Nikola Vucevic was close to joining Crvena Zvezda this summer. The Serbian club president Zeljko Drcelic confirmed the talks in an interview with Meridian Sport, explaining why the move did not ultimately happen.
Vucevic, a long-time Crvena Zvezda fan, eventually chose to continue his NBA career by returning to the Orlando Magic. According to Drcelic, however, the possibility of seeing the Montenegrin big man wear the Belgrade club’s jersey has not been completely ruled out.
“There were talks,” Drcelic revealed. “First and foremost, Nikola is an excellent person, but also a huge Zvezda fan. That does not mean he would automatically become a Crvena Zvezda player. He is a family man who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, since his high school days. Such decisions are not easy, and in his case, money was absolutely not a factor.”
The Crvena Zvezda president then explained that the two sides had reached a gentleman’s agreement in case the player did not receive any NBA offers.
“We had a gentleman’s agreement that, if he did not receive an NBA offer, he would put on the Crvena Zvezda jersey. Since he is an elite athlete who continues to take care of his body and his career, it is clear that the door is not closed.”
Drcelic also discussed the club’s roster situation, suggesting that further moves could still be made after the arrivals of Chris Jones, David Kramer, Johnathan Motley, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Vojin Medarevic, as well as Jared Butler’s contract extension.
“We have not finished our work yet,” Drcelic said, adding that all signings and departures were agreed with new head coach Ibon Navarro and made according to his vision for the team.
“We have a good team. If an opportunity arises to strengthen it further, we will certainly take advantage of it.”
Commenta
Visualizza commenti