By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Barcelona is making a big push in order to get Petteri Koponen from Khimki and despite numerous reports about an almost completed deal, there’s no agreement yet. However, the odds of Barcelona finally getting the player are more than favorable.
While the Catalans are in talks both with the player and the Russian club, there are still many issues that have to be settled in order for the player to wear the “blaugrana” jersey. It’s obvious that at this point Barcelona is no longer focused on Vives and the main weapon of the club in the negotiations with Khimki is the absence of the Russians from the Euroleague the upcoming season.
Practically that means a much lower budget and that’s why Khimki already sold Tyrese Rice to Barcelona. Khimki will be helped not only by getting a buy out, but also by not paying Koponen for next season, the highest paid player in the team right now after Alexey Shved. The negotiations are expected to be completed, one way or the other, in the next few days and there’s a cautious optimism in Barcelona that Koponen will sign with them. If this happens, then Koponen will travel in the upcoming week to Spain in order to have his medical exams and complete the deal.