It’s been a busy week for me in Barcelona. Like in the NBA, we don’t take any breaks here for Christmas.
Had practice on Christmas Day… We had an important game against Real Madrid days later and we also practiced on New Year’s Day, so no rest for me. But it worked out perfect because we had two wins!
We’re on a roll right now. We have a good chemistry and we continue to build on that. My coach XaviPascual is doing a great job. We trust him, we go out and do the job he wants us to do. In this team, you have to sacrifice your minutes sometimes. All the great teams. They have to do it.
NBA CALL
I was very surprised to hear this week that the Knicks have inquired about my situation with FC Barcelona. Or maybe not so much. I go way back with the Knicks. On draft day, they traded for me. I had a great experience being there with Latrell Sprewell, Glen Rice, Chris Childs, Larry Johnson…
Maybe I was closer to Spree and Childs, although Johnson was like a big brother to me. I actually I had Christmas dinner with him and his family. That was a big learning experience thing for me. You know, I was in the NBA, I was alone and Larry Johnson helped me out. He actually bought me 20 suits because coach Jeff Van Gundy said I needed to wear suits at games. I wasn’t playing at the time. Coach said I was a rookie and I had to wait my turn. I had guys like Sprewell, who I spent time with playing PlayStation, playing Madden and NBA Live… Marcus Camby joined too.
I had a good time there. For them to inquire about me, it’s not the same as another team doing it. If another team does that, they don’t know me as well as the Knicks. Some of people at the front office that traded to get me, they’re still there. Of course I would have liked to get some playing time. I could never showcase my game, but you know, I understand that I was only 22 and Sprewell and Rice were playing in front of me. Those guys were making like $15 million a year. I just did my work everyday. I got to gym early, I left the gym late.
That year, although I was not playing, just watching those great players play, really helped my game. Playing with them at practice, I learned a lot. They were so talented, so smart. It was such a veteran team. The year before they got to the Finals and lost to the Spurs.
Knowing that they have expressed interest is a different feeling. If it was some other team, I wouldn’t really have any feelings about it. But it’s New York. And I never really got the chance to play there. Playing for a great college team at Cincinnati, being an All-American… And all of a sudden, I don’t play. You can’t understand that. It’s not that I couldn’t play. I just never got the chance. I got encouraging words: “Wait your turn, your time will come.”
Well, it has come. It didn’t come in the NBA, but it has come and I’m very happy where I am at right now. As far as the Knicks inquiring about me, I’m here in Spain playing for FC Barcelona and it’s my focus. Everything else is business. That’s why I have agents. Inquiring about me is one thing. Actually having me on their team… That’s not easy. But you never know.
MY TWO FAMILIES
I’m used to being without my family during Christmas. Actually I think it’s my fifth year in a row without them. My family will be here in Spain next month - first time in Europe!
Meanwhile, I have to say that the team is like a family. We had a team dinner the other day, which is nice. Players, managers, coaching staff… We had Secret Santa and we all had a great time with the presents we bought! I got one bottle of Moët & Chandon, which is a very nice present. I’m saving it for special occasions, though. That’s all I can say! I cannot tell which present I bought, but I’m positive the teammate who got it really liked it.
The fact that it’s Christmas time doesn’t matter when it comes to remembering my brother, murdered when I was young. It’s an everyday thing. I don’t have any sad feelings about that situation. Obviously I struggled with it when I was a kid, but I overcame that situation and it made me who I am. It shaped my life. There’s two ways to go when bad situations happen to you… You can go down or you can go up. It motivated me to do everything the right way. It motivated me to stay on the basketball court, staying in the classroom and do my studies.
When somebody is close to you, somebody who cares about you, plays basketball with you, it’s a difficult thing. My family is strong, they’ve been through a lot. We stuck together in that situation. Whatever I imagine, I can do it. That’s my thing. Wherever my career takes me - NBA, Spain, or somewhere else - I’ll continue to do it. Never had an ego about it. It’s not so much exactly about the ACB, the NBA, the Euroleague… It’s my League, it’s where I am at.
MY TAKE ON ARENAS
Everybody has an opinion on carrying a gun. For me, it’s a very sensitive subject. I mean, my brother was a victim of gun violence. But if people feel they need to carry a gun and they got a legal permit to carry one, then they should carry a gun. That said, bringing guns in a locker room… Come on.
Arenas made that decision. Now there could be consequences. It’s up to the grand jury to decide his fate.
About the gambling thing, well, I know very well that kind of game.. Back in NYC, it’s called In-Between. It’s a game where money goes away very, very fast. When guys played it on a two-hour flight, I liked to watch it, not playing it. It happens: you play, you lose, big debts, and then there’s guys that don’t want to pay, or they pay late.
Nobody knows what happened exactly. Only Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. This next week maybe we will know what really happened. I don’t like speculation because I’ve been in situations where people talked a lot about me. Last year, they speculated about this passport issue I had. At the end, none of the things they said in the newspapers were true. And that’s why Arenas said he’s gonna sue the New York Post. In the States, you cannot write bad things about people if you don’t have the facts. Here in Europe, people write things all the time, and people then think everything is true. I never had anything to do with the passport issue. You can’t write false information about people!
I’m feeling well after recovering from the flu. We’re back on top of the ACB standings and as I blog this, I’m waiting to play Zalgiris in the Euroleague.
When the weather changes at this time of the year, I tend to catch the flu. I always laugh with my momma every year about this: something happens. I get sick. But luckily we didn’t have very, very important games like the Euroleague’s Top 16.
I played a few minutes in my first game after the flu and my teammates did all the work. I was a spectator! Although we won by a lot of points, Blancos de Rueda Valladolid is a very competitive team at home. So you better respect every team. You always gotta play at your best in the ACB and the Euroleague.
By the way, it was an honor to be named MVP of the Month of the Euroleague in November. I saw this trophy given out to former teammates like Igor Rakocevic, Tiago Splitter… I’m pretty happy about that. I wish I had some bonus in my contract for getting MVP trophies! Seriously, the best of this month was the way it started. with a win on the road in Lithuania. My mentality was very good. I prepared very well for the game, with the mentality to attack and to maximize every second you’re on the floor.
I was recently interviewed by the Euroleague website and talked, among other things, about how I love the Euroleague. The rules are just great. They let you use your strength and you can use contact a lot more. There is not that much charging or flopping.
When they ask me if flopping in a Euro thing, and I laughed. It’s always been an Euro thing! We always joke around about how the Europeans do that. I joke about it with some of my European teammates all the time. Come on! Dennis Rodman was the king of flopping! When he played against Karl Malone he was always flopping, putting his face next to his elbow… Other people talk about players like Bill Laimbeer in the 80’s… Well, I understand Laimbeer. There was only one or two guys doing it. That was just part of their personality. Laimbeer, Rodman, I don’t think there’s ever been in the NBA any floppers bigger than those two guys. Vlade Divac? Well… OK now I’m laughing again.
Anyway, for me it’s only an excuse to joke on my Euro teammates. When I was in Greece, they put their body next to mine and then they fell like it was a charge. To me that’s not basketball.
Anyway, I don’t consider myself the most physical player in the Euroleague. I just try to play hard. It’s a contact sport. I like to bang a little bit, use my shoulders, elbows, everything.
Tough game the other day at Fuenlabrada. It’s always gonna be tough there. Last year, when I played with Baskonia, we lost. That team plays with so much energy at home. They fight till the end and they play particulary well at home.
Also, we beat my former team last week. It was a great game for us. Probably the best game so far. We are always asked how we feel when facing clubs you have played for. In my case, there’s no emotion involved. Just business, going out and play the game. Anyway, it was nice getting to see some of my ex teammates like Tiago Splitter, Mirza Teletovic, Fernando San Emeterio… I was looking forward to see them. I spent some time talking to assistant coach Ibon Navarro, who’s a very good friend of mine. Got the chance to talk to him for a few minutes. Just being in the same court and compete with all of those guys was great because I know how hard they work.
You know in Spain there’s El Clasico, the great soccer game between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. It’s a huge rivalry. I can’t say there’s a rivalry between Caja Laboral and Barcelona, but I can say we’ve played a lot lately. Last season I think we played 11 or 12 games! And I think we had beat them coming back to the Finals the year before eight times in a row. Then finally beat us one game and that’s when everything changed. It started a great rivalry. When I signed to play in Barcelona, I already knew the players so well because I scouted them so much.
ANYBODY WATCHING?
There’s been reports out there about low attendance in Euroleague games. I don’t think it’s worse than in previous. When we played in Zagreb, it was sold out. Then we played in Turkey against Ulker and they didn’t have a lot of fans. What I can tell you is that our fans have been great. Our gym is not as big as a lot of other gyms, but the supporters are fantastic. This season Barcelona started selling jerseys for the first team and I heard my jersey is sold out already! It’s a great deal to me, considering the players we have. Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio… A lot of stars on our team!
Speaking of jerseys, I read a story that basically said that Michael Jordan doesn’t need LeBron’s support. He’s already Michael Jordan. Jordan is in another level. Everybody can wear the number 23. A lot of people who grew up in Illinois like me, we idolized Jordan. We were able to watch him on local TV every single day. I got the chance to see Chicago Bulls every day – games, highlights, interviews… I’m a guy who understands why people wear No. 23. If you grew up in Illinois, then you can understand why guys like Corey Maggette, Quentin Richardson, Dwyane Wade idolized him so much. It was all Jordan, all the time for them. So I think if somebody wants to wear No. 23, he should be able to wear it.
ON JENNINGS
Brandon Jennings had two good games last year against me in the Euroleague when I played with Baskonia. Actually, his two best games in the Euroleague were against us! Anyway, yeah, I watched the game. 55 points. European basketball, NBA basketball… Two different games. I think he scored 29 points in one quarter. In Europe, it’s highly unlikely you could have the chance to do that. He played one-on-one from the top of the key, screen and roll, shooting every time. That’s not gonna happen here. We can play zone defense, clog the lane. I don’t know what the scouting report was on Jennings, but I know it was wrong! He just played one-on-one from the top of the key and the big guy let him shoot. He didn’t show him respect, so he started getting that kind of confidence. And once you start making shots, you can penetrate to the basket, mid-range, three-pointers, everything.
This guy is great on screen and rolls. Left handed, so crafty with the ball… Now he’s going to get more attention and he can create more opportunities for other teammates. Now the big guy is gonna have to step out and help the guard on the screen and roll, so he will have the chance to find Andrew Bogut under the basket or find the guy on the weak side.
The main thing with Jennings is that he doesn’t play like a rookie. He’s more like a second-year player. Anytime you’ve spent your first year in Europe playing in the Euroleague, competing against some of the best players in the world, competing against men, you don’t feel like a rookie when you go to the NBA. You learn the team basketball, how to play the game. You spend a lot of time in the gym working on your shot, team defense, strategy. If you are a good player, you’ll be able to do the adjustment. It’s not easy to play in Europe.
NO AI IN NYC
So Allen Iverson is not going to New York finally. The Knicks will get it right soon. I got drafted in 2000, the year they went to the Finals and lost to San Antonio. Latrell Sprewell, Glen Rice, Allan Houston, Chris Childs… I know about the program. They had a great team in 1999 and ever since, it’s broken up a little bit. They have the city, they have the right coach, they just got to find the right players and be focused only on winning basketball games. That’s going to take some time, though. They’ve got the money, the cap space. And everybody wants to play in New York. It’s such a great media market. They’ll be back on top in two years. This is the biggest summer of all time in the NBA. There will be a lot of broken hearts when July comes. In Cleveland? in New York? In Miami?
They call Miami the Dade County, but now it’s Wade County. I don’t think he’s going too far.
I had a career-high 26 points in the Euroleague as my team FC Barcelona won in Istanbul against Fenerbahce Ulker. My last scoring record was in a game played in Istanbul too! Hey, maybe they get smart and sign me or something… Just joking. I like Istanbul, but right now nothing can beat my current status: playing basketball in a powerhouse and living in a city like Barcelona.
I feel good when I’m in Istanbul. I got friends there and I’m always looking to go over there. Every year I’ve been in the Euroleague I’ve played against this team. It’s a challenge to play against all these guys that are fresh off the NBA. Players like former Jazz Gordan Giricek - good player, good contract - and Tarence Kinsey, who played with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. Two guys that play the three spot and competed against me. I’m a competitor so I was looking to take that challenge.
Real Prigioni
In the Spanish League front, we’ve started well although Real Madrid - coached by Ettore Messina - leads the standings. With the great coach they have and with Pablo Prigioni playing the point guard, they are gonna win a lot of games. And I don’t even mention other players like Jorge Garbajosa, Louis Bullock, Sergi Vidal, Darjus Lavrinovic… Pablo doesn’t have to shoot the ball to have a good valuation. To me, they have a world superstar in Prigioni. He’s done it in Europe, he’s done it with his National Team, leading Argentina to great success. They were my teammates in Vitoria last year and I’m happy that they are in Madrid.
Those two guys, with me and Will McDonald… Amazing. Four of the five starters, we all left the team who set the best record in the history of the ACB in the regular season. Money had nothing to do with it, that’s my personal opinion. I never had a negotiation with the club but now I’m 100 percent sure that I made the right decision to sign with Barcelona.
You can compare Pablo to a guy like Jason Kidd. He’s not as tall as Kidd, but both of them play for the assist, and Pablo has a better outside shot. Both are tough in defense, very tricky with the ball (behind-the-back passes and behind-the-head passes!) and they are great in screen-and-roll. When he played with Tiago Splitter, it was a like Euroleague version of Stockton and Malone. Tiago is a great player and the whole world needs to see him in the NBA. I hope in two years he go to the NBA and maybe he will replace Tim Duncan in a few years when he’s done playing.
Last weekend we played a tough game in Madrid against Estudiantes. I’ve been on small teams so I understand what it feels like to play against the team that won the championship the year before. I understand that kind of motivation. We suffered a couple of injuries - Juan Carlos Navarro got hurt - but we knew it was going to be a tough game with or without injuries. We did our job and got away with a W.
I learned a lot about Juan Carlos this season, about the way he plays. Navarro is very smart. He doesn’t rush anything. He scores his points in the flow of the offense, that’s why I have so much respect about him. Some players, they just go one-on -ive to score, but he is a complete player and in defense he’s been good. It’s great he’s with us instead of playing in the NBA.
One teammate that that will play there one day is Ricky Rubio.
I had never traveled with a rock star until now. To me, Ricky’s nickname is Rock Star. When I got drafted to New York, I played with Latrell Sprewell and I thought that was something. Everybody wanted a piece of Spree, everybody wanted an autograph, but there’s no comparison on the attention Ricky commands. It doesn’t matter where we’re at. Anywhere in Spain, in Europe… We can be in Turkey, everywhere. That’s why I call him the Rock Star, because I actually see people crying over him. I’ve never seen it! Girls crying! People want pictures, they come to the hotel to find him… It’s unbelievable. And he’s such a good kid though. He handles all these situations so well. His parents did a great job raising him because he’s such a humble and nice kid. He’s special.
Celts all the way
The Boston Celtics are going to win the NBA. Period. They play consistent defense. But they have to find that player who comes in and changes the game like James Posey did. Maybe they have it in Marquis Daniels, I don’t know. When they won the championship, Posey had to guard Kobe and he made open three-pointers too. He’s an intangible guy, like Sergi Vidal when I played in Vitoria. Posey did the same when he won the title with the Miami Heat. Playing D, rebounding, making open threes and guarding the best player. Guarding Kobe Bryant is difficult enough in one game. Being able to do that throughout the Finals was unbelievable. When he won the title against the Mavs, he guarded guys like Dirk Nowitzki. You know, Posey is 6-foot-7! He did the dirty job. Once some guy gets that role on a winning team, they are gonna be unstoppable. I know Posey personally. He’s a great guy and he deserved the contract he got with the Hornets.
It’s hard accepting your role sometimes. Take our team, Barcelona. We have so many guys who can score. Our coach Xavi Pascual has done a great job of keeping everybody unselfish. He creates a great environment for us to practice and play. This year I feel great everyday about going to practice. Last year was totally opposite: I didn’t.
Hi everybody!