This season is being tortuous for Facundo Campazzo (31 years and 1.78 m). To his forced goodbye to the NBA with a bitter return to Europe, for the moment, not being able to participate in the Euroleague with the Red Star, this Monday has been added the elimination of Argentina in the qualifying phase for the next World Cup summer. A succession of misfortunes that have only allowed him to play 21 games since mid-November.
Everything went wrong at the beginning of summer. On June 30, the Denver Nuggets did not exercise the option to make the point guard a restricted free agent., who went from having a golden opportunity to sign a new NBA contract from being free to finding himself stranded. Throughout the summer, the Argentine was waiting, in a latent state, without signing with anyone. Difficult weeks that gave rise to a thousand and one possibilities, with Real Madrid with the doors open for a possible return that did not take place.
End of his time in the NBA
In early November, Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks opened a place for him on the roster. He stayed in the NBA, his wish. He painted that he was not going to have it easy… and so it was: the Texan franchise used its cut option before January 10 to fire him on November 28 after only 17 regular season games. His balance in Texas, only 8 games for a total of 52 minutes. His experience in the North American League seemed closed after landing in it at the end of 2020 and with 138 games behind him.
Despite not succeeding in the United States, his poster as an excellent player, differential base and first level was intact in Europe. His route sheet marked his return with an X. The Madrid? He had his rights in the Old Continent and problems in the position of one. The return of him as a white player would be a coup, a way to put the club in the first position in the tough battle for the Euroleague. However, the return of the prodigal son did not materialize and the Red Star appeared with a dizzying offer.
The Serbs put on the table a dizzying contract, two seasons at a rate of 1.8 million euros net the first and 2.5 the next with an exit clause of 500,000 dollars. A win-win for the Argentine There was money to continue paying off the debt contracted with Madrid for his departure in 2020 towards the United States and the possibility of being free at a very small cost to negotiate a new home next summer. Did anyone give more? No. Not even the Real, which didn’t even enter his head to even come even close to those stratospheric amounts of money.
To Red Star but without Euroleague
In the absence of competitors, the Red Star took over the great white whale of the market. Campazzo signed on December 19, three days before the Serbs faced Greek Olympiacos in Piraeus in Athens on matchday 15. However, the albiceleste could not dress short that day. Nor any other to date in the Euroleague. The reason, the sanction imposed by the Economic Commission of the maximum continental competition on December 1, 2022 to the Balkans for non-payments and the refusal to provide information in this regard. A punishment that prevented them from registering new players, such as Campazzo, and coaches.
The recidivism of the Red Star, filed on another couple of occasions for the same problems in recent years, led to the ratification of the sanction and its extension until February 28, one day before the Euroleague market closed. Red Star has until March 1 at 6:00 p.m. to register Campazzo and that the base can play the last nine days of a tournament that only has nine days left to close its regular phase with a Serbian team far removed from the playoff positions: it is 13th with a balance of 11-14, two wins away from eighth place, the last one that gives access to the quarterfinals.
This ban has only allowed Facu to participate in the ABA League and the Korac Cup (the King’s Cup in Serbia from which it emerged champion). After debuting on December 25 in the domestic championship, the albiceleste has been on a basketball court in 11 games in the last two months: 8 in the League and 3 in the KO tournament. A figure that added to the eight in the NBA gives a total of 19 since its season began on November 19. And without counting the two duels played with his team in this last Qualifying Window and which have ended in disaster.
Argentina was left out of the World Cup, which is played between Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan from August 25 to September 10, after losing in Mar del Plata, at home, against the Dominican Republic (75-79) with his presence plus that of Gabriel Deck and Nicolás Laprovittola. A hard defeat that leaves the albiceleste, silver in China 2019without an intercontinental tournament for the first time since 1982 and Campazzo without the possibility of enjoying a special championship in summer, with the best teams and players on the planet.
