By Utkan Şahin / info@eurohoops.net
After the conclusion of the 2020-21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with the Final Four held at Cologne, the focus turns to the players set to become free agents this summer. Our first look was on the playmakers who’ve entered free agency, and now it’s time to shift focus to the shooting guards available on the market.
Strong entries in the free agency, including some of the big protagonists of the 2020-21 EuroLeague season, with many suitors looking after them. Let’s take a closer look!
Note 1: Players with options in their contracts are also included.
Note 2: At the end of the list, you will find all the shooting guards that will be released at the end of the current season.
10 – Errick McCollum (Khimki Moscow)
Age / Country: 33 / USA
EuroLeague Career: 2 seasons – 57 games
Stats: 28 games, 11.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 11.3 EFF
Best Game: 29 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 33 EFF vs Crvena Zvezda
We realize that we are starting the list with a controversial name at number 10.
After all, among the shooting guards expected to be released this summer are EuroLeague legends such as Vassilis Spanoulis and Jaycee Carroll. It may seem like a strange choice to leave them out and choose McCollum, but it is very difficult for them to leave their teams at this point, with their name engraved in Olympiacos and Real Madrid history. Therefore, even if Carroll and Spanoulis are released this summer, they will not be a choice for other teams.
Back to McCollum, it’s been an awfully painful season for Khimki. As many players abandoned the “ship” during the season, the Russian team sank to the bottom of the standings. In such a chaotic environment, of course, the performance and values of the players on the court decreased.
The American guard, who doesn’t need his teammates in the scoring part, scored 11.6 points with good percentages in 28 games he played. Frankly, it’s not a surprise when we consider his past ventures throughout his career.
Teams looking for guards who can come from the sidelines and produce their own score the way McCollum does will surely have him on their radars.
9 – KC Rivers (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Age / Country: 34 / USA
EuroLeague Career: 7 seasons – 200 games
Stats: 37 games, 6.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 4.5 EFF
Best Game: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 26 EFF vs Crvena Zvezda
Looking for an experienced shooting guard who has proven himself time and again? Then KC Rivers might be the name you’ve been looking for.
Rivers, who turned into a big-time role player with Real Madrid, while scoring more purely at the beginning of his career, as you know, found himself outside the EuroLeague two seasons ago.
However, EuroLeague teams quickly woke up from this mistake and made him part of Europe’s best league again. The 34-year-old shooter’s performances in Zalgiris and Zenit proved that he deserved this chance.
Maybe his averages this season weren’t all that impressive, but whenever his team needed shooting and experience, he took the stage. On top of that, experienced American players who know what it means to win such a championship in Europe are not easy to find.
8 – Janis Strelniks (CSKA Moscow)
Ages / Country: 31 / Latvia
EuroLeague Career: 7 seasons – 157 games
Stats: 26 games, 4.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 3.2 EFF
Best game: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 11 EFF vs Baskonia
While we’re in Russia, let’s move from Petersburg to Moscow!
Darrun Hilliard wasn’t the only one who had a mediocre season at CSKA Moscow, since Strelnieks also fell short of expectations.
The Latvian guard, who has not been able to return to full form after his injuries in recent years, has experienced a similar situation this season and seemed far from his former productivity when he was on the court. His EuroLeague career average of 4.4 points is also an indication of this.
But frankly, it’s not the stats that show the value of players like Strelnieks. It is very difficult to find an experienced and smart guard like him who knows how to play the game well. EuroLeague is not a star league and the champion is often determined by the good role players in a squad.
Strelnieks is the perfect fit to fill this role on nights when he’s healthy and fit – making him a rare type of player in the competition.
For this reason, we are sure that we will continue seeing him in the EuroLeague, even if that’s not with CSKA.
7 – Darrun Hilliard (CSKA Moscow)
Age / Country : 28 / USA
EuroLeague Career: 3 seasons – 98 games
Stats: 37 games, 8.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 5.9 EFF
Best game: 31 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 32 EFF vs Baskonia
Darrun Hilliard, who just finished his third EuroLeague season, obviously still needs to prove himself.
The American shooter, who found himself in a big team like CSKA after his performance in the playoffs in Baskonia, had a bumpy ride in the two seasons he spent there. Especially this past one!
Hilliard, who was a more important part of the team last season, started to lose his role in the rotation in the second half of the season and this was reflected in his statistics. Although coach Itoudis gave him a chance to find himself again from time to time, frankly, the American scorer did not use these opportunities very well.
Therefore, the possibility of CSKA Moscow extending him in the summer seems pretty low for now.
However, this probably won’t be the end for Hilliard. He’s still 28 and for a shooter like him – even if he’s shot poorly this season – there will be EuroLeague teams that will be interested in acquiring him.
6 – Tyler Dorsey (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Age / Country: 25 / Greece
EuroLeague Career: 2 seasons – 62 games
Stats: 34 games, 11.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 9.7 EFF
Best game: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 36 EFF vs Real Madrid
Let’s move on to the kind of players who could be the future of the competition!
After his short adventure in the NBA, Dorsey came to EuroLeague with Maccabi two years ago and warmed up slowly before our eyes. Playing for coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos, known to nurture young talents in the competition, Dorsey was able to adapt his playing style to Europe.
The Greek guard, who has shown special performances from time to time on the offensive side this season, has shown to the whole of Europe that he is a valuable talent even though the season was bad for Maccabi. In fact, maybe if the ball had been given to Dorsey a little more than to Wilbekin at the end of any game, the season might not have been this bad for Maccabi.
The Greek guard left the team with the suspension of the league in Israel and went to the United States, and according to rumors, we may see him in Greece next season with Olympiacos.
This transfer is not official yet, but it doesn’t matter if it’s with Olympiacos or any other EuroLeague team. Dorsey is ready for the next big role.
5 – Jordan Loyd (Crvena Zvezda)
Age / Country: 28 / USA
EuroLeague Career: 2 seasons – 47 games
Stats: 29 games,17.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 16.5 EFF
Best Game: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 34 EFF vs Baskonia
Next is Jordan Loyd, one of the most remarkable names of this campaign.
The American player’s move from Valencia to Crvena Zvezda last summer was a somewhat complicated choice. After all, while he had proven himself in a more assertive team like Valencia, it was a big bet moving to a team like Zvezda.
Loyd may have taken a step back, but actually, this step back made him stand out even more.
The American scorer, who took the lead of the Serbian team, proved how big his individual skills are, although the season was not very impressive for Zvezda. After his standout games at the beginning of the season, Loyd’s name began to be mentioned in the radars of many teams for the next season. According to the latest reports, Zenit is the team that is making the greater push for the American shooter.