Khimki Moscow with the most solid roster of the decade
If the Russian powerhouse will do sign the NBA-er Jonas Jerebko, their roster will be completed and let’s recognize a scary one for any opponent in the Euroleague. The best thing that Khimki has done this summer was the whole reconstruction of the squad, keeping only Anthony Gill and the local players’ core of the last season: the scoring ace Alexey Shved, Egor Vialtsev, Vyacheslav Zaytsev and the veteran Sergey Monya.
Khimki got rid of all the average players, mostly Americans they had last season: Charles Jenkins, Tony Crocker, Dee Bost, Garlon Green, Casey Prather, Jordan Mickey, Stefan Markovic and Andrey Zubkov. With one or two exceptions, those names don’t have Euroleague level or let’s say better they can be there as bench players for weak teams. But if Khimki needed more, they had to change all of them.
Now it seems a new Khimki is emerging on the horizon. First of all, they have brought in more quality European players, with experience at the highest level. It starts with the signings of Janis Timma, who in the last part of the last season has left Olympiacos where he saw just a few minutes per game. It was the best move for Khimki and Timma as well. Then, the club added 3 tough Russian players: the ex-NBA giant Timofey Mozgov, Sergey Karasev and Evgeny Valiev, the sharp 3 points shooter Dairis Bertans and the smart guard Stefan Jovic. The only two Americans signed this summer are Jeremy Evans who has previous experience with the club and Devin Booker who will do his excellent job in the paint.
The big challenge for Rimas Kurtinaitis is to build chemistry between all these talented players, keeping alive the leadership of Shved. If this will happen, Khimki can do a lot of great achievements this season and at least the so wished Euroleague playoff presence.
Gratian Cormos
Khimki Moscow with the most solid roster of the decade
