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 and the shooting guards who’ve entered free agency, and now it’s time to shift focus to the small forwards 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 small forwards that will be released at the end of the current season.
10- Howard Sant-Roos (Panathinaikos) *
Age / Country: 30 / Cuba
EuroLeague Career: 2 seasons – 42 games
Stats: 32 games, 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 8.9 EFF
Best game: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 27 EFF vs Olympiacos
Maybe I did it wrong. Maybe Howard Sant-Roos shouldn’t have been on this list, I should have included him in the list of the top 10 point guards. Although the Cuban player spent most of his career as a forward, this season he appeared in a completely different role with Panathinaikos.
When the Greek giant struggled to establish a guard rotation, Sant-Roos took the playmaking responsibilities as we’ve never seen before. Just like Adam Hanga did earlier in Barcelona…
Frankly, making such a drastic change in a player’s role at this time of his career is often counterproductive. In this story, the result may not have been great, but Roos managed to adapt to the role as much as possible at his age and gave an acceptable performance.
Still, my personal opinion is that no more adventures are needed. Roos is a much more efficient player at #3. Especially considering what a valuable player he is in defending the opposing forwards.
The Cuban player has an option with Panathinaikos for the next season. Considering how difficult the last season was for the Greek giant, we can expect a new reconstruction there, and it is difficult to predict what will happen to Roos within those plans.
Still, I think he’s a EuroLeague player and he deserves to be here.
* He has an optional contract with Panathinaikos for next year.
9- Paul Zipser (Bayern Munich)
Age / Country: 27 / Germany
EuroLeague Career: 5 seasons – 85 games
Stats: 39 games, 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 9.5 EFF
Best game: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 18 EFF vs Milano
Bayern Munich became the hallmark of this season with its performance, and many players in the squad reached the top of their careers. Paul Zipser is one of those players.
Although the German forward had the opportunity to play in the NBA in recent years, he was never among the top players on his team. This may not have been the case with Bayern either, but as a very valuable role player, he helped his team’s surprisingly successful run in EuroLeague.
Zipser, who entered most of the games from the bench, helped his team with his physicality in defense while also making Bayern’s job easier with his three-point shots on the offensive side. Especially his performance in the playoffs was a peak for him.
Bayern is generally a very persistent team in protecting their domestic core. Therefore, they will try to keep Zipser in the squad in the summer, but other EuroLeague teams may open their bags to add a role player who has proven himself in the playoffs.
8- Austin Hollins (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Age / Country: 29 / USA
EuroLeague Career: 2 seasons – 65 games
Stats: 38 games, 8.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 5.8 EFF
Best game: 20 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 22 EFF vs Valencia
Since we brought up the subject of Bayern, let’s move on to Zenit, another surprise of the season.
The Russian team added a great atmosphere to this season with its performance. Maybe they didn’t have a big star on their roster other than Kevin Pangos, but under the leadership of Xavi Pascual, they played great team basketball and managed to get the support of everyone.
Hollins, who spent his second season in Russia, was part of the team that played that right basketball.
Considering his athleticism and shooting ability, his scoring could’ve been much higher, but Hollins preferred to play efficiently for his team. This is not a mentality you will see in every player.
For this reason, the 29-year-old forward is one of the underrated names in the league.
Zenit extended the contract with Pascual before the end of the season and the Spanish coach will want to keep a decent player like Hollins. However, I don’t think Zenit will be the only EuroLeague team willing to race for Hollins. It will be difficult for the Russian team to keep him.