By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
It’s not common for Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs to make changes to their rosters halfway through a season. It’s often only due to an urgent necessity that managements are prompted to make such decisions and potentially sacrifice team chemistry to add a big body, some firepower or extra defensive muscle.
Mid-season acquisitions don’t always pay off, but there have been cases where they ultimately played a part in teams not only going all the way to the Final Four, but also winning the title. Let’s have a look at some of the most successful transfers that EuroLeague clubs have made when the season was already up and running.
(Players listed in alphabetical order)
Joey Dorsey (Olympiacos)
The 2011-12 offseason was an unusual one for Olympiacos. The club’s front office decided to make a major overhaul and create a core of mostly young guys around star Vassilis Spanoulis. The roster was far from glamorous, especially in comparison to previous seasons, at least on paper.
No one predicted that this team would return to the Final Four, let alone finish the campaign as the EuroLeague champion.
A turning point that steered the team in that direction occurred in mid-season. With starting center Lazaros Papadopoulos getting injured and being forced to stay out for months, Olympiacos decided to sign a big guy, former NBAer Joey Dorsey, in January.
Dorsey had just been released from eliminated Baskonia. As it turned out, he clicked immediately with the young, athletic and quite hungry Olympiacos squad. He soon became an ideal pick-and-roll partner for Spanoulis and a dominant presence on defense, both as a rim protector and someone who could contain opposing guards when he switched on them.
He showed the latter skill to great effect in the team’s Game 1 road win in the playoff series vs. Montepaschi Siena as a pivotal figure in stopping Bo McCalebb, one of the hottest EuroLeague players at the time. Dorsey was perhaps his team’s most valuable defensive player in that game, pulling off some impressive stops, especially down the stretch. Thanks to that victory, plus two more at home, the Reds got a ticket to the Final Four.
When underdog Olympiacos faced grand favorite Barcelona in the semifinal, Dorsey had a key contribution with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. He also made a bucket that handed his team a two-possession lead in the final seconds. Two days later, he would celebrate his first EuroLeague title.
Dorsey’s career with the Reds ended abruptly at the beginning of the 2012-13 season, following an incident with then-coach Georgios Bartzokas and some criticism he made of the club.
James Gist (Panathinaikos)
The December 2012 trade between Panathinaikos and Unicaja Malaga that sent forward Andy Panko to the Spanish side in exchange for James Gist would grant the Greens their starting “four” for many, many years. Gist has been with Panathinaikos ever since and is now the team’s longest-serving player, with seven straight seasons as an OAKA resident.
Gist, 33, had been playing in the EuroLeague for almost three seasons until then, but it was with Panathinaikos that he emerged as one of the top two-way forwards in the competition. His high-flying pick-and-roll actions, first with Dimitris Diamantidis and then with Nick Calathes, became a staple in the Panathinaikos offense and led to the nickname “Gist Airlines”, while his ability to guard multiple positions make him a valuable defender, too.