By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Aktor owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos openly shared his ultimate transfer dream during the second part of an interview with the Euro Insiders podcast, published on Monday.
The outspoken Greens executive sent shockwaves by revealing his grand plan to secure former NBA champion and three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic next summer. This is not the first time he has expressed this desire.
Before discussing his ultimate NBA target, Giannakopoulos expressed long-standing admiration for one of EuroLeague’s greatest playmakers.
“Unfortunately, the player I would have loved to sign has retired from basketball and is now, I believe, working as an assistant coach or a general manager, and that is Milos Teodosic,” he said, correcting his initial thoughts on the legendary guard.
The Panathinaikos boss placed Teodosic among the absolute finest minds to ever grace the sport. “Aside from Sarunas Jasikevicius, I think he is the smartest person on the court. After Dimitris Diamantidis, he is the most multi-talented player to ever play,” he added. “In my opinion, these three are truly in a league of their own.”
Giannakopoulos then redirected his focus toward his massive ongoing ambition in the United States.
“I always wanted Milos Teodosic. However, there is one player who remains a dream of mine, whom I haven’t signed yet, but I will sign next year,” he teased.
When the hosts questioned who it could be, he boldly proclaimed: “It’s Jokic, the best player in the world!”
Faced with immediate skepticism, Giannakopoulos doubled down on his claim. “Don’t laugh at all. If I don’t sign Jokic, I’m not going anywhere,” he stressed.
However, pursuing the Serbian superstar will be a historic financial challenge, as Jokic is primed to sign the most expensive contract in NBA history with the Denver Nuggets next summer. Giannakopoulos acknowledged that this attempt to land the MVP was met with immediate dismissal due to his current NBA commitments.
“People are going to say, ‘OK, now he’s joking’. I did make a very serious proposal this year, both to his team and to him. I got a rejection. I know that he has one more year on his contract,” he admitted.
The Panathinaikos owner detailed how his ambitious buyout attempt was received across the Atlantic.
“When I asked, he had a certain contract running. This was his last year. I tried to buy out his last year. They didn’t even… It took them a few seconds to say, ‘Who?’ ‘Greece?’ ‘Where?’ ‘Goodbye’ from his team,” he said. “Let’s wait until next year.”
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