By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Vasilis Spanoulis is not just the No1 free agent in Eurohoops’ list, but he is also on top of the list of the biggest clubs is Europe. The Greek star never lost a Final Four game, have won Euroleague three times, being also the MVP and after the weekend he is expected to return to Athens after short vacations in his home town of Larissa. After Monday the crucial meeting with the owners of Olympiacos will happen and here are the facts concerning his future until now. the 29th of June 2013.
As they did with Kyle Hines, CSKA Moscow likes to work behind the scenes without anything leaks. They already signed Jeremy Pargo with a two years 4,4 million dollars deal, Milos Teodosic still has a contract for next year and 1,9 million euros as a salary, so the Russian can’t play with their cards open…
However, they want to be like Olympiacos, climb to the top of Europe and in they believe that they can achieve this by signing Spanoulis. According to Eurohoops sources, their offer is 9 millions dollars net for the next three years. No other European team can pay this kind of money.
The player isn’t eager to travel to Moscow, he has a family and three young boys, but he is also 100% professional and the motive to win Euroleague for the fourth time with a third different team is huge. That’s why at least until the meeting with Olympiacos‘ brass, CSKA can be consider itself the favorite to sign him. If they get him, then Teodosic will be released and his contract will be bought out.
BARCELONA
It’s the team that tried to approach the Greek player before every other in Europe. They have absolut respect towards him, they are trying to present him with the biggest possible offer and our infos suggest that the best they can do is give him a three years contract for 6,3 million euros net (around 8,2 million dollars) plus bonuses. Spanoulis also has immense respect for Barcelona and the Catalans have their chances to get him.
Both teams showed interest, but our prediction is that they can’t lure him for a number of reasons. Even if Dusan Ivkovic finally signs with Fenerbahce/ Ulker it’s still a long shot to get Spanoulis in Istanbul.
What the Greek star really wants is to remain in Olympiacos, not to leave his country and be a part of a situation that will give him chances for a threepeat and also compete for the Greek championship. The secret for the negotiations is how Spanoulis will be treated by Olympiacos (there is already some bad handling from the team in his case) and everything depends on how the situation will play out in the crucial live meeting between Aggelopoulos brothers and the player himself.
It’s not a secret that Greece is still in the middle of huge financial crisis, Olympiacos is considering the possibility of reducing even more the budget for next season, which was 8 million euros excluding taxes for the players and the coaches this year and on the other hand Spanoulis is the best European guard, the leader of the repeat.
Obviously he will not compromise with a reduced offer compared to the 2,4 million euros net he was getting until now, specially if that offer means also a general reduction of the team’s ambitions and plans for the future which will make the conditions for the threepeat extremely hard.
On the contrary, if he feels respected by the offer made and get the sense that Olympiacos is ready to respond first of all to the reigning Greek champions Panathinaikos and to the threepeat challenge, then everything can change just in THREE minutes. Olympiacos will be the favorite to keep him with a new multiyear contract. The key after all for the offer is not only the annual salary, but also the years of the contract.
NBA
During last months at least two NBA teams were impressed by what Spanoulis has achieved in Europe and are planning to approach him officially. After his bad experience in Houston, Spanoulis is not eager to return to the States, but he already had some talks about this possibility, so you can’t never say never. However, one of those teams recently changed general manager, so it’s uknown at this point if the possible interest still exists, while the other one can make him in theory a starter, but can’t give him the money he will be getting in Europe.