C Kyle Visser, who apparently injured his shoulder, they are now deciding what to do. Probably they are going to release him and sign another C.

[Jazz]

No, he was not confirmed. I heard he was close to sign for a team in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago.

Donetsk were linked with Bremer but they signed Doron Perkins a few days later.

[Ilovebasket]

Are there any other teams looking to sign him ?

[Jazz]

Haven't heard any other rumours about him so far...

[boyd20]

- Virtus Bologna agreed to terms with SG Kenny Hasbrouck (Oldenburg). They're trying to sign Ricky Minard but he keeps rejecting their offers which he considers too low. Another option could be the signing of veteran SG Gerald Fitch, but he would be added as the team's 6th man to bring in an offensive spark from the bench.

- Avellino finally announced the signing of experienced SF Chris Warren (Cedevita). He comes back three years later as he already played with Avellino in 2008-2009 when the team competed in Euroleague. Was the team's main offensive option back then, now he should be their 6th man, as Jeremy Richardson will likely start at SF.

- In the end, Kyle Visser's injury was as serious as expected and Caserta decided to release him. They're now looking for another starting C.

Most teams have filled their rosters, only few of them (Pesaro, Virtus Bologna and Avellino) still need to make additions, others may look to get deeper through inking some benchwarmers. In the next days I will try to post all the rosters and hopefully write down my own impressions and expectations.

[boyd20]

Some more moves...

- After long negotiations, Virtus Bologna finally managed to sign Ricky Minard (1 season/200 k dollars), who will start for them at the SF spot. They're now expected to add one more import, who's supposed to be their 6th man, they're searching for a SG who can also run the point in pinches and hopefully provide the team with instant offense. It should not be Gerald Fitch, as it was rumored. They made an offer to Uros Tripkovic, who missed the past season due to an injury, but he also has offers from Spain.

- Pesaro added two more imports, specifically SF/PF Lamont Mack (Lukoil Akademic; 11.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg in Eurocup) and SF Antwain Barbour (12.8 ppg, 58.8% 2p, 41.8% 3p in the Adriatic League). They're now looking for one last import, it will be a SG. They were very close to sign rookie Carlon Brown, but he rejected their offer at the very last moment, since he's still seeking an NBA contract. Apparently they have made an offer to Terrel Harris (Miami Heat), but they're open to other players, including rookies.

- After releasing injured C Kyle Visser, Caserta considered several options, Frank Elegar and Benjamin Ortner among them, but did not agree to terms with neither. In the end they signed veteran Nigerian big man Jeleel "Deji" Akindele, a journeyman who also had a decent season in Italy in 2008-2009 (Pesaro; 11.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg), showing raw talent and intriguing potential, but unfortunately he never really made significant improvements since, as he went on playing for a number of teams without making any strides. They bet on his size and athleticism (provided he's still as athletic as he was back in the day), but also on his low salary, hoping at 29 he still has the motivations to give his career one last chance to prove he can compete in one of the main leagues in Europe.

[boyd20]

- Reggio Emilia released injured PG Dawan Robinson and replaced him with Dominic James, who played in Greece (Aris; 14.5 ppg, 4.1 apg) and Serbia (Partizan; 9.2 ppg, 3.6 apg) last season.

- Avellino finally seems to have agreed to terms with PG Mustafa Shakur (Casale; 16ppg, 4.3 apg), after endless negotiations, which lasted almost two months.

[boyd20]

- Potentially, Pesaro should have made a big deal, by inking veteran SG Paul Marigney (Scafati). A proven scorer in LegaDue, where he has spent almost all of his professional career, he comes from his breakout season in which he averaged 21.2 ppg and 3.4 apg, establishing himself as the 2nd leading scorer in the league and as a true clutch shooter. Midway through 2011-2012, he extended his contract with Scafati for one more season, but eventually he changed his mind declaring that at 29 he was focused on chasing his NBA dream, otherwise he would have probably opted to sign for some Chinese teams who had offered him big money. As the weeks passed by, not only he didn't sign for any NBA team, but he also wasted the opportunity to play in China and remained a free agent, so he wanted to head back to Italy but only to play in Serie A, but since most teams already had filled their rosters the only offer he had came from Pesaro and he couldn't help but accept it. Apparently, he will play there for a very low salary (50.000 dollars), which is half of what he would have made in Scafati. I have to admit that Pesaro worked very well, considering their small finances. They've been very patient and managed to sign good players in the right moment and at much lower salary.

- Cantù inked young Czech PG Jakub Kudlacek. He spent the 2nd part of 2011-2012 season in Caserta where he did a quite decent job. This summer he came back to Reggio Emilia, where there was not any room for him, so his club decided to loan him again. He was very close to sign in LegaDue (Bologna), where he would have played as a starter but in the end he chose to remain in Serie A, although he will be Cantù's third option at the PG spot and initially he will only play in the European competition's games.

- Virtus Bologna still searching for a scoring guard. They just lost Uros Tripkovic and Andy Rautins, it seems they're now negotiating with Gerald Fitch.

- Caserta's still battling with injuries, and PG Nic Wise will be under their radar this weekend, as he will have to prove to be at least in decent shape to stay there, otherwise he would be immediately "cut". It that case the name they're focused on for the PG spot is that of rookie Terrell Stoglin.

- Cremona confirmed they're going to add a player, in order to make their rotation deeper. They're looking for a veteran sharpshooter with an Italian passport, so they're considering several options, Brett Blizzard and Dimitri Lauwers among them.

[Jazz]

Interesting story about Marigney, looks like Pesaro's success last year was no accident.

About Cantù, will they sign another Italian? They currently have four (Mazzarino, Cusin, Aradori and Abass) and I thought they needed five?

[boyd20]

Interesting story about Marigney, looks like Pesaro's success last year was no accident.

About Cantù, will they sign another Italian? They currently have four (Mazzarino, Cusin, Aradori and Abass) and I thought they needed five?

They denied any contact with Marconato, who seemed to be on his way back to Cantù since Scekic's conditions kept worrying, but now that he finally seems to be in decent shape I believe they are not going to add a center. Also, after signing Kudlacek as their third string PG, I guess they will not add any other Italian player, so I expect them to bring in one more youngster as their 12th player. BTW Abass is young and has to work a lot both on his game and on his mental approach but he's skilled and having a pretty good preseason, so he should taste the court at least in garbage time or in easier games this season.

[boyd20]

Are there any other teams looking to sign him ?

Virtus Bologna has just made an offer, it would be a nice addition if he accepts.

Cremona signed once promising PG/SG Luca Vitali, who is off to some terrible seasons, this could be a sort of a last chance to revive his career.