By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
After what can be considered the worst season of Maccabi Tel Aviv ever, the Israeli powerhouse wants to make a big comeback next season in the European scene and be one of the contenders in the new Euroleague format.
The Israelis are already planning ahead, many changes are coming and the bugdet of the team is expected to increase, a decision related also with the bigger revenues from the new joint venture between Euroleague and IMG. As Eurohoops reported, Sonny Weems is going to be one of the marquee of the new roster, with the player himself confirming the deal. However, despite numerous report on the matter, nothing else can be considered a lock at this point.
Maccabi has initiated talks with agent Misko Raznatovic who represents both Quincy Miller and Maik Zirbes, the breakout front line duo of Crvena Zvezda. However, in both cases the talks are in a premature phase and at least the side of the players is not in any kind of a hurry to finalize a deal. Meanwhile, the name of Lokomotiv’s Giorgos Bartzokas – among others – is presented to be one of the main candidates for the coaching position. There’s no doubt that Maccabi is more than interested on his services, however it’s also more than early for anything more.
One thing is for sure: Maccabi Tel Aviv is going to be quite different next season, trying to erase everything that happened during the 2015-16 season.