I will put it out simply. Panathinaikos needs to, at the very least, consider signing Real Madrid's PF
Jeremiah Massey.
With new head coach
Etore Messina coming in the American player (holder of a Belgian passport) is deemed to no longer be within Real's plans for next year's roster. This presents a huge opportunity for Panathinaikos.
Ask anyone at or around PAO and he will tell you that the team is not interested in signing any big man this summer. However I am arguing they should sign Massey and now is a great chance to do so.
There are two ways to look at this. One is why PAO needs a PF. And two is why Massey in particular.
1. Why Panathinaikos needs a(nother) PF.Look at the roster at the 4 position and what you get is two established Greek PFs in Fotsis and Tsartsaris. Don't get me wrong both are good players and long-time members of the Greek national team which they helped crown European champions in 2005 and and were World finalists in 2006.
Fotsis has played in the NBA for the Memphis Grizzlies (ok not the best NBA experience a player can have but the guy made it to the NBA and had a 20point game while at it) and also Real Madrid in Europe, while Tsartsaris has worked hard throughout his career starting from Iceland (!) and working his way up from Greece's second division to the reigning Euroleague champions.
However look closer at both Fotsis's and Tsartsaris's game and you see that none is in effect a post-up player.
Fotsis excels at being a perimeter shooter opening up the post for Batiste and Pekovic to operate and nailing the occasional three when the defense collapses into the paint. What he offers is a 4th shooter at the perimeter which is fine and something that coach Obradovic loves.
Tsartsaris theoretically offers the same (although his percentages from downtown are lower compared to Fotsis and he is coming off a poor season following an exceptional one back in 2007-2008), while he can also work in the paint with crafty moves against smaller PFs or face-up and move around heavier PF starting from mid-range and getting to the basket from there.
The shooting PFs system has worked great for Panathinaikos. Noone can deny this obviously, afterall they won every competition they took part in this year.
I am not arguing to move away from this system. What I am arguing about however is adding a touch of post-play at the 4 as well.
As explained Fotsis and Tsartsaris offer little (close to none) power play in the post. This dictates that PAO is forced (although 'forced' may not be the right word here as this is an Obradovic choice mostly) to play with one posting big man only, as I cannot recall Batiste and Pekovic being on the floor together anytime this season except for rebounding situations after free-throws in the last seconds of a close game.
A strong, powerful PF in the paint would therefore give one more option to coach
Obradovic who could work with a new set of lineup with
Batiste or
Pekovic at the 5 and the new to-be-acquired PF at the 4. This would allow for overpowering smaller opponents of less competitive teams (plenty in the Greek league and the first round of the Euroleague) and could also work wonders with teams like Barcelona (to which PAO lost twice this season without even being competitive in those games) or Olympiakos who have the bodies to throw against PAO.
Again, this does not mean forgetting the old system of a shooting PF that has worked well so far. The new PF could (and most probably would) come off the bench and play around 15-20 minutes depending on the needs of the game in hand. This is all about offering another choice and a new style of play. Diversity is key here.
2. Why Massey.Lets start with some paperwork. Massey holds a Belgian passport thus will not take-up one of the only two allowed places in the roster reserved for non-European players (currently held by Batiste and Nicholas). This is a Greek league provision which makes American players with a European passport so valuable for Greek teams. Massey is fortunate enough to have one which makes Panathinaikos fortunate as well.
On to the Xs and Os Massey is the perfect fit to the description made above of a powerful post dominant PF. He can rebound at both ends, block shots, run the floor well (thus not making the team any heavier or slower when on the floor with Batiste or Pekovic) and finaly has some carefuly worked post moves, taking advantage of his good footwork and explosiveness.
Real Madrid does not see to want to keep him on the roster, while Massey has played in the Euroleague both with Aris BC in the past and Real this year (eliminated by Olympiacos in the playoffs). Others would point that he has Greek league experience having played with Aris although I do not give much importance to that thought.
This is a great opportunity for PAO to diversify its game and take it to another level really.
Signing Massey should be on Obradovic's and the management's to-do list and since apparently it is on
Aris's list Panathinaikos should be swift in doing so.
PS. In the unlikely case that such a signing is made this would mean Tsartaris being on the bench for the most part of the season, unless a deal is worked out and he is able to continue his career with another team in Greece or somewhere else in Europe, where he should not have a problem finding one.
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