By M. Bahadır Akgün, Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
Another Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season is in the books, and as the domestic leagues are also coming to an end in the coming weeks, the fun begins for the supporters of the competition and it’s none other than the free agency!
Teams will roll up their sleeves to prepare for the new season with more hope and will try to sign the best possible players for their respective teams.
Just like every year, Eurohoops is bringing its readers a series of the Top 10 free agents in every position, and the shooting guards are up next. You can check the Top 10 point guards in the free agency here.
Note 1: Players who have an option in their current contracts are not included on the list.
Note 2: The list has been formed in random order.
Note 3: Players who have fled Russian clubs and signed with non-Euroleague clubs are included.
OJ Mayo (UNICS Kazan)
Age/ Country: 34 / USA
EuroLeague Career: 1 season – 20 games
2021-22 Stats: 20 games| 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 2.6 PIR
Best Game: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 14 PIR vs Olimpia Milano (Round 10)
OJ Mayo’s career seemed to be over and it was unlikely for him to perform at the Euroleague level.
However, he managed to make remarkable performances from time to time with UNICS Kazan for which he was suiting up since the fifth week of the EuroLeague. The veteran guard has shown that he can still be a good scoring threat, although there are big questions about his efficiency overall.
After trying himself in the EuroLeague after the Chinese League, can OJ Mayo find a contract at this level again at 34 years of age, having had a EuroLeague season full of question marks? It is not easy to answer this question.
However, the fact that he averaged 2.5 shots from deep, and was making them with 45.1% precision, will increase the interest in him.
Billy Baron (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Age / Country: 31 / USA
EuroLeague Career: 3 seasons – 88 games
2021-22 Stats: 23 games| 11.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 9.9 PIR
Best Game: 25 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 30 PIR vs Crvena Zvezda (Round 18)
Billy Baron, one of the players affected by the scenario where the Russian teams were left out of the EuroLeague, nevertheless continued the season at Zenit St. Petersburg and remained with the team until the end of his contract.
The US guard proved himself as a EuroLeague-level player throughout his career, as he climbed step by step. He has been showing it for three seasons, providing great scoring and production.
This past year, Baron put on an even better run compared to the previous season and showed more consistency, especially with his responsibilities increasing as the competition went on.