By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Vasilije Micic remains on the shortlist of Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, but Russell Westbrook is far from such consideration.
The general manager of the Israeli club, Giorgos Hinas, talked to Basketball Sphere about potential summer targets and uncertainty heading to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
“We spoke with him in late March and early April. We didn’t reach an agreement then, but we stayed in touch with him and his agent,” he said.
“What the Spanish media reported — that he rejected us because of the war — isn’t true,” added Hinas, “We continued talking. Mr. Yannay even met with him in Abu Dhabi.”
Other EuroLeague teams, including defending champion Fenerbahce Beko, are also considering Micic.
“Nothing is concrete yet,” pointed out the Greek executive, “He’s one of the players we’re interested in, but so are other clubs.”
Additional rumors went into preparing a huge offer for Westbrook. “That’s 100% fake news,” stressed Hinas.
The plan is to build a solid roster for the move up to Europe’s premier club continental competition as the BKT EuroCup champions.
“We won’t play EuroLeague games in Israel, but we have other advantages. There’s coach Itoudis, Mr. Yannay is a very ambitious owner and will do whatever it takes to win,” he mentioned on convincing players to sign with Hapoel, “We’re trying to establish ourselves in the EuroLeague, and that will take time. There are bigger teams with bigger budgets. But I’m confident we’ll have a very competitive team.”
In addition to the EuroLeague, the Reds can be an expansion team in the AdmiralBet ABA League.
“Given everything happening in Tel Aviv right now, playing in the ABA League is a real alternative — not only due to the circumstances but also because the level of the competition is rising every year. It’s very competitive,” confirmed Hinas, “Partizan, Crvena Zvezda, Buducnost, Cedevita Olimpija, and Dubai are very good teams. We’re talking with the league’s management. We don’t know how it will end, but there is definitely mutual interest.”
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