A few days ago, Elad Hussein entered the offices of the Hapoel Haifa management and mentioned that no one had dreamed of hearing – James Ennis. At first a lot of eyebrows were raised, this is an NBA player with over 400 appearances in the best league in the world, but after a thorough inquiry, a conversation with the player and the agent, Carmel realized that it could be possible.
Ennis does not come to Hapoel Haifa to finish his career. He finished the 20/21 season, in the Orlando Magic uniform, with an average of just over 8 points – so how is he actually at Hapoel Haifa, who was looking for a player to upgrade it for more than two months? “When Elad told us – ‘I found an interesting name’ we were happy, until he told me who the actor was,” says chairman Yuval Rossman. We said we would do everything we could to land and be a Hapoel Haifa player. ”
Although Hapoel Haifa is only in its second season in the senior league, the club is thinking big and wants to return to being a leading name in Israeli basketball. The signing of an actor like Anis is totally a statement on the way there. “This is one of the biggest names to ever land in the country,” Rossman states.
From the moment the decision was made to go for it, it was a race around the clock. Hapoel Haifa spoke and activated all its sponsors and they responded in the affirmative after realizing that this was a step that would lead the club forward. The fans were also enthusiastic, as hundreds of messages flooded the club’s management a moment after the signing.
Ennis arrived with quite a few demands for Hapoel Haifa: an apartment close to the hall, an attached car and, of course, a flight in the Business Department to Israel. Needless to say, Hapoel Haifa met all its requirements.
The coach, Elad Hussein, says: “We have been looking for a player for a long time who can play in both position 3 and position 4, and we had a one-time opportunity to land a player with such a resume. Ennis heard good things about Israel and the club from his good friends And that is what made him push to get here. “
So much lies on the shoulders of Anis, who will land in the country tomorrow night. Dudu Getz, the team manager, will be waiting for him at Ben Gurion Airport along with some fans who have expressed a desire to land. , But kept fit, and Hapoel Haifa believe he will be the one to take the club one step further.
