Barcelona set to appoint Chevi Puyol as basketball rebuild gathers pace

Barcelona are preparing to appoint Chevi Puyol as the new leading figure in their basketball department, with the club also set to bring in Turkish scout Kuzay Kılıc as part of a sweeping reconstruction of the team.

The changes mark a major new phase for Barcelona after three successive seasons without a trophy. More than two-thirds of last season’s squad have left the Palau Blaugrana, while the club is also reshaping the structure responsible for its basketball operation.

According to Sport, Barcelona are expected to announce Puyol’s appointment in the coming hours. He arrives after an impressive season with Baskonia, having previously made his mark at Manresa, where he was regarded as the main architect of the team’s successes at the Nou Congost.

Puyol will be central to a new project that includes a number of players with limited experience of European basketball. Alongside Sisco Puyol, Alexander Cikulic, Justin Robinson, Agust Obal and Tyrese Martin, he forms part of one of the most extensive rebuilds undertaken by the club in recent years.

Barcelona’s decision follows a period in which the basketball project lost its direction. The club has now opted to begin again, accepting an element of risk by placing faith in players who have yet to establish themselves in the European game.

Juan Carlos Navarro, meanwhile, has been retained in a new role after being away from the formation of the sporting project in recent weeks. The Barcelona great will become an ambassador for the basketball team and a mentor to players in the club’s youth and age-group sides.

The structural changes are not expected to end there. Journalist Oscar Herreros has reported that Barcelona are also strengthening their sporting department with the appointment of Turkish scout Kuzay Kılıc.

Although only 26, Kılıc has built a strong reputation in European basketball and gained notable experience through his work with several major clubs on the continent. Sport reports that his move to Barcelona has been agreed after he ended his association with Dubai Basketball, where he worked as part of the coaching staff until last season.

The club is expected to confirm Kılıc’s arrival officially in the coming days.

Barcelona’s directors consider the appointment particularly significant because they believe Kılıc fills a gap that had been missing from the basketball team’s sporting structure. His role is expected to complement the work of Chevi Puyol as the club attempts to establish a clearer long-term plan.

The arrivals of Puyol and Kılıc are viewed internally as potentially decisive steps in rebuilding the project and restoring Barcelona’s basketball team to a more stable path.

The scale of the overhaul is reflected not only in the size of the squad turnover but also in the changes being made behind the scenes. Barcelona are introducing new leadership, a different recruitment approach and a substantially altered group of players as they attempt to move on from three trophyless campaigns.