Alexandre Sarr is leaving, Izan Almansa arrives. This is the summary of the last few days for the Perth Wildcats. The first left his club to join the NBA, drafted by the Wizards in second position. The second, he will put down his suitcases in NBL.
It's official and it's confirmation of a rumor mentioned a few days ago. Because the Spanish nugget (11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds on average in the G-League) had withdrawn his name from the 2024 Draft to give himself one more year before joining the Great League.
Izan Almansa (19 years old) will therefore, like Josh Giddey, LaMelo Ball and therefore Alexandre Sarr, go through Australia and use the NBL as a springboard. A situation that worries his country, which sees its young talents leaving Spain very quickly.
Like France, which has an agreement with the NBA, it hopes to find a way to keep them and avoid a flight of talent, more interested in the NCAA (and its dollars) or the NBL (and its “Next Stars” program) than in a place, often limited in playing time, in a Spanish club.
Welcome to Perth, Izan! ⭐️
Perth Wildcats are delighted to announce the signing of U19 and U17 FIBA World Cup MVP Izan Almansa as the club's NBL25 Next Star.
Izan (pronounced Ee-thahn) is the first Spanish player to become an NBL Next Star!
Read more: https://t.co/pUP8CjVO23 pic.twitter.com/YAAFhM7fLH
— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) June 29, 2024
