The dream of not one but several summer nights came true for Facu Campazzo. Honors to the Cordovan for pressing until the last moment and hunting one of the few opportunities that the NBA gave him to continue. Europe was left behind. But the beginning of the campaign did not give the player a break, who trained like the most but did not see the role that was envisioned for him rewarded with minutes on the field. And time was pressing. January 10, 2023 was the date he had to keep in mind: his one-season contract was not fully guaranteed, he would only have been from then on if he hadn’t been fired before. The latter, precisely, is what ended up happening. Those 1.8 million continued to count in an important way for him, not only for his personal account but also for the debt with Real Madrid that has not yet been closed.
Why should Facu feel desperate without this being something abnormal? Because, despite the fact that he was the last of the roster since the same day he was signed, Jason Kidd declared this in the first days of the season. Campazzo was waiting for them to fix the paperwork with his work visa and the coach pointed out that “The way he plays is something we need and haven’t had” and that “He’s another player we trust and that maybe we can use to have Luka in different situations”. The logical thing is that he thought, and more so with some gap due to non-appearance that had opened up for him, that he was going to play for real.
The passing of the weeks left those who believed that there would be more for Facu Campazzo uneasy. And him too, of course. That emotion was increasing if we take into account that the idea of the franchise was to test the Argentine while the market was closely followed. The conversation among fans continued to revolve, even more after the defeats, in the need to move before the transfer market closes. To be the 15th, the name Kemba Walker had already come up, which has finally taken his place, but he is not the only one that makes up the rumors around the Mavs. Among those who are going to move, like Jae Crowder, those who are being offered, like John Collins and Derrick Rose, and those who directly appear with Dallas as interested, like Gordon Hayward, there will be more tomatoes between now and February if the results continue to improve.
RELATED | Facu Campazzo and the absences in the Euroleague
Campazzo’s NBA career had been up and down in Denver. Murray’s absence benefited him at first, in the second year it took him a little longer to feel important with the emergence of Hyland. But his averages remained at a certain level: 5’6 points, 1’9 rebounds, 3’5 assists and 1’1 steals in 20’1 minutes over 130 games of normal season. Until being released by the Mavs, he longed to get back to those numbers. In the first fifteen games of the course he only took to the court in five (in the first two he could not play, the ones that count are the other eight in which he has not been counted on) and with little presence: ten seconds in front of the Wizards, 2:47 against the Nets and 4:22 against the Nuggets, the exception being the twenty-two minutes (and 1/6 in triples, for what they put) that he played against the Houston Rockets due to the absence of Luka Doncic. The settings with Josh Green, the in & out What Kidd does with the inexperienced Jaden Hardy, having Frank Ntilikina ahead and next to a crucial element in the locker room like Theo Pinson, there was tough competition to scratch something else. His summary speaks well of his enormous difficulties to even appear: 1.3 points and 1.2 assists, in addition to a pyrrhic 23% in field goals (and 34.6% in the effective shot when he came from 47.8%).
And now? And Madrid?
The panorama that opens now for Campazzo is what it is, without going into qualifying it. Since his official dismissal, he will enter the list of waivers of the NBA, in which he will remain for 48 hours. If any team claims him, he will keep the contract he signed at the beginning of the course; if not, he will become a free agent and any deal he signs afterward will be on new terms. It is difficult to think of a new destination in the United States for him in the short term since he hunted that Dallas contract at the last minute and without a guarantee, there were not many other offers. If he decides to look at Europe, something that according to the player’s environment is not yet contemplated, Madrid and Fenerbahçe are two destinations that he had on the agenda. The deadline to register new players in the Euroleague will end on February 9, with which he must also play. The white club, with which he maintains the link of the aforementioned exit clause, planned the season without him, although Chus Mateo stated the following when rumors arose about his possible incorporation: “I wish there was a place for him. If there is, welcome. We are very fond of him and we know what he can give. But now he is not a team player. If he comes, fantastic ”. No door is closed at the moment.