Introducing The Dotted Line Up: Ranking the Free Agent Signings

By: Freaknick/@euro_adventures

When a Euroleaguer signs a contract, that smile you see is a cautious facade. His signature resting atop that dotted line is the equivalent of a pair of crossed fingers or a fluffy little rabbit’s foot. Even when measured in dog years, it’s tough to say the average Euroleaguer builds longstanding relationships with ballclubs. Sure you have your lifers—the J.R. Holdens and Felipe Reyeses of our league—but more often than not each game is a campaign for a better, longer and more lucrative contract, and when a deal can pretty much be voided by a jammed pinky or missed free throw, it’d be wise to have a suitcase packed up just to be safe. The beauty in this instability is the parity it creates; champions and bottom dwellers alike are leveled off at zero once the summer rolls around, and if you’ve got an ambitious owner and some extra cash then painful memories of a winless EL season can be washed away with a few phone calls.

Clearly, there’s nothing ‘off’ about the offseason, and it makes no sense for ELA to be dormant during the most critical time of year. With that, I give you The Dotted Line Up, one man’s attempt at ranking all the players who have signed their lives away this summer. Team need, individual abilities, and my own personal grudges will be taken into account somewhat equally. Your opinions, if unretarded, might be also.

Every time Euroleague.net reports a signing I’ll find a spot for him on our master list. And just because a player is ranked somewhere this week, that doesn’t mean his spot is safe; their staying power is dependent upon other transactions and my moods, neither of which are predictable. It might get pretty long, but after all, that’s what she said so I think we’ll be OK. Check under the new ‘Euroleague’ tab just under the logo and click on ‘Free Agency’ to follow along all summer and season long.

Here’s my first crack at it. Let me know what you think:

RankPlayerTeamHe's here because...Last Week
1Terrell McIntyreUnicajaEL's streakiest team picks up EL's most consistent PG. Viva Malaga.-
2Romain SatoPanathinaikosThe 'D' Pana needs at the 3 w/o the lack of 'O' they're used to.-
3Marko TomasFenerbahçeF**k Jacob & Edward. I'm #TeamMarko.-
4Vassilis SpanoulisOlympiacosI just hope this doesn't turn Teodosic into a pure jumpshooter.-
5David LoganCaja LaboralWith Tiago gone, the ACB champs will run. And run and run and...-
6Ali TraoreLottomatica RomaHis lefty hook is second only to Navarro's runner as far as trademarked shots go.-
7Andrew WisniewskiEfes PilsenNo more PG duty for Rakocevic. The best need-based signing of the summer.-
8Brad NewleyLietuvos RytasCan't wait to see him in Action in Istanbul this summer, Vilnius this fall.-
9Robertas JavtokasValenciaI think Valencia could make noise, and The Hammerhead could be the difference.-
10Richard HendrixMaccabiAthletically he's a downgrade to Fischer, but he plays a smarter, better game.-
11Omar CookValenciaIt remains to be seen how de Colo will adjust to off-ball scenarios.-
12Matt NielsenOlympiacosOlympiacos needs to bring in more frontcourt offense before I'm ready to slide Matt up.-
13Sergio RodriguezReal MadridLlull/Rodriguez could easily be the league's coolest backcourt...if Ettore Messina allows it.-
14Jamont GordonCSKA MoscowLike teammate Tomas, he earned the right to play for a winner.-
15Pietro AradoriMontepaschiInflated role should get him 12+ per game.-
16Miroslav RaduljicaEfes PilsenHas the skills. I question the desire. Efes needs him to ramp it up.-
17Dusko SavanovicValenciaBeautiful complement to Javtokas down low. And to everyone else, everywhere else really.-
18Krzysztof SzubargaAsseco ProkomThe stage is set for Daniel Ewing to slide over and fill David Logan's scoring shoes.-
19Kaya PekerFenerbahçeExtra points for stealing him away from rival Efes.-
20Engin AtsurFenerbahçeGentlemen, start your Engins. Calling it now: breakout year.-
21Kosta PerovicBarcelonaHe'd be a great pickup for anyone else. For Barca he's just another guy.-
22Elishay KadirMaccabiAlways important to lock up homegrown talent.-
23Luc-Arthur VebobeCholetMay end up on my All-Beastly team.-
24Arvydas SiskniusLietuvos RytasLooked great when I saw him play, so maybe I'm biased.-
25Milovan RakovicMontepaschiDoes the EL test for steroids?-
26Sergey BykovCSKAI really need to see how the CSKA backcourt shakes out before I rank him appropriately.-
27Clay TuckerReal MadridShould see plenty of good looks with Rodriguez/Prigioni at the helm.-
28Jerry JohnsonLietuvos RytasWith Newley and Kelys on board, Rytas should play much faster next year.-
29Cenk AkyolEfes PilsenHawks draft pick. Holler back.-
30Darjus LavrinovicFenerbahçeYou like him more than I do.-
31Kostas KaimakoglouPanathinaikosA definite offensive upgrade over Stratos Perperoglou.-
32Erwin DudleyEfes PilsenGive him 20 minutes and he'll grab you 6 or 7 rebounds.-
33Zydrunas KelysLietuvos RytasThe world will soon know Speedster Kelys.-
34Jaka KlobucarPartizanIt would be great if he could spell Bozic/Kecman.-
35Dragan MilosavljevicPartizanIf it's not Klobucar who steps up on the wing, it better be Dragan.-
36Jure LalicCibonaNot great when your team's best signing is this low.-
37Ian VougioukasPanathinaikosCould easily leapfrog Kaimakoglou.-
38Romain DuportCholetHe'll block some shots. So that's cool.-
39Omar SamhanZalgirisHopefully his college-to-Lithuania transition will be smoother than Aron Baynes'.-
40Pablo AguilarReal MadridJust pray he doesn't get stuck on the bench a la Vlad Dasic.-
41Nicolo MelliAJ MilanoThis signing will look terrific in two years.-
42Jeff FooteMaccabiStyle of play will be no issue for the Ivy Leaguer. The athletes will.-
43Tal BursteinMaccabiIt must seem like I'm hating on the veterans pretty hard. Sorry.-
44Andrea MicheloriMontepaschiPart of a bulk signing to make MPS feel good about their interior D.-
45Giedrius StaniulisLietuvos RytasHe and Valanciunas should have some fun practices.-
46Rasko KaticPartizanLord have mercy on the man who's expected to fill in for a 7'6" behemoth.-
47Cemal NalgaLietuvos RytasIs Rytas going to have enough jerseys to go around?-
48Eimantas BendziusLietuvos RytasWell Rytas certainly has options on the perimeter. Good ones? Not sure yet.-
49Meredis HoumounouCholetHe doesn't need to buy a vowel.-
50Drago PasalicCibonaThinking of donating the contents of my piggy bank to CIbona.-
51Gustavo BarreraUnicajaI sure hope Rafa Freire's ready to go.-
52Paulius DambrauskasLietuvos RytasNothing personal, Paulius. It had to be somebody.-
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