The new season is getting closer and closer, and the renewed VTB League rosters are getting closer to what they will look like.
Aleksa Avramovic
Transfer: from Partizan to CSKA.
2023/24 season stats: 10.2 points, 1.8 assists, 1.8 rebounds in Euroleague.
CSKA closed the transfer campaign nicely by signing a special player for the shooting guard position. The Moscow team management assures that Avramovic is the guard the team has been looking for. While not a superstar or an undisputed offensive leader, Aleksa takes versatility and reliability, performing equally well on both ends of the floor. His good athleticism, tenacious passing, quick release three-pointers, and ability to create offensive opportunities on his own are all things that CSKA fans will enjoy now that their new roster has no weaknesses. Avramovic signature move is three-pointer from the dribble.
With the Serbian national team, the former Partizan player was the only representative of the League at the Olympics in Paris and won a bronze medal, playing as one of the key parts of the team. The Serbs were stopped only by the USA – Aleksa had 15 points by the halftime of the dramatic semifinal that will forever go down in basketball history. In the winning game for 3rd place against Germany, the guard scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. At the end Avramovic received the best defensive player award.
Aleksandr Platunov
Transfer: from PARMA to UNICS
2023/24 season stats: 8.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists.
The Kazan team let Viacheslav Zaitsev go in the offseason, but replaced him with a younger player with similar skills and a key player from PARMA. One of Russia’s best point guards, the 27-year-old Platunov moves to UNICS in his prime. With his reliability, willingness to work in defense, shooting and playmaking, Aleksandr has all the tools to become Velimir Perasovic on-court guide. The key factor in this case seems to be the willingness of UNICS newcomer to fit in with a top team after 8 seasons in Perm. We’ll know the answer very soon.
Aleksandr Scherbenev
Transfer: from Lokomotiv Kuban to Zenit
2023/24 season stats: 5.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists.
Loko system native lost his stable spot in the rotation last season and this summer moved from his hometown club to Zenit as a free agent. Xavi Pascual himself was interested in Scherbenev transfer, but that doesn’t guarantee anything for the Russian guard. The St. Petersburg team has serious competition at all positions. According to the guard, he understands everything, but he’s moving to St. Petersburg “as enthusiastic as possible” and with a desire to “earn playing minutes” – Aleksandr resumed training just 3 days after the end of the 2023/24 season. Whether the 23-year-old talent will be able to realize himself in the star and maximally ambitious project is one of the curious stories of the new season.
Isaiah Whaley
Transfer: from Heidelberg to Lokomotiv Kuban.
2023/24 season stats: 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.3 steals in the Bundesliga.
Loko prefers an offensive style, but the Krasnodar team also has to defend. Whaley, who plays as power forward and center, must play an important role in this crucial role. The agile and energetic American bigman is capable of playing several roles – a very valuable quality in modern basketball. Last season, the 26-year-old graduate of the top-ranked UCONN adapted to European basketball by playing in the Bundesliga – in blocks and rebounds, the bigman was ranked in the Top 3. Last season, the Krasnodar team had a shortage of front court players – in February, Loko was forced to sign Maurice Ndour – the club has high hopes for Whaley.
Xavier Moon
Transfer: from Clippers to Zenit
2023/24 season stats: 2.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the NBA
Zenit considers one of the main trends in the VTB League to be a change in basketball towards more power and contact. In this regard, when recruiting for the new season, it was decided to make the roster younger and more athletic. Another requirement for newcomers is to have a high game IQ, as it is not easy to perform with Xavi Pascual. Moon, a former Clippers player, fits all of these requirements, and in addition to his energy on both ends of the floor, he will bring a threat from distance and more assists to Zenit game.
Xavier lacked size in the modern NBA, so after a few years in the California team system, he decided to make a dramatic career change. The effectiveness of the signing will largely depend on whether the combo guard will be able to adapt to a new more important role, a new country and an unfamiliar European style.
Timofey Gerasimov
Transfer: from Zenit to Enisey
2023/24 season stats: 2.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists.
Playing for the Krasnoyarsk team from 2021-2023, Gerasimov was selected for the All-Star Game and made his official debut for the Russian national team, where he also became captain. Next came the transfer to Zenit, but Timofey didn’t do well in St. Petersburg, so now the versatile guard is returning to the team where he spent the best years of his career. According to Jovica Arsic, he expects Gerasimov to literally “shine on the court” after his breakout performance. The SuoerCup winner is only 27, and the desire to prove his worth after a controversial season is certainly off the charts, so Enisey head coach plan has every chance of coming to realisation.
Bryant Crawford
Transfer: from Samsunspor to Avtodor
2023/24 season stats: 13.9 points, 5.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals in the Turkish league.
Since the days of the legendary Courtney Forston, it’s hard to imagine successful Avtodor without an energetic guard, who is responsible for scoring and playmaking. Crawford, who has a wealth of experience in European basketball, is ready to get the lead, and he has consistently getting a lot of assists throughout his career. The Saratov team expects him to make teammates better in addition to scoring points. Bryant could become one of the most notable players of the 2024/25 season in a running and offense focused Avtodor game.
Andrey Lopatin
Transfer: from MBA-MAI to UNICS
2023/24 season stats: 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists
UNICS has always had a strong foreign players, and in the 2024 offseason significantly strengthened the group of Russians. Following Platunov, the Kazan team signed Lopatin, who was the best scoring Russian player in the VTB League last season! After failing to prove himself in CSKA, Andrey restarted his career in MBA, where he was one of the leaders for 2 years. On a team made up of Russian players, Lopatin often took responsibility for the last shot, gained confidence and progressed. Now the agile 25-year-old forward with the three-point shot is getting another chance to prove with the Top 4 team.
Dwayne Bacon
Transfer: from Shanghai Sharks to Zenit
2023/24 season stats: 22.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists in the Chinese Basketball Association.
After parting ways with Tomas Heurtel, Zenit signed a new star. Bacon played 207 games in the NBA for Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic, averaging 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. After the world’s strongest league, Dwayne was the leading scorer in Monaco and Panathinaikos, and now transiting through the CBA he is moving to Zenit, where he will become the new offensive leader.
The athletic American guard is an independent unit that delivers the ball to the basket in every way possible, including long-range shots, drives and back-to-back post plays. Doing so consistently and at a high level. The 28-year-old, who is at the peak of his career, has every chance to become one of the main stars of the new VTB League season.
