National coach Gordon Herbert can probably rely on almost all German NBA professionals at the Supercup in Hamburg. Six players who were under contract in the North American professional basketball league last season are to come to the preparation tournament for the European Championship. That would make the roster 50 percent NBA players. Only Isaiah Hartenstein is missing.
“I’m counting on Dennis Schröder, Daniel Theis, the Wagner brothers, Isaac Bonga and Maximilian Kleber. Everyone has expressed their willingness to be there in the summer,” said Herbert on Wednesday in Hamburg. Now it comes down to “contract and insurance matters”.
The contractless Schröder (most recently Houston Rockets) and Bonga (most recently Toronto Raptors) had already appeared in the World Cup qualifiers in Estonia and against Poland. Theis (Boston Celtics), Moritz and Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic) and Kleber (Dallas Mavericks) would be new additions.
The squad for the four-man tournament in Hamburg (August 19/20), in which Italy, Serbia and the Czech Republic also take part, should also be for the European Championship (September 1-18) if possible. “We want to come to the Supercup with twelve players because it’s important to form a team early on,” said Herbert.
