We recently won our first big trophy of the season, the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey - King’s Cup) against Real Madrid, but I still haven’t opened that bottle of Moët & Chandon I got when we had Secret Santa back in Christmas… I’m waiting for something bigger to happen this year!

After winning the Cup, we had a short celebration because we had a very important Euroleague game in Greece against Panathinaikos. At the end of the week, we had played four games in seven days, a very NBA-like schedule!

Thanks to our depth, the week was a total success. That’s the key for us this season: depth. It’s a 10-month marathon, and you have to focus on the present or you will fall. It’s crucial for us to have home-court advantage to secure a spot in the Final Four. They asked me if I think the season would be a failure if we don’t win the Euroleague. To me, losing is not an option. We have a pro attitude on this team. Period. Winning the Cup is not enough! We have to keep focusing on scouting. Now the season is coming down to the wire and focus is key.

MY GUY FRAN

Fran Vazquez was named the MVP of the Cup. You know, Fran is a worker. He will give you rebounds, he’ll dunk everything under the basket and will play smart basketball. I know he would help the Magic a lot, but I’m happy he didn’t go to Orlando and is playing with us right now… I know he was a lottery pick, and 100 percent of American players would have gone to the NBA if selected. Instead of picking him, the Magic could have selected players like Danny Granger, David Lee, Brandon Bass, Ersan Ilyasova, Monta Ellis, Nate Robinson… But they picked him because he is a very good player. He’s from Europe, and he was playing in the ACB by the time, and still is.

There’s no guarantee with European players. There’s a risk factor you have to consider. But NBA teams will keep drafting players from Europe because during the last years they are playing a lot, lot better. It’s worth the risk. You just have to take a look at Ricky…

I hope he’s playing with me a couple of years, with the behind-the-back passes, running the court… But I know that when the time comes, he’ll be ready for everything and he’ll do the right thing. Now he’s doing the same as the rest of the team… He’s thinking about the big picture: winning.

The coach has done a great job at scouting. Our defense is very good. We have very talented players, but some of them like Juan Carlos Navarro, maybe he has a mismatch in a game because he’s not very athletic. We have strategies to overcome it. Things like that. Last year I thought the team was the best I had played with. But with players like Navarro, Ricky… There’s a good chance I’ll change my opinion. I’ll wait until the season ends and then I’ll decide if this is the best team I’ve played for in my life.

LEBRON AND KOBE?

Read the article about the chance that LeBron James could end up playing with Kobe Bryant… That would be not fair at all! Two Rottweilers in the same team? You usually have one Rottweiler and a Chihuahua! Anyway, chemistry has a lot to do with it, so they still would have to win the championship. I don’t see it happening, but if it happens it would be the most amazing thing I’ve seen in basketball for a long time! The Lakers are such a good team now with Kobe and Pau and players like Artest, Bynum and Shannon Brown…

Finally, I want to tell Allen Iverson to keep his head up, to stay strong. I’ve heard he is in a really tough situation with his family. Family is everything. He has given a lot of joy to the city of Philadelphia. Philly is a tough city… If you don’t give it all, they will be on you in no time. Larry Brown is a coach that demands perfection, and Allen was up to the challenge. I hope they retire his jersey once he’s done playing basketball, and I’m sure he will be a Hall of Famer. He’s an example for the kids: a little brave man, so skilled, with a killer mentality as far as attacking the basket. A man with his size who played every night no matter how many bruises he had. Toughness. Focus.

That’s all for now. Bye!

Just got home after a hard practice. It was one of the first ones after losing for the first time in 26 games. We lost on a last-second shot against Valencia. It is the way it is. We didn’t play at the beginning of the game and those results can happen. It was a good shot for them. I realy didn’t agree with all the calls at the end of the game… But I kind of try to forget about it now. Things happen. It’s part of basketball.

Now we’re focused on the Euroleague’s Top 16. I remember last year when I played with Caja Laboral… We weren’t able to do what we needed to do. I got a lot of experience, though. We let Roma, Olympiakos beat us at home when we had a great team. Without those two wins, we didn’t have home-court advantage in the quarter finals. It really made a difference.

Playing at home means everything. The energy from the fans… Just look at the NBA Finals. In the last 10 years, only the ‘06 Heat and the ‘04 Pistons won the title without the home-court advantage. You know, the advantage depends on what team you’re playing for. Some teams have a great, great, great home-court advantage. The fans are wild, they are very hostile towards the other team. The fans can make the other teams nervous. All the drums, the chanting, the enviroment… Those things can make them a little nervous, make them speed up a little.

When you’re playing at home, all the noise you hear doesn’t matter because you know everybody is with you. And there’s only 12 players and the coaching staff against the whole gym. There’s a big difference when you know that in the back of your mind.

In the NBA, I’ve always liked Boston. A legendary stadium, great team, a defensive team and their fans. The way they’ve been playing the last two years, if they are healthy they can win it again. You know, when you’re at home you really feed off the crowd. You can hit one shot and then you get that rythm and you go from there.

TONI OF ILLINOIS

When somebody raises the question about who’s the best European player that has ever played in the NBA, I have to say somebody who I actually got to watch. I know that a lot of people will mention Drazen Petrovic and others, but I was a little young when they played. I would say Toni Kukoc. For me, he’s right up there. I’m from Illinois. Growing up in Rock Island, I can understand what he meant to the city of Chicago and what he meant to the Bulls organization. Kukoc was great. You talk about a guy who is 6-10, maybe taller, being able to handle the ball, shoot the ball, stretch the defense… And all that at a time where it wasn’t very common for European guys to come to the NBA and make a big impact. When Michael Jordan left, Kukoc was the man! People forget that he was the man. Scottie Pippen was like “This is my team, too,” but you know… It’s not. It’s Tony’s. He won three championships and played a key role on all of them.

Kukoc was a big key to the second threepeat. He made a lot of big shots. Also, to be able to stretch the D, take that pressure off Jordan. You had a guy like Toni in the screen-and-roll with MJ. MJ would penetrate or take the mid-range spot, where he loved to shoot and you help on him too much he had Kukoc wide open to hit the three-pointer.

Barcelona fans: I know he used to kill our team in the 80’s. I still love the guy.

WHITE HOUSE, COURT HOUSE

Two sides of basketball. The Lakers were in DC meeting President Barack Obama, and former Laker Javaris Crittenton was pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge. Prosecutors agreed to drop a second misdemeanor, so at the end he got a good deal. He’s a young guy and he’s learned a lot. This issue might actually help his career out a lot. It could motivate him and get everything on track. Everybody makes mistakes. He did the right thing by telling the truth, and now he can focus on basketball and get his life back together. Sometimes when things happen to you when you’re young it motivates you for the rest of your career.

That’s all for now.

Visca Barça and Visca Catalunya!

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 Xavi Pascual 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!

Happy New Year everybody!

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.

That’s all for today.

Have a good Christmas and Happy New Year!

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.

That’s all for now. Bye!

Things started really good this season!

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.

Done for today. Talk to you soon!

It’s getting close to the start of training camp. I’m so excited!

Before that happens, I’m going to tell you a tale about my first few years in Europe. The tough times when I had to build my career. A lot of difficult experiences like, for example, not getting paid in time… I never got used to that. It was a culture shock to me. I had no clue that was the way in some clubs.

I got to Spain to play in Lugo with Breogan in 2005. That was pretty much the turning point in my career. My former agent George Bass told me, “OK, you start in a small team but if you play well then you’ll be where you want to be.” So I followed his advice, went to Lugo and had great numbers… And I had three consecutive non-payments!

Now it may sound funny, but it was tough back then. Three years in a row with the same problem? Enough was enough. So I left. I was about to left the dream of becoming a star in Europe. I told the team that the contract said that if I didn’t get paid in 21 days, I could leave the team. They were 22 days late, so I left.

I told  them: “I don’t want your money. Just want to leave and I’m going back to Miami. I just want to leave. I’m not happy being around dishonest people because I’m a honest person. I have respect for myself.”

That was it. I went to Madrid, I bought my flight to Miami and thought about everything. Called Bass and he said “OK, then come home.”

But the next day, as I left the hotel and called a cab to go to the Barajas airport, I felt I had to finish my business. I swallowed my pride and decided to go back to the team. Didn’t matter if they were going to pay me or not. Not getting paid ain’t right. It’s my job. I do my job everyday to the fullest and I expect to get paid. But it didn’t matter anymore. I just wanted to finish my business.

So I flew back to Lugo and I went back to practice. We had a game against Granada the following day. I played well and we won the game. I took a lot of heat from the media for leaving the team. They said, “Oh, he only plays for money.”

Well, they were wrong about me. Now you understand who I am, and I wasn’t the player they portrayed me to be in 2005. The same people who said that now say I’m a winner and a leader. Go figure.

I’ve never talked about this situation before. People say a lot of things about me, but some people who saw me everyday said the opposite. My coaches in Lugo, the people who know about basketball… They supported me a lot. The fans too. Moncho Lopez, one of my coaches that year along with Moncho Fernandez, was later the Spanish National Team head coach and now he coaches the Portuguese National Team.

That season I averaged 20 ppg and 7 rpg. Still the media was coming at me with negative stuff. I got paid at last when the season ended. And then my agent started to receive calls from great European clubs.

Like they say, the rest is history.

I’ll be back with more stories soon. Bye!

I love it here in Miami. Sailing on my boat, going fishing… But I’m eager to start the season with my new team Regal Barcelona! I think we’ll start the preseason on August 21.

I’m looking forward to meeting my new coach, teammates, general manager, the president… I can’t wait to see Terence Morris. I spent so much time with him in Houston with the Rockets. I competed with him for the small forward spot to get playing time in training camp. I remember Rudy Tomjanovich having a lot of confidence in him. That man was a positive influence on the players. He really trusted them.

Let’s talk a little bit about Ricky Rubio, which I know you like. I’m hearing he could go to our team, he could go to Madrid, to Olympiakos… This is the exciting part: he’s got a lot of things going on for him. It would be great to have Ricky with our team. I know his dad and I’m sure they are excited about all the possibilites right now. I had dinner with his dad in Vitoria after we played DKV Joventut in the Euroleague. He is a very nice guy and was very good with his son and the way he talked about him I’m sure they have a great relantionship.

It looks like Wolves GM David Kahn is not worried about Rubio staying in Europe. He should be. He shouldn’t forget that Ricky is Spanish, and sometimes is good to be close to home. And Barcelona is really close to Badalona. You just have to cross the street!

Some people in the NBA don’t quite get Euro basketball. They don’t understand that players are very comfortable in their countries. Of course Ricky would like to go to the NBA. I’m sure about it even though I haven’t spoken to him. But guys, Spain is also a great option. You are talking about two of the biggest clubs in Europe in Real Madrid and Barcelona.

This Ricky situation is a perfect example of what some people of the States don’t understand. European basketball is great, being in the Euroleague is great. I meet a lot of people and when I tell them I’ll play with Barcelona they ask me, “Aren’t you trying yo come back to the NBA?” Hey, there’s a world outside the NBA! And the Spanish League is a great situation.

You make dollars in the States and now I’m making euros in Europe. The truth is, my market is higher in Europe. Ricky would make more money in Europe than he would in the NBA this year. If he goes now to the NBA, he would play for the Wolves, a team that is at least a couple of years away from competing for the title… Here in Spain he would compete for the ACB title and the Euroleague title right away.

I was in the Bahamas last weekend and guys were asking me where I played and stuff. I explained them, and when I said Barcelona everybody was like, “Oh, I love that city.” Barcelona wanted me bad, and teams in the NBA wanted to pay me the minimum. Come on! I’m 31-years-old. I’m not playing for the minimum. I built my career in Europe from 2003 when I started in Peristeri in Greece. Then I went all the way up. I reached the top level with Tau and now I’m still on the top with Barcelona. In some way, going to the NBA would be a step back for me. Why do that when I have it good in Spain?

What do you guys think?

That’s all for now. Bye!

This is Pete Mickeal from Vitoria, Spain.  Little tibdits about myself for those who don’t know me: I play for Tau Ceramica, the current Spanish champion. I was the Finals MVP last year and I’m considered one of the top American players around here. I played with the Knicks and the Rockets back in the day, but the last few years I’ve been doing my thing in Europe. It’s not going bad! From now I will be blogging at HoopsHype.com about my experiences overseas. And hey, I’ll talk NBA stuff too!

The playoffs in the States have been amazing so far, but we’re playing for the title here in Spain too.

Last year was good for us, as we ended up winning the championship, but this time is different. This season we only lost four games (11 last year) and we set an ACB record for fewest losses. Now it’s expected for us to win, so we gotta deliver.

We are now in the semifinals and we’ll play against Real Madrid. We look at Real just like we look at any other team. We worry about ourselves and we need to do to win the game. Of course we respect Real Madrid, the most successful team in European history. They have very good players, including a small guy called Sergi Llull. I like the way he attacks the basket.

Real advanced after beating Joventut, a club led by other small guy. This one you may have heard of: Ricky Rubio. That guy is amazing.

First time I saw him it was like three or four years ago.  I was playing for a team called Breogan in Northern Spain back then, my first year in the ACB. I saw a teenager on the court and I was like, “Who’s that kid?” They told me he was 15 or 16. Never saw something like that in the pros.

I saw his knack for defense, his ability to play the game of basketball at such a young age. That is something rare to see: the knowledge and the awareness of basketball at such young age. And that was when he was 15 years old. Then I’ve seen him turn into a star in the Spanish League, which is no small potatoes. Now everybody in the States knows him. Can’t say I’m surprised.

Last year they won the Spanish Cup in our gym. There were 10,000 at the arena, most of them yelling at him, and he made the last two free throws. He made the first one and I tried to distract him going to the other side of the paint, but it didn’t work. At all. He was very focused and Joventut won, with a 17-year-old kid making the last two free throws. Now that’s eye-opening.

It seems that he would have to pay a lot of money of his own pocket in order to leave Joventut right now. Everyone’s situation is different, but I think any time you get a chance to be one of the top three picks in the Draft, you should go. Just my take.

I was thinking about entering the draft in my junior year. Projections were that I could be a late first-round pick, but I ended being a second-round pick. You can think, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t have gone out early.” But that’s a little bit of Monday morning quarterbacking. When you have that chance, and people are talking about you so well, it’s great to go out because you might not even have that opportunity again. You never know what can happen next year.

I’ve already heard that he may not want to play in certain places. Oklahoma City, Memphis… Teams like that. Having the fifth pick, I think the Wizards should try to do a trade to get him so he can learn from a great point guard like Gilbert Arenas, and play with some other great players. They are starting to have a lot of pressure to perform well and that would be a good fit for him.

The European transition

It’s my second season here in Vitoria. It’s the first time I have back-to-back seasons with the same team since my college days at Cincinnati, but although I’ve travelled a lot, it hasn’t been so hard because that was my plan from Day 1: improving every year whatever it takes. I’ve lived in Asia for two years, in Greece, now here in Spain… I’ve been through a lot of things, but I wanted everything to go up. I started in small teams and I worked myself up to the top teams. It worked out pretty well for me.

Now you see guys like Brandon Jennings and Josh Childress going to Europe. Now you have more people in the States who’s understanding European basketball. It’s not what it used to be, like, “OK, he’s playing in Europe, he must not be good enough to play in the NBA.” Now you have NBA players in Europe. You consistently have NBA scouts here, and I’m happy because I’m playing in the best league in Europe.

In the last Spanish Cup I hit the winning shot in the Final against Unicaja. That was a turning point in my career. That was one shot I practiced since I was 12 years old. Some things just happen. You saw what LeBron James did the other night? I just have that confidence in myself. The team had faith in me, got me the ball…  So I delivered. (Then I blocked Unicaja’s last shot on the other end. Not bad, huh?)

Going back to the NBA

I live in Miami during the offseason and I get the chance to say hi to a lot of people there – guys like Kenyon Martin, but I have my own group of guys who I’ve been with since I was a kid.

I’d say the Cavs will get it done. I pick the Lakers in the West but I think the Cavs will win in six. LA has a big frontcourt, but the Cavs look so motivated. They have such a great chemistry. They love playing for each other, and actually cheer for each other to do well… That’s really difficult to see that on any team.

Like I said, I’ve played for the Knicks and Rockets, and if I had an offer this summer, money wouldn’t be an issue, because I’ve learned a lot about money since I grew up with nothing. I’ve learned life lessons about money when I was a kid, learning from experience, not having anything. You learn quick that way.

The key for me would be being able to be close to my family. Spending 10 months in Europe every year it’s kind of hard.

I want something great for my life, so I will continue to work for that. And my family understands, so that’s the best part about it. They support me and always keeps me going.

Well, that’s all for now.

Bye!