By Bugra Uzar / info@Eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes is on the market for a new head coach and the two names that are on top of the club’s list are Pablo Laso and Xavi Pascual according to Eurohoops sources.
Efes is parting ways with Ergin Ataman – who led the team to the back-to-back EuroLeague titles of 2021 and 2022 – at the end of the season, as the Turkish coach will be taking over Panathinaikos Athens.
After missing the EuroLeague playoffs this year, Efes will be looking for a rebuild in order make a run for the championship title again next year with either Laso or Pascual at the helm, preferably.
Laso, a two-time EuroLeague champion in 2015 and 2018 with Real Madrid, has been a free agent since July 2022 and his breakup with the Spanish powerhouse due to medical reasons. He had suffered a mild heart attack during the ACB League playoffs.
Bayern Munich has also expressed strong interest in acquiring Pablo Laso.
Veteran EuroLeague coach Pascual is currently working in Russia with Zenit St. Petersburg. He signed a three-year extension agreement in 2021 but, according to some reports, the deal includes an out option that he can exercise this summer. He won the EuroLeague title back in 2010 with Barcelona.