Euroleague/Club Competition 2019-20: Signings & Rumours - vol. I

[vivo]

Nikos Varlas says Danilo Barthel will also join Fener for 2 years. If he is our main PF it is a very meh move

[Toruko]

Nikos Varlas says Danilo Barthel will also join Fener for 2 years. If he is our main PF it is a very meh move

Lame, yes.

[CoachZ]

What do u think about brown?
Is he what u describe?

Close. He is not an elite creator, but he is a great penetrator and inside scorer, clutch player and he is a terrific defender. I think he could work.

You will need to add another shooter though then. It has to be a great shooter, because having only De Colo as an elite shooter in the positions PG-SG-SF is just a no-no for EL today. The other SG has to be a lights out shooter.

[thiago94]

He is a ground solid all-around player, though he lacks a crystal-clear strength he can deliver consistently. From my point you need that one key strength at the Euroleague stage. Can't stand him though. Locks like a member of the special forces, but cries like a baby. Thank god I don't have to see him anymore on a weekly basis.

[Toruko]

Close. He is not an elite creator, but he is a great penetrator and inside scorer, clutch player and he is a terrific defender. I think he could work.

You will need to add another shooter though then. It has to be a great shooter, because having only De Colo as an elite shooter in the positions PG-SG-SF is just a no-no for EL today. The other SG has to be a lights out shooter.

Sounds like Mahmutoglu.

[CoachZ]

Just a quick wrap up about Crvena Zvezda. Signed so far:

- Langston Hall from Promitheas at PG
- Jordan Loyd from Valencia at SG
- Corey Walden from Partizan as a combo PG/SG
- Landry Nnoko from Alba at C

Rumors are that the team will add another PG, to be the starter in front of Hall and looking for a PF, or some kind of hybrid PF to strengthen the rotation there. I would love Whittington, if he is not a done deal with PAO. The way the roster looks is:

PG ........, Hall
PG/SG Walden
SG Loyd, Radanov
SF Dobric, Davidovac, Lazic
PF Simanic, Jagodic-Kuridza
PF/C Duop Reath
C Nnoko, ....... , Stimac/Kuzmic (one will probably stay on)

Quite an athletic roster so far, outside of backup centers. I am especially glad that Loyd, Walnder and Hall are all very, very strong defenders.

Some rumors that are flying around:

- Zvezda might be trying to sign Kalinic to help out at forward. That would be a perfect signing, but I am having trouble believing it. Too ambitious to be real.
- Matt Janning is another target. This could work if Hall and Walden are full-time PGs, and Loyd and Janning take over SG duties. We will suffer a bit on creation, but otherwise quite solid.
- Thomas Walkup is also one of the targets. Honestly, I don't like the player but rumors are flying about him as well.
- Tremont Waters from G League is another PG being considered. I would stay away from this guy in particular. I don't think he is EL ready.
- Forward J.J. O'Brien from Monaco is also a target. Obradovic already coached him there and is a fan.

[thiago94]

What are your thoughts on Langston Hall? He was absolutely terrible back in his days in Germany. I have only seen some videos of him in the last couple of years, nonetheless I can´t discover any specialness in his game to legitimize his employment for a Euroleague team.

@janteka: Agree, I would choose Barthel all day all night over Williams.

[CoachZ]

What are your thoughts on Langston Hall? He was absolutely terrible back in his days in Germany. I have only seen some videos of him in the last couple of years, nonetheless I can´t discover any specialness in his game to legitimize his employment for a Euroleague team.

@janteka: Agree, I would choose Barthel all day all night over Williams.

He has been excellent in Promitheas where he played the last 3 seasons. Last season him and Semaj Christon were the best PGs in Eurocup. He shot 55% for 2, 40% for 3, around 6 assists on 2.5 TO. He was an absolute PnR master, generating 20 points per game out of PnR in Eurocup. He struggles to penetrate at high level, but excellent pull up and midrange out of PnR makes him very successful in that area. He is a willing and strong defender. His scoring will be an issue on EL level for sure. He is just not that good. Overall, I think he will be a net positive on the floor but will not wow anyone with some crazy games etc. Low-end starter for EL, that is for sure. Not gonna have Lorenzo Brown moments from last year. On the other hand, the team should be better off in terms of creation and offense with him rather than Lorenzo.

The issue is what will happen in the coming days. Some people think he will be the backup PG, and we are signing another one to be the starter. I am not sure what to think of that. Not that many PG FAs that we can afford and are better than Hall. He is not my first choice for sure, but I don't think he will in any way ruin our season or be terrible. Even if his shot is not falling and he is not scoring, he will still be able to run the offense, get others involved and defend. That is quite OK.

[janketa]

He is high effort and does a little bit of everything, but does nothing very well. We still need outside shooting, shot creation etc. I wonder who the PG will be to balance the team - Brown doesn't make sense now or fit other players imo

With lack of creativity on 3 position now, we need top pg in pair with De Colo in this situation. But regarding we are late on the market and with reduced budget Brown seems the best option from EL free agents.

We have one more problem now after Datome left, we don't have sharp shooters anymore except De Colo.

[GatorsGators]

I have no idea if Tremont Waters' game translates from the honest circus ball of G League but it'd be fun to find out lol

[CoachZ]

I have no idea if Tremont Waters' game translates from the honest circus ball of G League but it'd be fun to find out lol

I would love to leave that experiment to some other team

There is a guy I like, who gives me Lou Williams and Mike James flashbacks a bit, and he is still under the radar. Would love to hear your opinion on Dallas Moore from Nanterre. Since you are Gators fan, you must've seen him rock at North Florida in NCAA

[thiago94]

Thank you very much CoachZ. Wasn´t aware of his defensive and playmaking skills. Sounds like a player who fits the principles of Obradovic pretty well. Backcourt looks decently balanced so far. I expect a lot of you guys with Obradovic as a coach.

[Jazz]

I would love to leave that experiment to some other team

There is a guy I like, who gives me Lou Williams and Mike James flashbacks a bit, and he is still under the radar. Would love to hear your opinion on Dallas Moore from Nanterre. Since you are Gators fan, you must've seen him rock at North Florida in NCAA

Coach, what did you think of Nedovic's move to PAO? He sounded frustrated with his lack of minutes at Milano.

[CoachZ]

Coach, what did you think of Nedovic's move to PAO? He sounded frustrated with his lack of minutes at Milano.

Well it is not really his fault or his team. It's the injury history. He keeps missing games every single year and no team with high ambitions can really rely on a guy like that. He either gets limited minutes to prevent injuries, or he has to have a handcuff player to take over if he gets injured. It's really a pity, since Neda is a great guy, works hard and when he was healthy he was really doing the damage in the EL, progressing as both scorer and creator. He was borderline elite. He now has ways to climb to get back there. PAO might help, due to less pressure they have now and the offense might be different with Calathes gone, so he could get more of the ball.

I still think a year in Zvezda would've done better for him. He would get better confidence boost, team would be behind him 100% and force the ball to him.

[CoachZ]

Thank you very much CoachZ. Wasn´t aware of his defensive and playmaking skills. Sounds like a player who fits the principles of Obradovic pretty well. Backcourt looks decently balanced so far. I expect a lot of you guys with Obradovic as a coach.

It has started OK, we will see how he progresses when the games start. He spoke of giving a chance to younger and project players we have, so I am looking forward to that. Also, kudos for signing players that will reach their prime or are in prime years. No more EL washouts and injury recoveries from other teams like Gist, Derrick Brown etc. The team will be younger, with more energy and it looks like a mean defensive streak.