Βy Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Nikos Zisis is a free agent this summer and like it always happens in these cases the scenarios come and go. The truth? Absolutely nothing is yet fixed or underway and everything will be decided after the end of the season, in the summer. Let’s take a look at the facts of this case, what corresponds to the reality and what doesn’t.
- The sense that has been created that Nikos Zisis will return to Greece is false, regardless of the circumstances. He’s been playing abroad for 10 consecutive years (!), something that hasn’t happened with any other international player of this level. He already has a family of four and it makes sense that he comes back to his country if the ideal career option arises. But how easy is that?
- AEK has him on the top of their list in their planning, for obvious reasons. The information that Eurohoops has indicate that the club’s strong man Mr. Angelopoulos considers his presence in the structure that the Union wants to build so important that he’s prepared to offer him a three-year closed contract with earnings that will reach 1.8 million euros.
- So far so good. However, there is no chance AEK is going to play in the next Euroleague and despite what is being said it is not yet certain whether they will be able to secure the Wildcard for their participation in the Eurocup. There are other European clubs that are pushing and they have the argument that they got in the top four in the playoffs of their national leagues.
- Zisis is nearing 32, he definitely has 3 more years of quality basketball to offer, and in the national team in all recent competitions as well as in Fenerbahce of so many stars, he has proven the obvious, based on his career. That he is a wildcard draw for the perimeter of any big team, a player who always plays and conducts himself on and off the court in accordance with the whole. In line-ups that include guards that have a lot of talent in scoring and a lot of ego, he chooses to stick to more creative roles and to attempt few shots. When his teams need him to do that something extra, he typically steps up and displays his ability to execute.
- A very consistent decision maker, excellent organizer, solid free throw shooter and with consistency in personal defense in the positions 1, 2, 3. An element that is very important in modern basketball. It’s a given that the priority of such a player will be a deal with a Euroleague team. We cannot rule out his staying in Fenerbahce – Obradovic renewed for 2 more years – but there the situation is very volatile after the negative developments with Ulker. If he doesn’t return to Greece, Turkey, along with Italy (he has played there for many years and he has won 12 titles, 4 championships, 4 cups and 4 Super Cups) and Spain (he has also played with Bilbao in the Final 8 of Copa del Reys and a Eurocup final) are possible destinations.
- Let’s go over to Greece too. The Euroleague teams are Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. With Panathinaikos there is no recorded history of “flirtation” but with the Greens’ leader Dimitris Diamantidis playing for perhaps the last year (the next one) and with so many young players on the roster that need guidance and experience by their side, no one can rule out anything. It’s also a matter of the coach, something that hasn’t been cleared up in Panathinaikos.
- With Olympiacos there was a thing for three summers and only that of 2011 did he sign with the Piraeus team. Then, Siena’s president Ferdinando Minucci had spoiled the transfer. It’s this team that’s in the best competitive form, has played in 3 Euroleague finals in 4 years, relies on the Greek element, has as the natural leader and captain in Vassilis Spanoulis, with whom Zisis are like “brothers” for the past 15 years. It makes sense not just for Zisis, but for any international player, for Olympiacos to look like the most ideal destination at this point in time in Greece.
- Despite everything that’s being written there has been absolutely no contact between the two sides and common sense says that nothing is going to happen – even if Olympiacos does take an interest in the player – until the administration’s planned meeting with Kostas Sloukas. The club’s priority is to sign a new long-term contract and for the 25yearold guard, who has a great future ahead of him but also a successful past behind him, to stay.
- Specifically regarding Zisis’s case that is peculiar, the scenario of the 5 active guards can also be put forward, something that (wrongly) wasn’t applied in the last 2 seasons and with Spanoulis turning 34 next year. Spanoulis, Sloukas, Mantzaris, a top class American and a 5th active guard on the 1-2.
- With this management Olympiacos gains the following: a) The average amount of minutes that Spanoulis plays could be reduced, something that is necessary and good for him, since this will give him more quality minutes and a longer duration in his career at the highest level. So he can do… what he loves doing, deciding games in the final moments, for more seasons to come. b) There will be a healthier internal competition, something that improves all the players and keeps them alert. c) When injuries arise, the perimeter will be fortified. d) If the scenario not to acquire someone in place of Darden (and Lojeski and Papapetrou share the ‘3’ position) goes forward the frontline can be filled and more space can be given to Agravanis, and at the same time Olympiacos can have the capability to play frequently with short line-ups and 3 guards. That’s where Zisis comes in, who has the advantage of being a very good defensive player even on opponents who play in the ‘3’ position.
- An athlete with the reason that Zisis has on and off the court, it can be estimated with no risk that for situations like that of Olympiacos or other top teams abroad, he will demonstrate a willingness to sign a contract with a smaller cache than what he had this year with UNICS or Fenerbahce, or in comparison to the money that AEK has decided to offer him in order to convince him. This doesn’t mean that he will not look after his own interests or his professional dignity and surrender unconditionally (and without any negotiations) to the prospects that he might prefer.
- Finally, for a player who has experienced everything, playing nonstop for 15 years with national teams, who has played 10 consecutive seasons abroad and is now a family man, it makes sense that the duration of his new contract will play an even bigger role than the financial aspect.