Baskonia finalizes its roster without the Cup heroes

Baskonia faces the new season with a completely restructured team. Seven months separate the cup title from the end of a roster that arrived late and reflects the imbalance of the summer in Vitoria. While the club celebrated its seventh title in the domestic competition — the first since 2009 — and demonstrated competitive ability in a one-off game format, the reality in the EuroLeague was quite different: eighteenth out of twenty teams, with 13 wins and 25 losses, a balance of -162, and a defense that was only marginally better than that of Maccabi.

The paradox defines the starting point. A team that could win against anyone on a Tuesday but lose by twenty on a Friday. Paolo Galbiati, who took over the bench in August 2025 after Pablo Laso's departure, still has an active contract, which shows how the club values what was achieved at the Roig Arena despite the eighteenth place in Europe.

Departures That Hurt

Trent Forrest, MVP of the Copa del Rey, and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, who scored 28 points in the final, will not continue in Vitoria. Both represented the offensive core of that achievement, but their destinations — Fenerbahçe for the former, Real Madrid for the latter — reflect the appeal of other European and Spanish projects. Along with them, Mamadi Diakité left for Dubai and Eugene Omoruyi for Beşiktaş.

However, the most impactful exit came late: on September 2, Khalifa Diop signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers after three seasons in Vitoria. The club lost its only true center three weeks before the start, a gap that forced improvisation in the paint. Rafa Villar, Gytis Radzevicius, Jesse Edwards, Markquis Nowell, and Vit Hrabar also completed the departures. Pavel Savkov was loaned to the MBA of Moscow.

Six Signings at Two Speeds

The perimeter was closed with criteria and speed. DJ Stewart arrived first from Cedevita Olimpija. Chris Duarte, from Unicaja, adds points and size at shooting guard. AJ Lawson landed from Raptors 905 with the physical profile the team needed at small forward. Damion Baugh, from Calgary Surge, completes the playmaking alongside Kobi Simmons and Matteo Spagnolo, who renewed.

The interior has a different story. Kenneth Faried, nearing 37 after stints with Panathinaikos and Puerto Rican basketball, was the initial option. Alex Len, who signed on September 14 for two seasons, came free after his contract with Real Madrid was terminated due to a plantar fascia injury. In his last season in Madrid, he averaged 4.8 points and 2.7 rebounds. Two veterans adding up to 70 years to fill the void left by a 24-year-old center who moved to the NBA. This was not the initial plan.

Continuity and Balance

Seven players remain. Markus Howard, in his fifth season, is still the scoring reference of the project. In the interior positions, Rodions Kurucs and captain Tadas Sedekerskis will have another year as club emblems, accompanied by Clément Frisch and Stefan Joksimovic. Galbiati has a block with structural sense.

However, the roster is short and the height distribution is unbalanced. Eight players are below two meters, and only Faried and Len are pure big men. Any injury in the paint forces improvisation with Kurucs or Sedekerskis at center, something that cost points and defensive rebounds last year.

Keys to the Season

Baskonia had no problem scoring: 3,321 points placed them high in European offensive production. The real burden was defense. They conceded 3,483 points, only surpassed in deficiency by Maccabi. None of the six signings is a standout defender. If the team does not improve in that aspect, the standings won't change much no matter how many points Howard puts up.

Age in the paint is another factor. Faried and Len come with recent physical histories. They can be the solution in a specific game but a problem over a 38-game ACB calendar plus European competition. Diop's injury three weeks before the opener turned what should have been a timely reinforcement into a structural solution.

The precedent from the Cup offers an optimistic reading. This team proved in February that they can compete when playing a single game. In the EuroLeague, they play thirty-eight times. That is where the true test lies.

The Forecast

Baskonia enters the season with a roster finalized late, without its two best players from their best night of the year, and with a patched-up paint just nine days before the opener. With that starting point, talking about play-in would already be a success. The reasonable expectation is for another season of ups and downs.

The ACB will be the terrain where this group can bring joy again. They perform better with less consecutive games and against teams of their scale. The EuroLeague presents a long exam in which they will be hurt inside. The good news for Vitoria is that the Copa del Rey showed Galbiati knows how to prepare for a big game. The bad news is that there are thirty-seven more in Europe.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Baskonia cierra su plantilla sin los héroes de Copa