EuroLeague rosters definitive after signings deadline

All the players who will challenge for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title this season are accounted with the passing of the roster registration deadline. It came on Monday at 18:00 CET for both Real Madrid and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, who played their Round 26 game that day, and on Wednesday at 18:00 CET for the rest of the EuroLeague teams.

Any new players who could help teams late in the Regular Season, and eventually in the playoffs and the Final Four, had to be registered by that deadline. Several teams made their final moves during last few weeks, adding new players to be as competitive as possible in the final, decisive months of the 2019-20 EuroLeague campaign.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Olympiacos Piraeys have been the most active team before the deadline. ASVEL made a move at shooting guard by signing Davion Berry for the remainder of the season with an option for the 2020-21 campaign. He steps into the role vacated by Edwin Jackson, who left the club. Berry (1.95 meters, 28 years old) arrives from Russian club Enisey Krasnoyarsk, with which he ranked fourth in the VTB United League in scoring this season with 18.1 points per game. He shot 40.9% on three-pointers with Enisey and also averaged 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. ASVEL also brought in forward Guerschon Yabusele for the remainder of the season. Yabusele (1.98 meters, 24 years old) arrives from Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings, where he averaged 17.9 points and 7.2 rebounds in 15 Chinese League games this season and will make his EuroLeague debut with the French powerhouse this season.

Olympiacos brought in three new players: playmaker Dwight Buycks, swingman Shaquielle McKissic and center Vasileios Christidis. Buycks (1.91 meters, 30 years old) arrives from Shenzhen Leopards of China, where he averaged 20.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 20 games. He made his EuroLeague debut with Valencia Basket in the 2014-15 season, averaging 12.0 points in 3 games. McKissic joined Olympiacos from Besiktas Sompo Japan Istanbul. He averaged 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 17 Turkish League games this season. Christidis (2.07 meters, 21 years old) was promoted from the club’s second team and played for Aris Thessaloniki for 3 seasons.

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade added depth to its backcourt with the signing of Kalin Lucas until the end of this season. Lucas (1.89 meters, 30 years old) is a veteran point guard who returns to the competition having previously played nine Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games with Olympiacos Piraeus back in the 2011-12 season.

ALBA Berlin promoted 17-year-old Chinese guard Hao Dai and Baskonia did the same with top prospect Lautaro Lopez. Panathinaikos registered Ioannis Athinaiou, who joined the team months ago but had not been registered until now.

Not related to deadlines, as coaches can be changed after it, Xavi Pascual replaced Joan Plaza as Zenit St Petersburg’s head coach. Pascual signed a contract with the Russian side until the end of the 2020-21 season. Pascual, age 47, last coached Panathinaikos OPAP Athens until December 2018. He had previously won a EuroLeague title with FC Barcelona in 2010, leading it to five Final Four appearances from 2009 to 2014.