As you may have heard, Ante Zizic is leaving Cibona and he will play for David Blatt's Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul. They play in strong BSL (Turkish League) and Euroleague (probably the strongest basketball competition outside of NBA) so this is definitely a good move for Zizic. What's more, I think he may immidiately help Darussafaka and play big role just because they lack some size and Zizic will definitely fill that void. They have our old pal Semih Erden and ex-76er Furkan Aldemir playing the center position (and Luke Harangody on the wing!) but there's no much deep as their best rebounder in the Euroleague pulls down 5.5 boards per game (and it's neither Erden nor Aldemir).
Still, they are 8-6 in this year's competition and are fighting for the playoff spot so I really do think Zizic can play a lot since the day one there. And don't forget they have a really good coach - you may remember this Boston-born David Blatt who coached Cavaliers just last season. And it seems that David Blatt really values Zizic and his approach to the game.
Now, why the heck is Zizic leaving Cibona? They are having financial difficulties and they had to do something. Zizic is their best player and Cibona knows he'll leave soon anyway (well, he wanted to go to the NBA this year) so they decided to "rent" him to the Darussafaka who needs just someone like Zizic. David Pick reported that Zizic's brother told him that Cibona will actually retain rights to Zizic this offseason who will sign just 6-month deal with Darussafaka. Pick is also reporting that Ante wants to be in the NBA as soon as possible and has "managable NBA out" so this move doesn't really impact the Celtics in terms of bringing Zizic this next offseason (but to be clear, they will be negotiating a buy-out with Cibona and not Darussafaka).
So, to sum it up:
- Zizic will be playing for David Blatt and against much more tougher competition than thus far so it's good for him and his development.
- Cibona made this move because of financial problems.
- Darussafaka made this move because... well, because they can afford it and they think Zizic can help them right away, even if it's just for six months (this speaks highly on Ante's perception in Europe, he's not only one of the best prospects here, he's already one of the best centers!).
- Six-month deal and Cibona retaining his rights are two things that make me think that Zizic will sign with Boston this very next offseason.
- This move means also that #ZizicWatch can get a little bit harder for me to do. I can't find any games from Turkish League online and I can't afford to buy Euroleague pass so I don't really know what to do and I can't think of good solution. If any of you knows where to get BSL and/or Euroleague games, please share it with me.
Submitted December 27, 2016 at 07:07AM by Timi093