Look at the four players who arrived this summer — Daniel Theis, Nick Weiler-Babb, Armoni Brooks, Sylvain Francisco — and what stands out isn't any single name. It's the logic connecting them. A rim protector who almost never misses from inside. A point guard who makes everyone around him better. A shooter who doesn't need the ball much to affect a game. And a creator who can do just about everything — at a volume that makes him one of the most impactful players in EuroLeague.

The roster isn't finished. But the direction is clear, and the pieces are real.

Daniel Theis

Theis came from Monaco, where he played 38 games averaging 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in just 20.5 minutes. The efficiency is what makes those numbers interesting. His two-point percentage was 69.2% — better than 96% of EuroLeague players. He is a center who almost exclusively takes shots he's going to make, and he makes most of them.

At 32, he brings something ASVEL hasn't always had at center: reliability. He doesn't ask for much usage — his shot attempts per 36 minutes (11.1) are modest for a big — but he converts at a rate that makes every possession count. Per 36, that's 16.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. The blocks (0.8 per game, among the highest in the league for a big) are a bonus.

The one hesitation is minutes. At Monaco he was a part-time contributor. ASVEL will need more from him, and it's worth watching whether the efficiency holds when the role expands.

Nick Weiler-Babb

Weiler-Babb is the most misread player in this group. At Efes last season — 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists over 28.8 minutes — the scoring looks modest. That's the wrong place to look.

His 4.8 assists per game put him among the top five playmakers in EuroLeague. His 1.2 steals per game make him one of the most disruptive guards in the competition off the ball. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.0 is excellent — he gives the ball away only 1.6 times per game against nearly five assists. Three-point percentage of 36.6% on a volume-heavy shot diet (63.1% of his attempts from deep) suggests he can space the floor as a secondary creator.

He is the connective tissue a team like ASVEL needs: a guard who makes plays without needing to be the play. His scoring numbers at Efes reflected a role, not a ceiling.

Armoni Brooks

Brooks is the simplest case to make. He scored 13.1 points per game at Milan in 22.6 minutes. His three-point percentage was 41.6% — genuinely elite. His turnovers (0.9 per game) are almost non-existent for a player of his usage. He plays 37% of his possessions in isolation or off screens and converts efficiently: a true shooting percentage of 60.3% and an eFG of 58.4%.

The number that earns trust is what happens when it matters. In the Play-In (four games), he went to 15.8 points and 64.7% on twos. In his one playoff game, he shot 50% from three. Better players in bigger moments. That's not noise.

He is probably the most immediately transferable signing ASVEL made. Slot him off the ball, let Francisco and Weiler-Babb create, and watch him shoot — the role fits cleanly.

Sylvain Francisco

Francisco is the one who changes the ceiling.

Forty-two games at Zalgiris. 16.5 points, 6.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals per game. His 6.5 assists per game ranked him among the top three playmakers in EuroLeague, and his PIR of 19.2 puts him in the same conversation as the competition's most complete players. He averaged more assists in the playoffs (7.2) than the regular season (6.4), which is a pattern that earns attention. His 2.32 assist-to-turnover ratio is healthy at his volume.

The complexity is the turnovers themselves: 2.8 per game, one of the highest figures in the league. For a player who handles the ball as much as Francisco does, some giveaways are inevitable — his creation rate is high enough that the ratio still works. But at ASVEL, where he'll presumably be the primary engine, those turnovers will be scrutinised. A team built around him needs to accept that he will sometimes give it away, and trust that the 6.5 assists and the drives and the pull-up threes are worth it.

The data says they are.

Do the pieces fit?

On paper, yes — with one condition: the roles have to be defined.

Francisco and Weiler-Babb are both primary ball-handlers. They can share the floor, but somebody has to have the ball at the end of possessions, and the minutes distribution will tell you a lot about how seriously ASVEL sees each of them. Theis gives them a finishing target at the rim who doesn't require offensive touches to be effective. Brooks is the off-ball shooter who benefits most from having two legitimate playmakers driving at the defence.

What's missing from this data is defence as a system — individual steals and blocks can only tell you so much about how a team holds up in a half-court scheme. Theis protects the rim. Weiler-Babb generates turnovers. The guards are both capable of making life uncomfortable for ball-handlers. The pieces suggest a team that can switch and pressure — but that's a hypothesis, not yet a conclusion.

The offensive core, though, is not a hypothesis. Francisco is one of the most productive creators in EuroLeague. Brooks is one of the most efficient shooters. Weiler-Babb makes good decisions. Theis doesn't waste possessions inside.

The roster isn't complete. But the foundation is more coherent than it looks from the outside, and the ceiling — if the right pieces are still to come — is genuinely interesting. That's a reasonable place to be in late June.

If you want to dig into the full numbers for any of them, we cover them all.