By Evaggelos Papadimitriou, adapted by Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
As expected, the summer has been particularly hot for the teams of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Impressive transfers were announced daily, with more potentially coming up deeper in the offseason. Rebuilding teams, including Panathinaikos and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, were all over the place. The rest of the pack was in the mix as well.
All 18 clubs of Europe’s premier club continental competition have completed signature signings over the summer. It looks interesting as the 2023-24 season inches closer.
With more and more players being attracted by the NBA lights, keeping talent in the Old Continent is a challenge met by EuroLeague teams.
The other way around, NBA teams cutting players at the end of the preseason can be intriguing for EuroLeague counterparts, even altering our latest Top 10.
Eurohoops traditionally picks out the best summer moves of EuroLeague teams. Forced to leave out moves such as Milos Teodosic and Shabazz Napier to Zvezda, Luca Vildoza to Panathinaikos, and Sertac Sanli, Giorgos Papagiannis, and Raul Neto to Fenerbahce Beko, here of the Top 10 summer signings in reverse order.
10. Nikola Milutinov
New team: Olympiacos
Previous team: CSKA
Country: Serbia
VTB League stats (2022-23): 14.6pts, 8.2reb, 1.5ast, 12.2PIR over 45 games
Among the early completed transfers, Nikola Milutinov returned to Olympiacos.
The Serbian center was released by CSKA after three years and was determined to make it happen.
Olympiacos did not extend a search elsewhere in the effort of finding a partner inside the paint for Moustapha Fall. Simply diving into the past did the trick.
Milutinov, 28, played for the Reds from 2015 to 2020, emerging as a top-tier center.
His kind words toward Olympiacos, even after his departure, made a return extremely likely. Indeed, he is back.
After being held outside the EuroLeague for just over one year, he is projected to resurface as a star of the league.
Between him and Fall, Olympiacos is looking at tremendous options for the center position.
9. Jabari Parker
New team: FC Barcelona
Previous team: Boston Celtics
Country: USA
NBA stats (2021-22): 4.4pts, 2.3reb over 12 games
For starters, Jabari Parker’s stats correspond to the 2021-22 season, because he did not play in 2022-23.
From the sidelines to the Catalonia powerhouse, the path is far from ideal but also consists of yet another impressive signing for a EuroLeague team.
Parker, 28, was selected with the second overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft. He has since logged 321 games played in the league.
Lasting eight years in the NBA, his participation is indeed limited, including only 31 games played between 2019 and 2022. Knee injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential.
Seeking a restart to his career, Barcelona is not getting a sure bet with a player fully ready for action. However, the upside is tremendous.
One thing is for sure. If Parker stays healthy and displays his talent in EuroLeague, he is destined to eventually return to the NBA.
8. Mathias Lessort
New team: Panathinaikos
Previous team: Partizan Mozzart Bet
Country: France
EuroLeague stats (2022-23): 12.0pts, 7.1reb, 1.4ast, 19.1PIR over 38 games
Transitioning from a reserve role, Mathias Lessort dominated from start to finish with Partizan Mozzart Bet.
The 2022-23 stint with the team based in Belgrade attached him as the leading player in rebounds with 7.1 rebounds per EuroLeague game. He also ranked second in performance index rating with 19.1 per game, trailing only MVP Sasha Vezenkov’s 21.5 per game.
Lessort, 27, was the driving force for Partizan inside the paint. Solid showings in both the offense and defense with energy bursting out across the season.
Rebuilding in style, Panathinaikos managed to pick up perhaps the best center of the 2022-23 season.
New head coach Ergin Ataman will likely rely on the French big, especially in pick-and-roll situations alongside fellow newcomer Kostas Sloukas.
Also, Lessort will love to produce back-to-back brilliant campaigns, therefore establishing himself among the best bigs of the league.
Playing in Athens with the support of the Greens fanbase is an excellent pairing, very similar to his experience in Belgrade.
7. Darius Thompson
New team: Anadolu Efes
Previous team: Baskonia
Country: USA
EuroLeague stats (2022-23): 12.6pts, 3.2rbd, 6.7ast, 1.7stl, 17.1PIR over 34 games
Coming off a brilliant campaign with Baskonia, Darius Thompson quickly went to the cream of the crop on the free-agency pool.
In his EuroLeague debut, the American point guard led the league in assists and was also effective in scoring.
With a buyout on his contract with the Basque club, interested parties knocked on his door.
Anadolu Efes was there to sign him with an annual salary of 2.3 million euros highlighting the 2+1 contract.
With Vasilije Micic moving to the NBA and in the process of rebuilding the roster, Thompson was viewed as an excellent fit.
Erdem Can will not get Micic, but a brilliant point guard with much to offer.
6. Facundo Campazzo
New team: Real Madrid
Previous team: Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet
Country: Argentina
EuroLeague stats (2022-23): 15.0pts, 2.8reb, 5.9ast, 18.7PIR over 9 games
Returning to Europe midway through the 2022-23 season, Facundo Campazzo joined Crvena Zvezda.
Initially making some noise as a free agent, his return to Real Madrid was soon confirmed.
It was a reunion in the making since his return to Europe. The first stint stretching from 2014 to 2020 included two EuroLeague championships in 2015 and 2018.
The Argentine point guard had huge offers, but an annual salary of three million euros from his former team shaped the deal. The new contract last through the 2026-27 season.
Campazzo, 32, is expected to be the same or even better compared to his previous spell at the capital of Spain.
His creativity is likely to up the game for the reigning EuroLeague champions. On a related note, Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez will not be around forever.
5. Juancho Hernangomez
New team: Panathinaikos
Previous team: Toronto Raptors
Country: Spain
NBA stats (2022-23): 2.9pts, 2.9reb over 42 games
Adding to both Panathinaikos and his family, Juancho Hernangomez enters our list.
Apart from hiring Ergin Ataman, the Greens were determined to improve the roster during the summer. The Madrid native fit the bill.
Hernangomez, 27, leaving the NBA after seven years will debut in EuroLeague.
As the ACB Best Young Player in 2016 as a member of Movistar Estudiantes, moving to the NBA was the next challenge.
Seeking a power forward, the Greek club hit the jackpot, despite the newcomer lacking EuroLeague experience.
Countering, Hernangomez has been a regular for Spain’s senior national team since 2017 and has captured three medals in major international tournaments.
The individual highlight was pouring in 27 points with 9/11 from the field in the championship game of the 2022 EuroBasket.
A very impressive transfer with the task in hand of making even more noise on the court.
4. Nikola Mirotic
New team: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Previous team: FC Barcelona
Country: Spain
EuroLeague stats (2022-23): 15.4pts, 4.3rbd, 1.2ast, 16.4PIR over 29 games
Any team clinching a deal with Nikola Mirotic would be an immediate addition to our list.
Since parting ways with Barcelona, he became a nice potential fit for multiple suitors.
The Montenegrin-Spanish forward was far from cheap, therefore a complicated signing.
He ended up shaping the longest and most interesting story of the offseason. From the interest of several teams to the plot twist.
Backing down from the initial agreement with Partizan Mozzart Bet, citing threats to himself and his family, led to Olimpia Milan and a three-year contract with the Italian powerhouse.
At 32, he is tasked with carrying the Milan outfit to success. He admitted as much himself introducing himself to his new team.
3. Kostas Sloukas
New team: Panathinaikos
Previous team: Olympiacos
Country: Greece
EuroLeague Stats (2022-23): 11.0pts, 2.1reb, 5.6ast, 14.7PIR over 36 games
Making the most noise with his transfer, Kostas Sloukas switched from Olympiacos to Panathinaikos.
This rivalry makes it particularly complicated for any player opting to change sides. The experienced guard was not an exception.
From negotiating a new contract with the Reds and the fallout, and being on the way back to Fenerbahce, he eventually reached an agreement with the Greens.
Becoming the highest-paid Greek player was the special bonus to the deal.
The balance of power between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos seemed to shift with this move. For the next three years, the Greens will have the Greek floor general.
Taking everything into consideration, Sloukas perhaps marked the biggest domestic move in Greece over many many years.