Bayern Munich Builds a Squad for Success with New Additions

Bayern Munich has closed the stage of the Italian coach Andrea Trinchieri, who led the team to two Euroleague quarterfinal playoffs in three seasons, although in the last one they finished 15th and did not win any League in three years, in the last one they were eliminated in the semifinals by Ulm. The German team now opens the period of Pablo Laso, who has committed to the club until 2025. Next year the inauguration of the new pavilion, the SAP Garden, for 12,500 spectators is expected, which will provide more resources to Bayern basketball, but until then there is a squad to build that is taking shape with the signing of three young and versatile point guards, with talent, scoring ability, physicality and progress.

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The SAP Garden in Munich, under construction.

The last to arrive (previously the Argentine Leandro Bolmaro and the French Sylvain Francisco did) was the American point guard Carsen Edwards (1.80 m and 25 years old), from Fenerbahçe, where he landed a year ago generating a lot of expectation, but who has had a hard time finding continuity. Laso hopes that this second campaign in Europe will be his consecration in a team where he will have more prominence: “Carsen is a scoring machine and when he arrived in Europe everyone thought: ‘What a fantastic signing.’ He is creative and very intense in attack; strong and fast on defense. We have high expectations for him because he can compete against anyone.”

Edwards, for his part, points to the conversation with the coaches and learning about the club’s objectives as key in his decision, and explains: “My challenge is to play an important role, but I know that I must earn it first.” In the NBA he played 72 games, in the G League (Salt Lake City Stars) he averaged 27 points, which made him the top scorer in the competition, and last season with Fenerbahçe he reached 8 points in 15 minutes in the Euroleague and 13.3 in the Turkish BSL. Bayern have high hopes for their European emergence: “I’ve known Carsen since his university days at Purdue and I’ve always considered him one of the best scorers I’ve ever seen,” says Daniele Baiesi, sports director of the Bavarian team.

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Leandro Bolmaro played the last few months at Lenovo Tenerife. Luis TejidoEFE

Leandro Bolmaro (1.98 and 22 years old), the first signing, acknowledges that he spoke with Laso already in the spring. “Bayern and with him… the choice was easy,” says the Argentine, who sees himself as “a point guard who can act as an escort and provide a lot of energy” with pick and roll as his “strong point.” “Leandro is a bargain, a steal. A young talent who defends in any position. He is tall and athletic, and his good mentality makes him one of the most promising projects in Argentina, ”says his new coach.

The second to be announced by the Munich team was Sylvain Francisco (1.85 and 25 years old), who, after passing through Manresa with great success, comes from a phenomenal year in the Greek Peristeri under Spanoulis. Of the legend, Vassilis assures that he “will also become a great coach” and reveals that he has supported him in his decision to go to Bayern. Francisco comes from averaging 16.2 points and 5.8 assists in Greece, in a championship in which he has been chosen in the best five along with Sloukas, Papanikolaou, Vezenkov and Moustapha Fall, four Olympiacos players and himself.

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Sylvain Francisco, in May 2022 with the Manresa.Rodolfo MolinaDAILY AS

“I come to Munich to win something and to continue improving as a player with a double aspect, the point guard and the shooting guard. I think I’m very fast and versatile, therefore I enjoy playing in transition, attacking the basket, shooting 3-pointers and reading the pick and roll without neglecting defense.” Paco will be with France in next summer’s World Cup as one of the only two selected who did not come (until now he has signed for Bayern) from a Euroleague or NBA team (the other is Terry Tarpey, from Le Mans and a new hire from AS Monaco).

To the three additions, for now, we must add the players who remain in the squad (or return from a loan), such as Nick Weiler-Babb (another versatile combo), the young Nelson Weidemann, the great shooter Andreas Obst, the forwards Vladimir Lucic and Isaac Bonga, who should be very important threats attacking the rim, also Niels Giffey and then the power forwards Elias Harris, Jan Niklas Wimberg and the fives Freddie Gillespie, very physically strong, although he has raised doubts, and the young Danko Brankovic. Reinforcements are still missing, especially in the inside game, to complete a competitive block that aspires to win the German League, the club’s first since 2019, and to fight in a Euroleague that will once again be very tough.

2023-07-22 06:35:35
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