Dribble, 6.2/Video editing: Ziv Steiner
"If a month ago, you would have told me that another foreign player would land here, I would have sent you to look. If two weeks ago, after we beat Panathinaikos, you would have told me that, I would not have believed you."
These things were told yesterday by one of the editorial staff of Maccabi Tel Aviv, who announced today (Wednesday), just before the closing of the transfer window in the Euroleague, about the signing of Joe Thomason until the end of the season.
Behind the scenes, the professional department led by Avi Evan was constantly working on the possibilities of bringing in another player, but a reinforcement would not seem realistic given the economic situation resulting from the war, which we will get to shortly.
The turning point was last Thursday, with the loss to Baskonia.
Maccabi Tel Aviv felt that part of the loss was due to fatigue and injuries, and the feeling was that if another player did not join who could lend a shoulder and take the load off the team's two jokers, Wade Baldwin and Lorenzo Brown, the season could go to waste.
Less than a week later Joe Thomason joined, with his debut in yellow expected to be in the league games next week.
meet the criteria.
Thomason/Official website, FIBA website
We will go back.
At the end of December, everything was stormy in Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The foreign players refused to return to Israel from Belgrade as a direct result of the management's decision to cut between 10 and 15 percent of their annual salary, despite a promise that the money would be returned.
Maccabi Tel Aviv faced a crisis that they did not think would fall upon them during the war, and the club was very afraid of its consequences into the season.
After the team was reunited, the club leaders' promises to the players did their job, and before returning to Israel, the players received the message that the cut was canceled.
The only ones who continue to cut are the Israeli players, something that Maccabi Tel Aviv must do according to the Ministry of Sports outline in order to receive compensation from the state for its massive loss of revenue.
The Israeli players were also promised that at a later stage, probably after the season ends, the club will find a way to complete the money.
There is no doubt that Maccabi Tel Aviv is the Israeli sports club that was financially hit hardest by the war.
Besides the expenses for hosting the games in Belgrade, and the long stay abroad, the Yellows have a loss of revenue from subscriptions that no other basketball team has, and the estimate speaks of a deficit of many tens of millions of shekels. 1 million shekels, which still leaves the deficit at an eight-figure sum.
From the beginning, the club built the squad with room for a foreigner to complete it. The original goal was to bring in a forward, but after the war, and after the salary cuts, the mood that was broadcast in and around the team was clear - to Maccabi Tel Aviv There is no privilege now to bring a player.
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The deal is closed: Joe Thomason joins Maccabi Tel Aviv
To the full article
They needed backup.
Brown and Baldwin/Danny Maron
At the same time as the economic process, another process took place in the last few weeks with the return to the league - physical wear and tear of the players.
As long as the team played only in the Euroleague, when the mother base was in Belgrade, it was able to manage with fewer complicated flights, the schedule was not particularly convenient but not problematic either, and apart from John DiBartholomeo, the medical condition was fine. "There were not the same conditions as that there is in Tel Aviv, but no one has really collapsed," one of the team's staff members said this week.
The return to the Premier League presented Maccabi Tel Aviv with the same problem as the other Israeli teams, and perhaps in a slightly more extreme way: uncomfortable flights and very little rest between games. "Living at an airport, when it's not clear what day it is," defined one of the team's players after the victory in Holon this week. It should be noted that in recent years the Yellows have gotten used to direct charter flights for all games. This year, at best, they find direct flights. To the derby The first of the season and in the games against Ness Ziona and Holon, Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived in Israel about 24 hours before the game, did not practice the day before, and the preparation for the matches - physical, mental and tactical - was minimal.
Besides the professional ability which was not good, injuries began to pile up. Baldwin was The first to injure his back, even before the flight routine. He returned to activity, but immediately after that Brown suffered a back injury that caused him to miss the derby, and until now the club claims that he is far from fit.
Rafi Manko joined the chain of injured recently, with other players complaining of pain.
"There are seven foreigners in the team, but there is no doubt that there are four critical ones - Lorenzo, Wade, Bonzi and Nibo," said Maccabi Tel Aviv.
"When the first two collapse from the load, playing 30 minutes per game in the Euroleague, then you need them to lead you in the league as well because you start losing games, and the flights are unreal and the load increases - you pay a price in every game."
When the price went up, and the losses accumulated, so much so that the gap from 11th place (the end of the season without even a play-in), was closing, the management also realized that they needed to change their approach.
"Living in an airport, when it's not clear what day it is."
Ketch and the yellow players/Danny Maron
Maccabi Tel Aviv sat with a short list of players in recent days that included two main characteristics - the first, a guard who would be able to acclimatize quickly in the system.
The second - a player who can be brought in without many problems: exit options from the contract will be blessed, or his team's desire to get rid of him.
Thomason answered both characteristics.
Oded Ketch knows him and holds him from his time in Gilboa/Galil, and no less important - the player has an option to exit the contract and a desire to advance in his career.
In Granada, they were very surprised by the move, since the 30-year-old Thomason is one of the team's most prominent players this season with 14.1 points per game, and losing a player like him in the midst of bottom struggles is not ideal.
"On two different occasions, Joe spoke openly to the media about the fact that he and his family love life in Granada, the surprise at the club is huge," said one of the Spanish team members last night, "to lose such a significant part in a season that could end with relegation, is something we did not think lied".
The American guard landed in Israel for the first time during the return from the Corona break in June 2020, and was a central part of Gilboa/Galil reaching the semifinals of the Final Four.
The following summer, Gilboa exercised the option on him, despite great interest in Europe, and together with Yeftah Ziv they put together a back line that ran the team all the way to the final against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
"He was one of the league's outstanding, led the back line and proved that at the level of that Premier League, which is even higher than what happens today, he is a great player," Maccabi Tel Aviv praised their new reinforcement.
His next meeting with Israeli basketball was the following season, when he beat Hapoel Jerusalem in the arena with Manrasa, and did not play in the game in Spain, which Jerusalem won on the way to promotion.
Last year, when he moved between Promethas, Zenit St. Petersburg and Granada, he played in Israel with Promethas, and despite a good ability, his team was defeated by almost 40 points.
Knows Israeli basketball well.
Thomason against the Yellows in June 2021/Danny Maron
The main goal of Thomason's arrival is, as mentioned, to take the load off Brown and Baldwin. The new guard will also be on the roster in the Euroleague games, but it is not clear how many opportunities he will have in the initial phase, especially when Maccabi Tel Aviv tends to go with the two stars and the upcoming games are mandatory games.
The fact that next week Maccabi Tel Aviv will meet both Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem makes the question of Thomason's inclusion critical.
Maccabi Tel Aviv is still not sure if he will dress for the upcoming derby, but it is clear to everyone that in the next league game, against Maccabi Ramat Gan on Tuesday, he will already play.
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