By Stavros Barbarousis/ info@eurohoops.net
Dwayne Bacon is expected to leave Panathinaikos immediately, after being punished by the club for misconduct and being left out of the playoffs game against Kolossos.
After less than six months, Bacon is expected to part ways with the Greek club, which has taken its final decision on the matter, per Eurohoops sources.
The 28-year-old American small forward was acquired last October amid much fanfare on a contract until 2024, but the deal also included special clauses concerning his professional conduct.
The latest disciplinary offense, which the team itself described as “serious”, prompted this development. It was preceded by a night out with former Panathinaikos player Mike James and Bacon’s teammate in Monaco when the Greek club visited the principality back in March for a regular season EuroLeague game.
The official announcement of the decision is expected soon, while Panathinaikos coach Christos Serelis has stated after the game against Kolossos: “You will be informed about the matter in a couple of days”.
After this unexpected turn of events, Panathinaikos will finish the Greek league season with five non-Greek players, since the team had already excluded from the Greek playoffs roster Nate Walters and Matt Thomas, due to the limitation of six foreign players.
Paris Lee, Derrick Williams, Mateus Ponitka, Arturas Gudaitis, and Marius Grigonis will be available from now on. Dwayne Bacon was the team’s leading scorer with 13.2 points per game in 17 contests.