By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A long season heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and concluding with a domestic championship turns Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv and general manager Nikola Vujcic to the 2020-21 season. Aside from financial restrictions, NBA draft prospect Deni Avdija will no longer be part of the squad.
“I believe that every drafted player up to 22 including Americans should be in Europe learning the game but it doesn’t work that way,” Vujcic told Israeli outlet ONE, “The NBA prefers to develop the players its own way. They bring over young players attaching them to a large contract, so we can’t really comment on which way is the best.”
A projected lottery pick in 19-year-old Avdija is coming off a solid 2019-20 campaign. He proved more than ready for the next step but is aware additional hard work is in his future.
“The more you invest in yourself, the more you will get back,” explained Vujcic, two-time EuroLeague champion himself, “It’s all about hard work and commitment. Danny has a unique talent and that’s why he is heading to the NBA.”
“He works hard and for years follows a special training program on a daily basis,” he also mentioned regarding the young upstart, “The amount of personal investment he has made in recent years is huge. He also understands that he has to continue working. He only took a week off after the ending of the season before resuming practices.”
The 2019-20 edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was cut short. Participating teams are focusing on the next season but Maccabi was looking strong for the long-awaited Final Four comeback until the decision to cancel the bottom end of the season.
“We were confident we could compete with CSKA for the Final Four ticket,” said Vujcic, “Surely it’s easy to look back now and predict any outcome but we felt confident and our team was playing very well. Maccabi has done some amazing things and in the Final Four anything can happen. But the season is over and behind us.”
“Every team will have altered budgets and face different restrictions, we will not follow up on our initial plan,” he confessed moving on to the 2020-21 season, “But the team owners are doing their best to keep the team competitive in Europe.”