Panathinaikos beats Barça in the race for Isaac Bonga

After the departure of Will Clyburn, Barça is now focused on strengthening the three position, in which the departure of Myles Cale and Clyburn has left only Joel Parra. The targets are the French forward Thimoté Luwawu-Cabarrot and the German forward Isaac Bonga, who yesterday was released from his contract with Partizan by paying the 700,000 euros of his release clause.

Luwawu-Cabarrot is also wanted by Real Madrid, which even has an agreement with Baskonia on the compensation to be paid for the Basques to renounce their right of first refusal. However, the Frenchman prefers to play with Barça, with whom he already has an agreement in principle. We will have to see how the issue is resolved. One possibility is that Barça and Baskonia negotiate a global agreement that includes the forward and also the coach Paolo Galbiati and the sports director Xevi Pujol, both also wanted by the Barça club.

As for Bonga, his signing seems almost impossible. Barça has been working on the operation for more than a month – Mundo Deportivo reported Barça’s interest in the player on May 20 – but it has always had serious competition. After some sources placed him close to Real Madrid yesterday, it seems that the one that will win will be, according to Basketnews, Panathinaikos, which has seduced the player with a super offer for three seasons and with exit clauses for the NBA each summer. Both parties are finalizing an agreement, according to that same source.