With just two days to go before hosting the reigning EuroLeague champions in their opening game of the competition, Kosner Baskonia are facing a concern that has become Paolo Galbiati’s biggest headache: the frontcourt.
It all started with the unexpected departure of Khalifa Diop to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which left the Vitoria side with Kenneth Faried as their only available center during the final stretch of the preseason. The situation forced the club to scour the market for reinforcements.
Baskonia eventually moved to bring in Ukrainian center Alex Len, whose arrival was expected to ease much of the team’s shortage in the paint. After a lengthy NBA career and an inconsistent spell with Real Madrid last season, Len arrived in Vitoria to become a key piece of Galbiati’s frontcourt rotation.
However, Len’s situation has introduced a new question mark around the team just as the competitive season gets underway. Len experienced discomfort after his first practice and was unable to take part in the Spanish Super Cup. Since then, the lack of official information has only added to the uncertainty surrounding his condition.
“He’s not travelling,” was Paolo Galbiati’s terse response on repeated occasions during the press conference ahead of Baskonia’s trip to Badalona for the Super Cup. Persistent questions from the media about the reasons behind the decision only prompted the Italian to repeat the same words over and over: “He’s not travelling, he’s not travelling.”
The lack of explanations, naturally, has fueled speculation over what is happening with the Ukrainian center — while also bringing Baskonia’s strained relationship with its head coach back into the spotlight. Galbiati came close to leaving the club over the summer after reaching an agreement to join Barça.
Days later, with the Endesa Super Cup laying bare Baskonia’s problems in the paint, Len is still not practicing with the team and no explanation has been forthcoming regarding his situation. Baskonia, therefore, still do not have the player expected to take over as their starting five available on a regular basis, and it now seems highly unlikely that Len will be able to play against Olympiacos in the EuroLeague opener.
Last Saturday against Joventut, Kosner Baskonia once again struggled to contain the opposition’s interior game, even with Ante Tomic sidelined. A lack of size and physical presence around the rim was one of the main problems for a team that is still a work in progress.
In any case, Alex Len’s situation is merely the tip of the iceberg for a Kosner Baskonia side that looks seriously short-handed in the frontcourt. Even with Len fully fit, the roster would still have room for another big man capable of rounding out the rotation.
Faried gives the team energy, rebounding ability and experience, but at 36, his age and physical demands make it difficult to envisage him shouldering the center position on his own over a season featuring two or three games a week. SKWEEK had already warned at the beginning of September that Baskonia needed to add at least one interior player, while suggesting that bringing in two frontcourt reinforcements would be advisable.
Only one arrived — and, for now, there is no telling when he will be able to play.
The preseason had already offered warnings of what is now unfolding. Injuries and absences even forced Baskonia to cancel a friendly against Gipuzkoa Basket. Against Real Madrid, the team had to turn to academy players and short-term additions to fill out the roster, while Faried had not yet been able to join the team.
Unsurprisingly, while Len’s situation is being resolved, Baskonia are back on the market. Last week, the club attempted to sign French center Zacharie Perrin, a 22-year-old big man standing 2.08 meters tall who impressed during the preseason with Ilerna Lleida, the team he will represent in Spain this season.
However, the absence of a release clause until the middle of the season has complicated the deal, with the Catalan club unwilling to let him leave.
And so, with barely 48 hours to go before their first EuroLeague game, Kosner Baskonia do not appear to have the necessary guarantees to compete with a powerhouse such as Olympiacos, whose frontcourt includes established names like Nikola Milutinov and Tyrique Jones.
There is also the memory of the five straight losses with which Baskonia opened last season, a run that left the Basque side with virtually no chance of challenging for a play-in spot in the EuroLeague from the very beginning of the campaign.
Now, in Vitoria, there are fears that history could repeat itself.
