By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
In just one day, Euroleague champions Maccabi Tel Aviv lost two key members of its roster. After Tyrese Rice, Ricky Hickman is about to sign a two year deal with Fenerbahce/ Ulker. In both cases, Maccabi didn’t want to change its strict financial policy and that had a cost.
Hickman has also been contacted by Panathinaikos and he was offered to Olympiacos, however Fenerbahce was much more active in courting him and according to sources near the negotiations only his signature seems to be missing from the almost finalized deal. The American point guard according to sources will earn over than 3 million Dollars for the next 2 seasons. After all, the Istanbul club is changing many things in its roster, after releasing two of its biggest stars, Linas Kleiza and Bo McCalebb, using the opt out clause in their contracts.
To be exact Kleiza is already out and there’s a very slim chance for McCalebb to stay with the team, as the deadline of his option ended today. The negotiations of Fenerbahce with Hickman were first reported today by Israeli journalist David Pick. And if you don’t know Hickman’s incredible story, you can read it by clicking here.
UPDATE: As it was expected, the deal was announced by the team after one day.