By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
With a message in his personal Instagram profile, Elliot Williams thanked the fans of Panathinaikos for an “unbelievable first experience in Europe” also praising the Greeks’ passion for the game, while making a vague remark on his future. One that will most likely won’t find him wearing the Greens’ jersey.
After the sacking of Sasa Djordjevic and the arrival of Argiris Pedoulakis, it was curious how the latter would use the American guard. After all, not only was he a choice of his predecessor but his playing style heavily contrasted with the basketball philosophy of his new coach. While initially there was no serious difference in the usage of the American guard, this radically changed in the Finals of the Greek Basket League.
In the title series against Olympiacos, Williams’ playing time got extremely decreased. In fact, he spent almost seven minutes on court per game, taking into account the 03:29 he played in Game 4, where he got slightly injured. In the previous playoffs games, he had averaged almost 27 minutes of action.
Given that Pedoulakis extended his contract with Panathinaikos today, and the lack of trust that he showed to the player during the Finals, everything points to the fact that Williams’ presence doesn’t belong in the coach’s plans for the upcoming season.