Mauricio Codocea
04/28/2021 2:25 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Basketball
Updated 04/28/2021 2:25 PM
Suddenly, in a matter of months Argentina went from not having representation in the NBA to seeing the arrival of a small legion.
From the election of Leandro Bolmaro in the last draft to the hiring of Facundo Campazzo and Gabriel Deck, a fourth name may be added in the next few hours: that of Luca Vildoza, current Baskonia player from Spain.
This was reported by the Iberian journalist Chema de Lucas, the same one who at the time advanced the news of the arrival in the United States of the Santiago native.
LAST MINUTE: The Knicks prepare a last attempt to incorporate ALREADY Luca Vildoza #NBA
- Chema de Lucas (@chemadelucas) April 28, 2021
As De Lucas stated, the team that aimed the guns at the Mar del Plata base is nothing more and nothing less than the New York Knicks.
Interestingly,
the same one who chose Bolmaro in 2020, although he was later transferred to the Minnesota Timberwolves
.
Shortly after, the Hoopshype portal was added to the information, adding that there is already an agreement between Vildoza (25 years old) and Baskonia for him to leave the team.
Argentinian guard Luca Vildoza is expected to sign a deal with the New York Knicks, HoopsHype has learned.
There's already an agreement in place for a buyout between Vildoza and Baskonia.
- HoopsHype (@hoopshype) April 28, 2021
Coincidence or not, in the last hours the Basque Country club had made an offer for a North American perimeter of recent passage through Chinese basketball, which could well indicate the intention to cover a gap that they already foresee that they will have to cover.
As is usual in these cases, the player's agents (
Vildoza is represented by Claudio Villanueva, a man who accompanies the career of Facundo Campazzo, Luis Scola and other former players such as Andrés Chapu Nocioni or Pablo Prigioni
) are very cautious in this regard.
They know that in the United States they closely follow every move and every word regarding the players and their environments;
for that reason the first leaks usually occur on the side of the clubs where they play or from the North American franchises themselves.
They did acknowledge that the player was being followed by the NBA, although they avoided giving names of potential destinations.
With the Knicks renewed, in search of a playoff entry that few saw possible this season,
Vildoza could join a consolidated team that wants to surprise in the postseason
, although his arrival would have more to do with the future.
It is that the perimeter, especially the base, is well covered (at least in quantity) in the team that Tom Thibodeau commands with former MVP Derrick Rose, Elfrid Payton and the talented rookie Immanuel Quickley.
But the first two end their contracts at the end of this season.
Do they see each other again?
Vildoza jumps at the gaze of Campazzo in Spain.
EFE / David Aguilar
The next Argentine in the NBA, it seems, is only a matter of time.
