The drain of talent continues on the side of the Metropolitans 92. Inexorably!
Two weeks after the sudden departure of leader Jordan Theodore - who had announced in the middle of training his desire elsewhere (he had used a clause in his contract to join the Spanish club Baskonia which plays in the Euroleague) -, another Metropolitans player decided to leave the club.
This Monday, the Mets announced on their social networks that Slovenian pivot Alen Omic was leaving for “family reasons”.
The 31-year-old player has reportedly expressed his wish to join his wife and children for more than weeks.
Internally he would not have hidden his desire to leave to leave a heavy context where defeats (19 in 22 days) and bad choices are multiplying.
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His request was therefore accepted this weekend by the leaders.
The pivot will therefore have played his last match in the colors of the Mets on Saturday during the defeat against neighboring Paris Basketball (77-93).
A game where he scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
This departure is a big blow for the club.
Dunce of the division before going to challenge the leader Monaco next Sunday, the Mets see their best player leave the ship in full drift.
Arriving at the beginning of November, the Slovenian international quickly established himself as the centerpiece of Jean-Paul Besson's collective.
He averaged 15.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
On January 13, he guided his team to a precious success in Saint-Quentin by producing an almost perfect copy of 14 points, 19 rebounds and 8 assists.
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The leaders have until February 28 to find a replacement.
They will have no room for error because this will be their 16th and last authorized professional contract.
They will no longer be able to strengthen themselves afterwards.
Since the start of the season, three other players – Josh Carlton, Amar Gegic and, therefore, Jordan Theodore – have already left.
18th in Betclic Élite, the Mets are 5 wins behind the first non-relegation team with 12 games to go.
It would therefore be necessary for the partners of Lahaou Konaté - the last survivor of the championship final last season with Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly - to achieve an almost flawless performance during the final sprint to overcome this handicap and remain in the elite.