Stash Watch: Gabriele Procida and Matteo Spagnolo Depart ALBA Berlin

With ALBA Berlin choosing to depart the EuroLeague for the FIBA Basketball Champions League - which may very well be a play to position themselves well for the NBA Europe project - they've lost some notable talent. The young Italian duo of Gabriele Procida and Matteo Spagnolo both decided to leave the German club in the wake of their continental competition decision. Procida, 23 years old, has his draft rights retained by the Utah Jazz following the Simone Fontecchio trade the Pistons made a couple of seasons ago. Spagnolo, 22 years old, still has his draft rights retained by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who selected him in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Procida has signed with a new team, joining EuroLeague powerhouse Real Madrid. Madrid made a head coaching change earlier this summer, parting ways with long-time Pablo Laso assistant Chus Mateo - who delivered six trophies, including a EuroLeague championship and two Liga ACB championships in his three years in charge - for former EuroLeague coach Sergio Scariolo. Scariolo has won one championship since returning to Europe in 2021.

Procida might find Scariolo's presence comforting. Both are Italian, and playing time has opened up on the wing in Real Madrid following the departures of Hugo Gonzalez and Dzanan Musa. He will fill out the wing rotation nicely with Alberto Abalde, Mario Hezonja, and Gabriel Deck. The Jazz will be hoping that playing for a team like Real Madrid gives Procida the opportunity to grow as a spot-up shooter. After shooting 34 percent from deep across all competitions for the 2023-24 season, Procida fell to 24 percent across all competitions last season. That's an unplayable shooting percentage as an NBA wing, but ALBA struggled to consistently generate good looks.

Procida will now get to play off the gravity of Edy Tavares and Hezonja, and will have one of Europe's best point guards in Facundo Campazzo setting him up for easy scores. If Procida proves to be a high-impact role player alongside Madrid's star power, he could become enticing to the Jazz or other NBA teams who may want to trade for his rights.

Spagnolo, on the other hand, has not found a new team. He finished last season averaging 9.6 points and 3.4 assists per game on 45/28/77 shooting splits. He primarily has taken on ball-handling responsibilities during his time with ALBA, and is rumored to be joining Spanish club Baskonia, which will allow him to stay in the EuroLeague. He will likely get a good amount of playing time as Baskonia is down to three EuroLeague quality guards on their roster in Markus Howard, Kamar Baldwin, and Trent Forrest, and Forrest is rumored to be on the way out.

Spagnolo could take minutes on the wing too, with Greek youngster Nikos Rogkavopoulos officially leaving Baskonia to sign a four-year deal with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. Spagnolo will likely play a larger role than Procida between their new teams, and that's probably best for both. Procida fits more as a role-player for his long-term future, and Spagnolo needs to continue to develop as a creator and scorer. Both will be interesting to watch next season.