http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885895681&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jul. 2, 2006 0:21 | Updated Jul. 2, 2006 0:36 Maccabi Tel Aviv snatches Eliyahu; Drucker takes Panionios job By FRANKIE SACHS Less than 48 hours after he became the second Israeli player ever selected in the NBA Draft, Lior Eliyahu finalized his plans for next season by agreeing to terms with perennial BSL champion Maccabi Tel Aviv. Maccabi announced on Friday afternoon that the 20-year-old forward would wear yellow and blue next year, but did not release contract details. Eliyahu was selected by the Orlando Magic with the 44th selection of Wednesday's NBA Draft and then promptly traded to the Houston Rockets. However, Houston sees Eliyahu as a prospect for the future and had no intention of bringing the player, who still has three months of IDF service remaining, to its camp this fall. Eliyahu could be joined by another fresh NBA draftee this season at Maccabi. Yotam Halperin, who was taken nine spots after Eliyahu by the Seattle SuperSonics, has one year remaining on his contract with Maccabi and may remain with the club this year before pursuing his NBA dream. Maccabi's search for a coach to take over for Pini Gershon suffered a blow on Friday when Sharon Drucker agreed to terms in Greece with Panionios Athens. Drucker, who was seen as one of the top Israeli candidates for the position along with national team coach Tzvika Sherf, decided not to wait for Maccabi. Because Maccabi waited for the end of the Italian League playoffs to speak to its top choice, David Blatt, it was then left out in the cold when Blatt told team officials that he would honor his deal at Benetton Treviso. Maccabi is also believed to be looking into foreign coaches, but all of the top Europeans have clubs for next season. Drucker, 39, built his name in Europe when he guided Hapoel Jerusalem to the ULEB Cup title three years ago. After a two-year stint in Jerusalem, he went abroad for the first time last year to try his luck with Russian side Ural Great, where he also proved himself by winning the FIBA Challenge Cup crown.
I believe Maccabi Tel Aviv is one of the better Euro teams. That's where Sarunas Jasikevcius played before he was signed last year by Indiana. This is a good omen for us Rockets fans.
i am guessing just another guy who suck and will never be a rocket or play in the nba. great pick rockets!! good use of an opportunity
I guess we can see how good our international scouts are after this guy with the flop of Badiane, Tabak?, and yet to be seen potential of V-Span i guess this guy might just break the straw.. Think we could trade Howard for the Spurs international scouts?
I just do not understand the Rox sometimes. If they are trying to win no instead of later why buy a pick to draft an unknown commodity and leave him overseas. Maybe to balance out the trying to win now instead of later... but there were a couple of players still left on the board that I feel could have helped with the NOW part of it. 1. Alexander Johnson: According to rumors they had him in twice and were high on him for the 32nd pk. Especially after trading SS he would have been some extra ins. 2. Since we need all the quickness we can get on both ends of the court, why not Dee Brown or G Diaz? Both quick proven offensive players who would have and could have contributed on this team. 3. Even Hassan Adams could have helped a team needing the added toughness that Sura brought to our team. They may end up hitting the jackpot with the kid from Israel, but since we are talking about the NOW I just don't get it. Hopefully I eat these words later.
I don't know why everyone is bashing this deal. We didn't give up any picks or players for him. He is basically a lottery ticket. Maybe we'll hit the jackpot, but it probably won't pay off at all. Oh well, the lottery ticket was only a buck.
Nice. Yeah...man some of you Rockets fans are just roiling with anger. I hope someone hasn't popped an artery already over this Gay deal. I mean...geez, we paid a little cash for the guy, didn't even give up a trade exception ... and you guys are still lashing out. Chill out. The world isn't going to end tomorrow. You can step off the ledge now.
wrong. im not angry. i like the trade. if we get mike james and battier, then i think they will compliment yao and tmac well. the main thing that concerns me is letting stro go. we need to address the pf position. juwan isnt going 2 cut it.
Jerry West choose Alexander Johnson at 45. He would have helped the Rockets inside defense and rebounding. Don't see how Eliyahu pick is consistant with the "Win Now" philosophy. This guy may never play in NBA and certainly won't be playing this year.
I hope he made the right move Young man control in your hand Slam your fist on the table And make your demand Take a stand Fan a fire for the flame of the youth Got the freedom to choose You better make the right move Young man, the power's in your hand Slam your fist on the table and make your demand You better make the right move
Drafting Eliyahu was just marketing investment. Les would probably like the Rockets to be Israel's favorite NBA team. I'm sure they will sell more McGrady jerseys in Tel Aviv than it cost them to buy the draft pick.
Maccabi was the runner-up of the Europian Cup. It's a great team with the best fans of Europe. I hope Eliyahu'll get 20-25 mins this season.
Do people in Greece watch the Rockets because we have the rights to Spanoulis? If Eliyahu makes the team and plays a role, then maybe TMac jersey sales in Israel will go up. But if we just bought the rights to a player in the 2nd capable of becoming a significant part of our team, it was a fantastic job of scouting and acquiring the player for a pittance.
They may. But is Les Alexander Greek? There was an Israeli kid in the draft that was about to be passed over, it didn't cost that much to buy a high second and it promotes the Rockets and the NBA as an international game. Now maybe he is being groomed to move into the SF when Tmac is done but my guess is the pick had other motives. I'm not saying it was a bad pick, I like what I read about the kid but wasn't it odd and un-Rocket like to buy in at #44. I mean if you wanted a player with the pick Alexander Johnson was still on the board.