Βy Dimitris Minarentzis/ info@eurohoops.net
Efes Anadolu are “doomed” to investing and hoping to advance to the Final Four!
They’re going to do the same thing this year as well, though without… spending so much since they already had big contracts behind them (Heurtel, Derrick Brown, Dunston) and the budget was high anyway. However, the management of the Turkish team decided to gamble with – the very successful last year – Velimir Perasovic and hope for the best.
They’re going to have to fill the void of Dario Saric who waved goodbye to join the Sixers and they will definitely move around the constellation of Thomas Heurtel who is going to have the ball in his hands to conduct Efes’s game.
Signings
Efes acquired two forwards who are athletic and experienced in the Euroleague, Deshaun Thomas and Tyler Honeycutt who is impressive in the air, while we’re waiting to see whether they will benefit from the signing of Bryce Cotton, who plays in both guard positions. Omic’s addition to the ‘5’ position also looks good.
The moves were few, but there’s always the foundation from last year with Heurtel, Dunston, Derrick Brown, and of course Cedi Osman who is expected to play a leading role.
Coach
Velimir Perasovic, at 51, is going to enter his eighth season in the Euroleague (Tau, Cibona, Efes, Valencia, and again Baskonia) as he returns to Efes after 2011. It seems that it’s his nature to come back and not leave any unfinished business. Then, he had a record of 7-9 with the Turkish team, while his overall record is 74-58! 53 of them with Baskonia…
They will be satisfied if…
As always, Efes have their eyes set on the Final Four, but their roster doesn’t look totally convincing for something like that. But did Perasovic’s Baskonia last year have the manpower to get all the way to Berlin? Still. Objectively though, we think that advancing to the top eight is their most realistic goal.
We are anxiously waiting to see…
We are wondering whether Perasovic – who is essentially succeeding Ivkovic (even though he left before the end of last season) – can put together a competitive group like he did with Laboral Kutxa. On paper, the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit in the right way, but it’s a long way from theory to practice. At any rate, Efes have an athletic roster and we’re probably going to see an entertaining and fast team like Baskonia. We don’t… mind, right?