2024 EuroLeague Offseason Grades: Anadolu Efes Istanbul and AS Monaco

AS Monaco and Anadolu Efes Istanbul are two teams who lean into dynamic play from their guards to win games. As always, building around guards poses a unique set of challenges when it comes to roster construction. Efes had to fortify their perimeter defense this summer, and Monaco needed to add more spacing. In this edition of EuroLeague Offseason Grades, we will evaluate how their summer stacked up against others.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul Offseason Grade

Position last season: 9th

Our prediction for them last season: 6th

Players and personnel in: Jordan Nwora, Stanley Johnson, Rolands Smits, Vincent Poirier 

Players and personnel out: Tibor Pleiss, Mike Daum, Will Clyburn, Tyrique Jones, Erten Gazi

Offseason grade: A-

Try to add: Point of attack guard defender

Prediction: Anadolu Efes Istanbul got off to an awful start last season, Erdem Can got fired, and it looked like it was time to write them off. Then, they surged back into the play-in places with a strong second half, reminding everyone that they’ve still got elite talent in Shane Larkin and Darius Thompson. They are arguably the best offensive backcourt duo in EuroLeague. 

While the play-in tournament ended poorly for them at the hands of an ice-cold dagger from Iffe Lundberg, Efes went into this offseason with the belief that they only needed to refresh a few pieces and they may have nailed those moves perfectly. Vincent Poirier is a great pick-up at center. He bolsters the back line and will catch a ton of lob passes from Thompson. Rolands Smits will feast off open three-pointers from Thompson and Larkin drive and kicks, or open driving lanes for them to catch fire. Stanley Johnson and Jordan Nwora are the two-way wings they need to support the defensive woes Larkin and Thompson have. Nwora has looked like a star in pre-season. It is only the pre-season, but if he’s near that level Efes could be back at the Final Four next season. 

AS Monaco Offseason Grade

Position last season: 3rd

Our prediction for them last season: 4th

Players and personnel in: Furkan Korkmaz, Nick Calathes, Giorgos Papagiannis, Vitto Brown, Juhann Begarin

Players and personnel out: Donta Hall, Jordan Loyd, Kemba Walker (retired), Yakuba Outtara, John Brown III, Yoan Makoundou

Offseason grade: A-

Try to add: Nothing

Prediction: If you have Mike James, you are a Final Four contender. Monaco have proven that by either making the Final Four or being one win away the past three seasons. This summer, they made excellent additions around the reigning EuroLeague MVP. Furkan Korkmaz is a perfect spot-up threat and a secondary isolation scoring option. Nick Calathes is the floor general, who can take the organization responsibilities off of James’ shoulders. Vitto Brown is the stretch-four they were constantly reminded they didn’t have everytime John Brown III shot a mid-range jumpshot last season (I love Brown III by the way, think he’s very underrated, and could be a mid-season steal for a team once healthy), and Giorgos Papagiannis is a similar center to Donatas Motiejunas. 

Both are good in the pick-and-roll, rebound well, and can knock down open threes. The additions they’ve made have put Elie Okobo, Matt Strazel, Alpha Diallo, and Jaron Blossomgame into the bench unit. Instead of being average starters, they’re now well above average-bench players. If James has another MVP-level season, Monaco could walk away with the EuroLeague championship.