May 22, 2012
MADRID, CAJA LABORAL complete trade
Pablo Prigioni moves to Madrid in tradeIn a major trade between two Euroleague and Spanish League contenders, Real Madrid received former All-Euroleague playmaker Pablo Prigioni and Caja Laboral Baskonia captain Sergi Vidal from that club for the rights to scorer Brad Oleson. Madrid had acquired Oleson and signed him to a long-term deal earlier this summer, but never announced the signing. On Monday, he was dealt to Caja Laboral, where he penned a five-year deal. Prigioni and Vidal are the sixth and seventh new players to arrive at Madrid since head coach Ettore Messian took over in June. They will also be reunited with former Baskonia teammate Travis Hansen, another Madrid newcomer. For Caja Laboral, Oleson, who arrives from Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada, will help offset the loss two-time Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy Winner Igor Rakocevic, who left the club earlier this summer.

Prigioni (191, 32) played six seasons at Caja Laboral, helping the club become a reference in continental basketball. Prigioni helped then-called Tau Ceramica to four consecutive Euroleague Final Fours between 2005 to 2008, reaching the title game in 2005. He won the 2008 Spanish League title and lifted Spanish King's Cup trophies in 2004, 2006 and 2009. Prigioni, an All-Euroleague second team selection in 2006 and 2007, dished 15 assists in the 2006 King's Cup title game against Pamesa Valencia to earn MVP honors. Prigioni also helped Tau reach the Spanish League finals in 2005, 2006 and 2009. He ranks second on the Euroleague's assists list (602) and is third in all-time steals (243). Prigioni has also played for Lucentum and Fuenlabrada in Spain, as well as for Obras Sanitarias in Argentina. He is also a regular member of the Argentinean national team, which he helped to win the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic games and reach the 2007 Tournament of the Americas title game.

Vidal (200, 28) joins Madrid after nine seasons at Caja Laboral, where he was the team captain. During his time at the club he appeared in four Euroleague Final Fours and twice played for the title – in the 2001 finals series against Kinder Bologna and in the 2005 title game against Maccabi in Moscow. Vidal has also recorded two Spanish League championships and four Spanish King's Cups with the club, which he originally joined from DKV Joventut Badalona. He enters the season ranked sixth on the Euroleague's career games Brad Oleson (Photo: acb.com)played list with 168. Vidal is also 12th in career steals with 168. Vidal has also represented the Spanish national team at both the junior and senior levels, winning a gold medal at the 1999 World Under-18 Championships and a bronze at the 2000 European U-20 Championships.

Caja Laboral locked up one of the top scorers in the Spanish League by signing Oleson (191, 26), a dynamic shooting guard. At Fuenlabrada last year, he had a breakout season with 18.1 points on 45% three-point shooting plus 2.5 assists in 32 Spanish League games. Oleson previously played for Beirasar Rosalia in Spain and the Dodge City Legend in the USBL following a four-year college career at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA2). He helped Dodge City win the USBL championship in 2005 and also lifted the Spanish third division trophy with Rosalia in 2007. The native of Alaska is a popular figure in his hometown of North Pole, where "Brad Oleson Day" was celebrated on April 24, 2004, and where during a recent visit he saw his high school jersey retired.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Euroleague.net
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