– Not everyone changes teams in the summer. It seems like they do, but some stay on where they are. Those who have signed extensions with their current clubs include Slovakian scoring machine Radoslav Rancik, who has signed a two-year deal with Galatasaray, and ex-San Diego State forward Mohamed Abukar, who signed a two-year deal of his own with the Swiss champion Lugano Tigers. Dimitris Diamantidis snuffed out the <1% possibility of him ever joining the NBA as he signed a three-year extension with Panathinaikos, and Mengke Bateer has re-signed with Xinjiang, staving off his retirement (and inevitable subsequent move into full-time acting) for at least one more year. Ex-Raptors draft pick Roko Ukic took a buyout from Milwaukee part way through last season to join Turkish team Fenerbahce, and he’s just signed for two extra years there. And another Raptors draft pick, Giorgis Printezis, has taken a pay cut in signing a two-year extension with Unicaja Malaga. – Speaking of Malaga; in contrast to previously reported news, it transpires that they did not actually retain the services of Omar Cook after all. Cook is a quality point guard in Europe, and he shouldn’t have problems finding new work. Additionally, as initially reported, David Logan has joined Caja Laboral on a three year deal. He replaces Carl English, who has left the team. And Le Mans quickly found a replacement for Marc Salyers, bringing in former Detroit Mercy forward Ryvon Covile. Ryvon averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds for Entente Orleans last season. – But the big news here is that of ex-Rider big man, Steve Castleberry, who has moved from Czech Republican team Podebrady to Czech Republican team Basketball Brno. Last year for Podebrady, Castleberry was seventh in the league in scoring, second in rebounds and sixth […]
– Pablo Prigioni Prigoni left Tau Vitoria this summer after six years there, and moved to Real Madrid as a part of Ettore Messina’s complete makeover of the place. He averages 6.9 points and 3.4 assists per game in the ACB, alongside 7.0 points and 4.5 assists in their now-ended EuroLeague campaign. However, his defence, which was always a calling card of his, has started to slip. This is to be expected from a man who turns 33 next month. – Georgios Printezis The next great Raptors European hope, Gorgeous Georgios left Olympiacos in the summer for a big money deal with Unicaja Malaga. He averaged 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in their EuroLeague campaign, alongside 9.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in the ACB. Despite this being a website with a focus on player salaries, I tend not to comment upon the salaries of European players, for they are highly speculative and basically impossible to verify. However, Printezis signed with Malaga to a deal that pays seven-figures and then some; therefore, even with Toronto’s favourable tax rates (that I don’t particularly understand but am aware they exist) for the Raptors to compete with that means using at least a BAE. So a move to the NBA is perhaps not imminent. – Laron Profit Cult hero Profit was a member of the Grizzlies training camp roster in 2007, but did not make the team. Since that time, he has spent three consecutive seasons with an Argentinian team called Libertad Sunchales. There, playing alongside the mighty Ruben Wolkowyski, Profit averages 16.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Libertad finished fourth in the Argentinian Liga A regular season standings, received a bye for the first round of the playoffs, and begin their quarter final matchup versus Boca […]
– Olden Polynice has retired, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he’s nearly 45 years old, but it took him longer to do than you might think. After retiring, Polynice became a coach for an ABA team, but the job security of a position like that is about six weeks maximum. He has not, as far as I am aware, joined the police force. – Mark Pope has also retired, and as promised has enrolled in medical school. – Vitaly Potapenko has also also retired. After falling out of the NBA in 2007 (and looking quite bad during his last year), Vitaly sat around on the side-lines for a while before signing with Estudiantes in Spain in December 2007. He played six games, looked off the pace, was quickly waived, and retired after that. End of an era. – Roger Powell hasn’t retired, so that means I’m going to have to actually put some effort into this entry. Powell didn’t make the Bulls roster out of preseason, despite a pretty decent showing, and signed in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem. In five EuroChallenge games, Powell averaged 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, improving slightly to 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in the Israeli league. Powell is a combined 10-39 from three-point range in the two competitions, including one 4-4 outing, so his weakness is still his weakness. – Kasib Powell started the year in China, where he averaged 25.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 59% shooting. He left the team at the beginning of the year and is now back in his natural territory – the D-League. For the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Powell is averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. – Carlos Powell is playing for the pricelessly-named Inchon ET Land Black Slamer in South Korea. He averages […]
