By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Ante Zizic will be emerging as a candidate for Maccabi Tel Aviv if the player decides to leave the NBA and return to Europe, according to Israeli website One. The Croatian center will hit the upcoming offseason as an unrestricted free agent since the Cleveland Cavaliers have declined the 2020-2021 option in his contract.
Another reason why Maccabi is reported to be quite interested in Zizic is the recent departure of center Tarik Black. From the frontline players of the Israeli powerhouse, only center Othello Hunter is bound with a contract for the next season.
The budget of Maccabi remains quite the question mark since a major part of it depends on the revenues from ticket sales. It’s currently uncertain when arenas in Israeli will once again be open to fans and the “Yellows” will be waiting to see the development on this matter before actually signing any new players.
Zizic had a standout run in EuroLeague in 2016-2017 before heading to the NBA. At 20 years of age and while being rookie in the competition, Zizic averaged 9.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 21:51 minutes over 20 games with Darussafaka, under former Maccabi (and Cavs) coach David Blatt. In the playoffs vs. Real Madrid, he posted 12.0 points plus 6.3 rebounds in 21:43 minutes.