By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Andrey Vedischev can complete the season of Lokomotiv Kuban on a high note. It’s not usual, but the president of the club who is probably the favorite to win the Euroleague best executive award, may end up being the only member of the club to win a trophy after a memorable season.
Lokomotiv Kuban had a hell of run, made it to the Final Four, but in the end couldn’t celebrate an award which can be considered a legacy for the club. While the team of Malcolm Delaney and coach Giorgos Bartzokas stole the show on the court, in the end the only decoration it got was Delaney being included in the first All-Euroleague team and Anthony Randolph being a member of the second All-Euroleague team.
That’s not small feat, but it reflects much more the personal performance of players and less the achievements of the club. And after its impressive season, Lokomotiv is out of the Euroleague. The roster is expected to change a lot in the near future and nothing can be taken for granted. The club is trying to convince coach Bartzokas to stay, while most of its standout players are on the exit door. Still, Lokomotiv with a modest budget made history this season, as for the first time a Russian club not named CSKA Moscow was also part of the Final Four.
The result of the voting will be announced at the start of July in Barcelona and only the longtime president of Baskonia, Josean Querejeta, who had already won the award back in 2008 can be considered a real rival to Vedischev. It remains to be seen what the other voters, the fellow general managers of Vedischev, think about the matter.