Euro Baskets Transfers: ASVEL Lyon Sign Boris Dallo, Lose Jonah Matthews

As has been the case since the season ended, there were quite a few Euro Baskets transfers on July 4th and 5th. There were several impact moves, with ASVEL Lyon- Villeurbanne and Besiktas among the most active teams.

ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne are coming off a strong campaign, and the addition of Boris Dallo will make them even stronger. ASVEL have won the ProA League in three of the last five years and are the most titled team in France.

Meanwhile, Besiktas have almost completely retooled their roster after finishing in the bottom half of the Turkish Super League for the past two seasons.

Euro Baskets Transfers

Boris Dallo switches teams but remains in France

One of the biggest Euro Baskets transfers on July 4th was French ProA all-star Boris Dallo's move from Chloret Baskets to rival ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne. Dallo becomes ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne's second free agent signing of the summer following Mbaye N'Diaye's commitment at the end of May.

ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne finished third in the ProA standings, though they were the 2023 French Cup Champions. ASVEL also reached the semifinals of the ProA.

Dallo, who spent two years at Chloret, is coming off an impressive campaign. The 29-year-old averaged 10.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 36 Betclic ELITE ProA games last season. He also produced seven points, six rebounds, five dimes, and one steal during the EuroCup as Chloret reached the finals.

ASVELL lose first transfer of 2023 summer

Jonah Matthews became the first player of the summer to leave ASVEL Lyon as he signed with Besiktas (Turkey). Matthews, entering his fourth year as a pro, is known as a big scorer. The 25-year-old American, who played collegiately at USC, averaged nearly 10 points in 65 games last year. He also averaged 1.2 treys and 2.1 assists while compiling a shooting slash line of .442/.342/.871.

Mathews was the latest signing for Besiktas over the last two days. The Black Eagles also brought in transfers Matt Mitchell (July 5) and Berkan Durmaz (July 4). Mitchell came over from Strasbourg while Durmaz was at Pinar Karsiyaka.

Mitchell made tremendous strides this past season, averaging 15.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 14 ProA contests. While he became more of a threat from the 3-point line, he is a 27% shooter from beyond the arc.

Durmaz is a role player best suited to come off the bench. He is a physical defender and a good rebounder. He averaged 4.3 points and grabbed 3.6 boards a game.

The 6-9 forward scored in double-figures five times and grabbed double-digit rebounds once. While Durmaz can space the floor with his shooting, he is not a big threat from beyond the arc.

Besiktas have been busy this offseason after barely avoiding relegation. They finished 14th in the BSL with a 10-20 record.

Since the end of the season, they have brought in point guards Derek Needham (Montenegrin) and Berk Ugurlia (Totas). Forwards Berkan Durmaz (Pinar Karsiyaka) and Egehan Arna ( Anadolu Efes), along with wing Yirgit Arslan (Bahcesehir), have also been signed.

Ibrahim Sylla Moves To Turkey From Greece

Ibrahim Sylla moved to Turkish Club OGM Orman after spending last season with Greek League AS Aspollan Patras. Sylla is the first summer transfer for OGM Orman, which finished 11th of 16 TBL teams with a 12-18 record. The 6-7 center averaged 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds over 14.1 minutes in 21 games last year.

Sylla was very efficient around the basket. He converted 70.9% of his field goal attempts and finished eighth in the GBL with (0.8) blocks a game. He scored in double-figures five times, with seven boards being his highest rebound total.

The 28-year-old American is entering his fifth year of pro basketball. He also has played in Lithuania and Serbia. Sylla played at Northern Colorado and North Carolina A&T.