There are special moments in a team's season when situations come together into situations that no one expected.
In a normal state of affairs, Jaylen Hurd was not a Hapoel Tel Aviv player at all, but the summoning of Tomer Ginat and Idan Zalmanson to the Israeli national team ahead of the European Championship left Danny Franco without senior players in the squad during the preparation for the season, and he had to find a solution.
The Reds entered the free agent market relatively quietly, but knew in advance that the task of finding a player who would come for a short period to complete the roster only, as a training player, would not be easy.
Ginat (right) and Zalmanson.
Bring Hord to Hapoel, photo: Alan Shiver
After a short time of searching Hord's name came up.
The members of the team and the professional team rolled out the idea, but they did not believe that a player of his level, who a few months earlier had recorded impressive averages of 14.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in the NBA, would agree to come to Israel and more as a test on a temporary contract.
"We didn't believe that the talks would really mature, because this is a young player with a great resume. We were sure that there was a surprise here that we were not aware of, or that his agent was not serious," an official in the team told Israel Hayom.
Hurd's agent, by the way, represents huge stars in the best league in the world such as Rudy Gober and Evan Fournier, and he is the one who pushed for the player's arrival in Israel.
The club quickly realized the opportunity that fell into their hands and began to act quickly.
"From the moment his name came up, we conducted ourselves as in a military operation, quietly and in isolation, for fear that the contacts would leak and senior groups on the continent would go into action," said the informed source in detail.
The evening before his signing, the player received a tempting offer from a senior team in the French league, but one that does not play in the European establishments, and Villervan also groped about him.
The issue of the European factories tipped the scales, and the forward chose to try his luck in a team that plays in the Eurocup.
taken down.
Villerban was also interested, photo: Oded Karni
"The professional team was convinced"
on August 14, Hord signed a temporary contract, with the team's option for an extension.
Already in the first training sessions it was possible to see that the French forward has great talent, and the club began working to sign him as a sixth foreigner.
"It was impossible to ignore his desire to improve, learn and connect with the team. The professional team was convinced," the team later said.
Already in the first preseason game, he showed sparks with 11 points and 5 rebounds, even though he was not in full game shape.
"It was a strange summer because I didn't know where I would play in the coming season. As soon as my agent brought up the possibility of coming here, I checked the city and the country and decided to come. The moment I landed here I realized what a beautiful country I was in," Hord told the club's official website.
Thanks Boco, Jaylen!
With 16 points and 9 rebounds Jaylen Hurd is the man on the postcard of Hapoel's victory in Paris.
🎶Come on Come on Jaylen Hoard🎶@JaylenHoard pic.twitter.com/nW2sgzKWFR
— Hapoel Tel Aviv BC (@HapoelTLVBC) October 20, 2022
"Jaylan's case is very interesting, he holds French citizenship and I think he could easily find a team in a good European framework. I think his agent gave a lot of weight to his familiarity with me as a coach and the Israeli league and put his trust in us," said Danny Franco in a conversation with Israel Hayom.
"The move to bring him started out of necessity due to the lack of players, and creamed skin and tendons thanks to his quick connection to the place, the professional ability he displayed and the person he is."
In the club they tell about an introverted and very quiet guy who immediately connected with the crowd of fans and the energy around the club.
"The crowd here is one of my favorite things, the game doesn't start and they are already cheering like crazy. I am happy that more people are being exposed to Hapoel's crowd through me and I will continue to do it as much as I can," he shared.
Connect with the Reds fans, photo: Maor Alxalsi
"There is no lack of players who came to Israel for tests for a week or two to fill holes and today they are Euroleague or NBA players," concludes Franco.
The necessity of the circumstances led the Reds to sign the interior player, and he, who arrived after a good season overseas and always hungry to prove himself, jumped at the opportunity with both hands.
Tonight he meets Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final of the Winner Cup and will try to bring the first title of the season to Shlomo Group Hall and the Red crowd.
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