UCAM Murcia Resolves DeJulius Situation: Ratifies Contract and Loans Him to Besiktas

UCAM Murcia has ended the uncertainty surrounding David DeJulius. The Murcia club announced on Saturday that, following an agreement between all parties involved, the contract binding the point guard to the club is ratified and the club retains its contractual rights over the player.

With that settled, UCAM has agreed with Besiktas on a one-season loan of DeJulius, an operation for which the Murcia club will receive financial compensation.

What's Behind the Statement

The wording of the announcement says quite a bit. A club doesn't publish that a contract "is ratified" unless someone has questioned its validity, and there was an open dispute here over the player's contractual status. DeJulius had moved to Besiktas and Murcia was defending its rights.

The outcome is reasonable for all three parties: the player achieves his goal of playing in the EuroLeague, Besiktas strengthens itself for its debut in Europe's top competition, and UCAM neither loses the player nor the money, because it maintains its rights and receives compensation for the loan.

The Numbers from 25/26

The dispute makes sense when you look at the figures. DeJulius signed an outstanding season in his first year in the Liga Endesa: 17.5 points per game on average, the second-leading scorer in the entire competition behind only Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, shooting 52.2 percent from two-point range and 39.4 percent from three-point range, plus 4.4 assists and 16.2 in player efficiency rating in just 25 minutes per game.

He was Player of the Week three times, an MVP candidate, and ended up being named to the Liga Endesa All-Star Five alongside Jean Montero, Luka Bozic, Mario Hezonja, and Luwawu-Cabarrot himself. His peak came on Matchday 26 against Coviran Granada: 31 points, 11 assists, and 38 in player efficiency rating, in a week in which he accumulated 72 points and 82 in player efficiency rating across two games.

With those numbers, he led UCAM to the upper reaches of the standings.

Who He Is and Where He's Going

Born in Detroit in August 1999, DeJulius was developed at Michigan and Cincinnati, was not selected in the 2023 Draft, and arrived in Murcia after stints at Lavrio, Göttingen, Aris, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Bursaspor. He obtained Slovenian citizenship last season.

Besiktas, his new destination, is making its EuroLeague debut this season.