Limoges CSP plays in Strasbourg this Saturday evening (8 p.m.) on behalf of the 16th day of the French Elite basketball championship. It will obviously be without Gerry Blakes whose season ended on Sunday during the match against Paris. Touched to a kneecap, he will not be able to play again for many months. The club could look for a replacement for him but the conditional is required. To hear the sporting director Crawford Palmer, nothing has yet been decided on the advisability of taking on a new player. “We are in no rush. The team is doing well. The guys have their bearings. So if we decide to recruit, it will be to bring in an additional player who will not upset the hierarchy. Who will accept a specific role“says the silver medalist at the Sydney Olympics.
If you add quality to the team without disrupting the chemistry, it’s always a good thing
As for coach Massimo Cancellieri, he says he doesn’t necessarily need reinforcements without either closing the door on the arrival of a new element. “I don’t necessarily want a new player. I would like to see if it’s really smart to add one. If so, no matter how good it is, that’s good for me. Because if you add quality to the team without disturbing the chemistry, it’s always a good thing. But not a super star. A role player, we’ll see” abounds the Abruzzo technician for whom the balance of the team remains the most important. If a recruit arrives, it will not be an American. It will be either a Bosman-Cotonou, that is to say a European or an African , or a Frenchman.
Strengthen or save money?
And rather an outside player specifies Crawford Palmer: “Horace revs up and shows that he can play. Grismay continues to play his role. We haven’t really exploited Kruize Pinkins yet because Hugo is coming back to form. There is Tim Bazille behind. So I think we don’t necessarily need to strengthen ourselves internally. The idea would be more rotation on the external positions but we have not yet decided which one.“Knowing that the club’s finances are not flourishing, and the return of the gauges brings real uncertainty. In this context, the owner of the club Céline Forte could be tempted to say no to the recruitment of a new player in order to save on Gerry Blakes’ salary. Answer in the next few weeks.