ASVEL: total reconstruction after the disaster

ASVEL experienced a chaotic summer that perfectly summarizes the state of the club. At the end of June, Tony Parker announced in L'Équipe four signings that formed the core of the project: Daniel Theis in the paint, Armoni Brooks and Nick Weiler-Babb on the perimeter, and Sylvain Francisco as the point guard. A serious team on paper. By September, none of the four were in Villeurbanne. Economic problems forced the dismantling of what had been built in weeks, selling who could be sold and loaning those who could not. And then, starting over from scratch.

The starting point: the deepest floor

There is no kind way to put it. ASVEL finished the 2025-26 season in twentieth place, last in the EuroLeague, with just 8 victories and 30 losses. They scored 2,989 points, the lowest figure in the entire competition, and conceded 3,270, resulting in a balance of -281, which was by far the worst of the twenty teams. That floor explains everything else.

Faced with that bleak outlook, the club changed coaches and, above all, its structure. Parker, owner and president for years, took to the bench himself. It is his first job as a club coach at 44 years old, surrounded by a coaching staff of nine people with Vincent Collet, former French national team coach, as the main assistant. His argument is ambitious: no French club has won a European title since 1993, and ASVEL hasn't stepped into a Final Four since 1997.

The diaspora and failed signings

The list of departures is long. Melvin Ajinca went to Le Mans, Bastien Vautier to Surne Bilbao, Braian Angola to Japanese basketball, Zac Seljaas to Napoli, Glynn Watson to Reyer Venezia, Adam Atamna to Ratiopharm Ulm, and Thomas Heurtel, among others. Mbaye Ndiaye left for Olympiacos after paying the release clause. But what was truly striking was the other list: the announced signings that never came to play.

Sylvain Francisco ended up at Panathinaikos, Daniel Theis at Maccabi, Nick Weiler-Babb was loaned to Crvena Zvezda, and Armoni Brooks went to Valencia. Four additions presented as the core of the project who ended up wearing different jerseys before the first official game. A situation that reflects the institutional instability of the French club over the summer.

Twelve new faces in August

Most of the additions came in August, taking advantage of market opportunities. The name that sells the most is Patty Mills, who comes from La Laguna Tenerife to play his first EuroLeague under a former Spurs teammate. He is joined by two other NBA veterans: Jae Crowder, 36 years old, who signed for one season after averaging 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in twenty-eight games in the Puerto Rican league, and TyTy Washington, selected 29th in the 2022 draft, who debuts in Europe at 24 years old.

The point guard position is completed by Tremont Waters and the young Marc-Owen Fodzo Dada. On the perimeter are Hugo Besson, Myles Cale, and Both Gach, who arrives from JL Bourg after entering the best five of the EuroCup. The paint, which was the real hole of the previous season, was closed late but well: Joel Bolomboy from Crvena Zvezda, Nate Sestina from Olimpia Milan, Yves Pons back home after his time at MoraBanc Andorra, and Mathis Dossou-Yovo from Nanterre, where he averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in Betclic Élite and made it into the ideal five of the regular season.

The survivors of the shipwreck

Only three players remain in the project. Edwin Jackson renewed and is entering his eighth season at the club, Bodian Massa continues in the interior game, and David Lighty, at 38 years old, remains linked to the project. Alongside Barcelona, ASVEL is the team with the least continuity in the entire competition. This almost total renewal explains the challenges Parker faces in the coming weeks.

Starting challenges: chemistry and schedule

Twelve new players, a debuting coach, and a newly formed coaching staff. All of this is practiced in preseason, but the EuroLeague starts on September 24 and waits for no one. The first two months will be pure trial and error, a critical period for the new additions to acquire automatism and understand Parker's system.

A positive factor is the presence of six domestically trained French players: Fodzo Dada, Besson, Jackson, Pons, Massa, and Dossou-Yovo meet the local quota, and not as fillers. Dossou-Yovo arrives to be a starter from day one. This is the part of the project that most resembles what Parker says he wants to build, a solid French base upon which to add international experience.

The bench is another unknown. No one doubts Parker's knowledge of the game, but coaching from the sidelines is not the same as having understood it from the court. The presence of Vincent Collet as the main assistant is a reasonable safeguard, and also a potential source of noise if things start off poorly.

The bar is set on the ground. After 8-30, almost anything is an improvement. This relieves pressure at the start but also indicates where the team was four months ago. Expectations are modest, although the potential of the roster suggests there could be surprises.

The forecast and keys for the season

ASVEL is not going to fight for the play-in, and probably not even the club itself expects that this season. The season will be measured on another scale: that the team competes for forty minutes, that Dossou-Yovo confirms his leap in quality, that Washington and Waters work as point guards, and that Parker proves he can coach at this level of competition.

There is loose talent in that roster and there is experience to carry through ugly games. What is missing is a twenty-point player or a run-in structure. In a thirty-eight game league, this will show in March. However, it is one of the most interesting teams to follow this season. If things cohere before Christmas, it will be one of the stories of the season. If not, it will be another long year in Villeurbanne.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ASVEL: reconstrucción total tras el desastre