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GASTONE
Corrective Moves
Gastone’s team started the season on the wrong foot and must now make bold decisions to get back on track.
Published: 08/10/2025 16:11
It was far from a good start this season, as our total reached 266.3 points, with Round 2 being downright disastrous — just 92.6 points. Naturally, these results also impacted our finances, leaving us only 1.7 credits above the initial 100 we started with.
The Nunn–Vezenkov duo that worked wonders in Round 1 dragged us straight to the abyss in Round 2. The Panathinaikos guard was once again stopped by Barcelona’s defense, finishing with just 5 points, while Vezenkov, quite off target in Madrid, ended up at 16 PIR. Things got even worse on Friday: since Sasha’s 16 on Thursday wasn’t enough, we handed the armband to Nunn the next day — who doubled it to... 10.
The situation worsened with Rathan-Mayes, who followed up his great game in OAKA with a negative PIR, and Roman Sorkin, who finished at -3. The only ones to save the day were the team’s young players — Mbaye Ndiaye (20.9) and the sensational Sergio De Larrea (25.3). Our other center, Moses Wright, had a modest showing with 13.2, Lucic was dreadful with 2.2, and thankfully coach Herbert contributed a much-needed 10 from the bench.
With such a poor start — and Vezenkov and Nunn combining for 32.1 of our 101.7 credits — it’s clear this setup isn’t sustainable. One of the two must go so the budget can be balanced. The one leaving, without hesitation, is Nunn, because on his bad nights he drags the team down hard, unlike Sasha, who is a scoring machine and rarely drops into single digits even on an off day. Joining him at the exit will be Vladimir Lucic, Roman Sorkin, and coach Herbert, whose team faces a very solid Zalgiris at home.
That leaves us with 42 credits for a coach, two forwards, and one guard. Let’s start with the easiest — the coach. Herbert will be replaced by Sarunas Jasikevicius, who hosts a struggling and depleted Crvena Zvezda in Istanbul. After losing in Lithuania, Fenerbahce should bounce back easily or otherwise against the Serbians, who also lost in the ABA League to Zadar, with Sfairopoulos reportedly on the verge of dismissal. Saras costs 8.5 credits.
In Nunn’s place, from the same matchup, comes Wade Baldwin IV, priced at 11.4 credits. The American has started the season in terrific form, posting 16.5 in the opener versus Paris and 34 in the loss to Zalgiris. Free of injury issues this year, Baldwin seems to be the main offensive weapon in Jasikevicius’s system, and with Zagars and Boston both sidelined, he’s getting even more minutes on the floor.
Now, for the forwards — we have 22.1 credits to fill two spots.
14.1 of them will go to Will Clyburn, who looks reborn in his new Barcelona uniform, reminiscent of the player who shone at Darüssafaka and CSKA. The American has delivered two stellar performances last week — 30 PIR in the loss to Hapoel and 28.6 PIR in the big win at OAKA. Barcelona faces Valencia next, a team they also met in the ACB a few days ago, losing 93–81 away, with Clyburn again their top performer (23 PIR). What’s most impressive is that he’s putting up those numbers in just 26 minutes per game, and with far more efficient, controlled play than his recent seasons in Efes and Virtus.
With 8 credits left, we move to our final addition for the week. Initially, we wanted Isaiah Mike of Bayern, who costs exactly 8 credits. The American started strong, posting 15 PIR at OAKA and 17.6 in Munich against Zvezda — an appealing return for his price. However, bringing him in would mean 6 of our 8 players would compete on Friday, with only Ndiaye and Samodurov playing on Thursday. So instead, we opted for a Thursday player — the “usual suspect” among budget options, Ercan Osmani of Efes, priced at 7.3 credits. The Turkish big man has averaged 31 minutes across the first two games under Kokoskov, with 12.1 PIR in the win over Maccabi and 23 PIR in the loss to Hapoel. Definitely a value-for-money pick, even with a tough road game against Partizan ahead.
As for the captaincy, the armband will go temporarily to Ndiaye on Thursday, before ending up on Sasha Vezenkov’s arm on Friday.
Our remaining unused budget: 0.7 credits.
Good luck to everyone this round!
Devotion.
The Nunn–Vezenkov duo that worked wonders in Round 1 dragged us straight to the abyss in Round 2. The Panathinaikos guard was once again stopped by Barcelona’s defense, finishing with just 5 points, while Vezenkov, quite off target in Madrid, ended up at 16 PIR. Things got even worse on Friday: since Sasha’s 16 on Thursday wasn’t enough, we handed the armband to Nunn the next day — who doubled it to... 10.
The situation worsened with Rathan-Mayes, who followed up his great game in OAKA with a negative PIR, and Roman Sorkin, who finished at -3. The only ones to save the day were the team’s young players — Mbaye Ndiaye (20.9) and the sensational Sergio De Larrea (25.3). Our other center, Moses Wright, had a modest showing with 13.2, Lucic was dreadful with 2.2, and thankfully coach Herbert contributed a much-needed 10 from the bench.
With such a poor start — and Vezenkov and Nunn combining for 32.1 of our 101.7 credits — it’s clear this setup isn’t sustainable. One of the two must go so the budget can be balanced. The one leaving, without hesitation, is Nunn, because on his bad nights he drags the team down hard, unlike Sasha, who is a scoring machine and rarely drops into single digits even on an off day. Joining him at the exit will be Vladimir Lucic, Roman Sorkin, and coach Herbert, whose team faces a very solid Zalgiris at home.
That leaves us with 42 credits for a coach, two forwards, and one guard. Let’s start with the easiest — the coach. Herbert will be replaced by Sarunas Jasikevicius, who hosts a struggling and depleted Crvena Zvezda in Istanbul. After losing in Lithuania, Fenerbahce should bounce back easily or otherwise against the Serbians, who also lost in the ABA League to Zadar, with Sfairopoulos reportedly on the verge of dismissal. Saras costs 8.5 credits.
In Nunn’s place, from the same matchup, comes Wade Baldwin IV, priced at 11.4 credits. The American has started the season in terrific form, posting 16.5 in the opener versus Paris and 34 in the loss to Zalgiris. Free of injury issues this year, Baldwin seems to be the main offensive weapon in Jasikevicius’s system, and with Zagars and Boston both sidelined, he’s getting even more minutes on the floor.
Now, for the forwards — we have 22.1 credits to fill two spots.
14.1 of them will go to Will Clyburn, who looks reborn in his new Barcelona uniform, reminiscent of the player who shone at Darüssafaka and CSKA. The American has delivered two stellar performances last week — 30 PIR in the loss to Hapoel and 28.6 PIR in the big win at OAKA. Barcelona faces Valencia next, a team they also met in the ACB a few days ago, losing 93–81 away, with Clyburn again their top performer (23 PIR). What’s most impressive is that he’s putting up those numbers in just 26 minutes per game, and with far more efficient, controlled play than his recent seasons in Efes and Virtus.
With 8 credits left, we move to our final addition for the week. Initially, we wanted Isaiah Mike of Bayern, who costs exactly 8 credits. The American started strong, posting 15 PIR at OAKA and 17.6 in Munich against Zvezda — an appealing return for his price. However, bringing him in would mean 6 of our 8 players would compete on Friday, with only Ndiaye and Samodurov playing on Thursday. So instead, we opted for a Thursday player — the “usual suspect” among budget options, Ercan Osmani of Efes, priced at 7.3 credits. The Turkish big man has averaged 31 minutes across the first two games under Kokoskov, with 12.1 PIR in the win over Maccabi and 23 PIR in the loss to Hapoel. Definitely a value-for-money pick, even with a tough road game against Partizan ahead.
As for the captaincy, the armband will go temporarily to Ndiaye on Thursday, before ending up on Sasha Vezenkov’s arm on Friday.
Our remaining unused budget: 0.7 credits.
Good luck to everyone this round!
Roster
Devotion.
