By Arale Weisberg, Israel Hayom / aralos10@gmail.com
In the last 12 years, Maccabi Tel Aviv always had at least one past European champion. Arriel McDonald, Nate Huffman, Nadav Henefeld, Anthony Parker, Tal Burstein, Derrick Sharp, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Nikola Vujcic. This is only a part of the yellow legacy from the beginning of the century.
However something has changed. Giorgi Shermadini was the only past champion in this season’s roster of Maccabi… And even he didn’t really win it. In order to be considered a champ, the Georgian center scored one point for Panathinaikos during the whole 2008-09 Euroleague season. And, do not forget, he barely survived the regular season in Tel Aviv this year – and was cut before the Top 16.
It’s been a crazy season for the Israeli champs.
They began with a five-game winning streak, making their all-time second best start. They made the biggest comeback of the history in European basketball – bouncing back from a 2-5 first round to make a six-game winning streak and gain third spot in their Top 16 group.
But they also ended the season with a four-game losing streak – for the first time in 15 years. And they were swept 0-3 by Real Madrid in the quarterfinals. That was the most one-sided series ever in the Euroleague; Four other teams lost in three games, but Maccabi is the only one to get beaten by a 50 point margin.
So, was it a success? Was it a failure? And what’s coming up next at Nokia Arena?
“We change the whole team every year, and that makes us weaker,” admitted coach David Blatt recently. He was right: 30 different players wore the yellow jersey in the last three seasons. Maccabi lost its stars to richer clubs, or to NBA teams. It happened with Jeremy Pargo, Chuck Eidson, Keith Langford and Richard Hendrix. The next revolution is just around the corner. Many players will leave again. But for other reason: They are simply not good enough for a team with ambition to make the Final Four.
Nik Caner-Medley, just like Shermadini, was one of the most wanted players in the European market last summer. And Maccabi got a hold of him. But there was one man missing. One true, mighty big man, who will replace Sofoklis Schortsanitis and make the others’ life easier. Aleks Maric was almost a done-deal. With him, the team might have looked totally different. Without him, though…
The matchup against Real tells the story. Just a couple of years ago, Maccabi crashed the Spaniards 82-63 in the semi finals. Real kept six players since then, and they scored 136 points in this season’s series versus the yellows. Lior Eliyahu and Guy Pnini, the only two “survivors” in Maccabi from 2011, combined 7 points in the whole series against Madrid. 136-7. Just imagine.
After taking this limited bunch of players to the top 8, Blatt will remain in his position. Caner-Medley has a valid contract for next season, but he is unlikely to stay. David Logan’s chances aren’t really high, as well. Darko Planinic will not wear yellow, and might be loaned. This season’s main stars, Devin Smith and Shawn James, have expiring contracts – but the club is putting a big effort to keep them.
The team’s captain, Eliyahu, will be asked to reduce his salary after a bad season. Maccabi will try to strength its local touch by adding guard Yotam Halperin and forward Alex Tyus. Some people are fantasizing about the return home of Omri Casspi, but he is determined to stay in the NBA.
And what about foreign newcomers? The club management wants to invest its money in smaller number of players – with bigger amount of quality. The names mentioned in the media are the ones who already were at the club and left, like Jordan Farmar, Jeremy Pargo, Langford and Hendrix.
Which one will return? The next days will tell.
And perhaps the next playmaker of Maccabi will be a surprising one. A couple of weeks ago, Blatt gave me his all-time “fab-five”: Nikola Vujcic at center, Andrei Kirilenko and Andrew Kennedy at forward, Anthony Parker and… Nikos Zisis at guard. “I would love to coach Nikos again some time. I wish my son to be like him” the Israeli said.