The Veolia Towers Hamburg turned to the transfer market late, signing American forward Juwan Gary on November 4, 2025, to address an escalating injury crisis and a five-game losing streak.
Gary arrived from French top-flight club Pau-Lacq-Orthez, while Canadian guard Jahvon Blair touched down in Hamburg just twelve hours later to complete a swift double-addition. The club confirmed both transactions ahead of a road fixture at Science City Jena.
Trip to Thuringia
The newly reinforced Hamburg squad sits at 1-6 in the standings heading into the Monday night matchup in Thuringia. Head coach Benka Barloschky’s team faces a fellow early-season struggler in Science City Jena, which holds a 2-5 record.
Both Gary and Blair practiced four times with their new teammates ahead of the 20:00 local time tip-off at the Sparkassen-Arena, which broadcasts live via Dyn starting at 19:45, according to club announcements. Barloschky noted that the onboarding process has been demanding for the arrivals.
The first few days were pretty packed for the two of them. The contents of the first sessions are extremely complex, and they can occasionally seem a bit overwhelming,
Barloschky told the Hamburger Abendblatt.
The coach added a direct directive for his debutants: They should be brave, have no fear of mistakes, and accept that nothing will be perfect yet.
Official club channels verified that both players completed the necessary medical tests, paperwork, and administrative appointments in parallel during their first week.
Key injuries affect Hamburg squad depth
Hamburg enters the Sparkassen-Arena without several key contributors. Playmakers Noah Thomasson and Zakai Zeigler remained in northern Germany to recover from a right-leg muscle injury and a left foot injury, respectively. Both guards face absences expected to last through the entire month.
The status of Canadian forward David Muenkat, sidelined with a strained right thigh hamstring, remained undetermined ahead of game day. Meanwhile, Science City Jena manages its own roster adjustments under head coach Steven Esterkamp, featuring recent addition London Perrantes, who averaged 17.5 points across his first two appearances for the Thuringian club.
Neustart beim Vorjahresaufsteiger
The role of the leading player appears to be claimed by London Perrantes. The 32-year-old American with NBA and European experience arrived at the end of October and posted 17.5 points in two appearances. Alongside him, American professionals Terrence Edwards Jr. (13,1), Ira Lee (11,8), and Jemarl Baker Jr. (11,2) also score in double digits. Nevertheless, the offense has not yet been the hobbyhorse of the Thuringians. Averaging 76.6 points, they hold the second-lowest yield, and their offensive rating (103.3) is the weakest of all BBL clubs.
Science City Jena manages its roster with veteran Robin Christen, who has yet to contest a match due to a knee injury, his substitute Christian Skladanovski (4.9 PPG), center Alex Herrera (4.9), Kristofer Krause (4.3), and homegrown player Lorenz Bank (4.8), all of whom have previously proven their BBL capability.
This is similarly true for Sacar Anim (9.3), who was signed at the beginning of October and ranked among the top 20 scorers of the BBL in the 21/22 season.
Parallel Precedents
Last season, the club waited until mid-November and early December to acquire Devon Daniels and Ross Williams, eventually sparking a turnaround that began with a 99-80 victory over Alba Berlin on December 14.
Towers managing director Marvin Willoughby explained the timing behind these mid-season adjustments. Fundamentally, commitments in the course of a season are comparatively easier than in the summer,
Willoughby told the Hamburger Abendblatt. While the slate is almost blank when putting the squad together in the off-season, the requirement profiles are much clearer during a season, so commitments can be made much more targeted.
Club executives retain the financial flexibility to execute further roster changes. Hamburg holds the budget capacity to sign up to two additional players before the league deadline in March, backed by a commercial setup that has pushed the club’s annual operating budget past seven million euros for the first time.
Keep reading
