By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Nick Calathes’ contract with Panathinaikos ended, he is a free agent and he will try his best in order to get a roster spot in Dallas. That should be the natural evolution for him, since the Mavs got his NBA rights, but one more player from the Greek finals can end up in their roster, Acie Law of Olympiacos.
Those two are very different cases. Calathes is a 23 years old player, who believes that he learned all he could from European basketball and now feels that it’s the right time for him to try and achieve his childhood dream of playing in the NBA. He will play for the Greek national team at the FIBA Pre-Olympic tournament, but he wants also to be present at the Las Vegas summer league and will chase his dream, something that can be done if Greece doesn’t qualify to London.
Law is a player that belongs to the NBA and signed a contract in Europe because of the lock out. He was born in Dallas, he was a star named “Captain Clutch” at Texas A&M university, a nick name that proved to be fitting also in the Greek league finals, and he can have an important role in a rebuilding team like the Mavs who have him on their radar, according to Greek sources.
The odd thing about him, though, is that he doesn’t exclude the possibility of continuing his career in Europe and specifically in Olympiacos, after being Euroleague and Greek champion with the Reds, because he loved the experience. Both of them are free agents, so Mavs don’t have to worry about any kind of buy outs.