Tony Parker: “I hope that the Euroleague and the NBA will reach an agreement”

By Stefan Acevski / info@eurohoops.net

After a very turbulent summer, during which ASVEL brought in a large number of great players and announced big ambitions, but ultimately lost much of the budget and players who were planned to be key figures, things are slowly calming down at the French club.

ASVEL has assembled a team for the upcoming season, perhaps not as strong as initially planned, but still very respectable, and we will also see Tony Parker in the role of head coach for the first time.

Parker spoke again before the start of the new season, discussing what it feels like to be the head coach in the upcoming season, also mentioning that “his project is to sustain the club for next 15-20 years”.

“I am very happy, the mindset is impressive. Whether it’s the pros or the young players, everyone is involved and I can’t wait to start. My project is to sustain the club for the next 15-20 years. I think we are paying the price for Monaco.”

There was also talk of the Euroleague and NBA, and the former NBA champion reiterated his hopes for future cooperation between the two leagues.

“I hope that the Euroleague and the NBA will reach an agreement, but we are focusing on our season.”

Parker also talked about having Vincent Collet as an assistant coach, as well as when the latest signings will arrive in Villeurbanne.

“Things are going very well with my staff. Having Vincent Collet with me for my first season as head coach is great. He is the best French coach in history. Jae Crowder arrives tomorrow and TyTy Washington on Sunday. We will have our first full training session on Wednesday.”

Parker, who serves as both president and head coach, admitted that some of the plans originally envisioned for the club have not moved forward as quickly as expected.

“I understand the frustration regarding what we had planned to put in place,” Parker said. “I’m someone who dreams big. And I try to move fast, to push the boundaries. And when you’re a pioneer, it’s always difficult.”

The former NBA star also pointed to the broader economic challenges facing France, arguing that major projects are particularly difficult to implement in the current environment.

“It’s not easy to carry out big projects in France. You know the economic situation in the country,” Parker said. However, he stressed that ASVEL’s financial resources continue to grow.

“But a budget of €24 million is €6 million more than last year, which is an increase of nearly 30%. How many companies in France have done better? We have the biggest budget in French basketball.”

Despite the demands of combining his responsibilities as president and coach, Parker believes he has the right people around him to allow him to concentrate primarily on the basketball side of the project.

“I have the good fortune to be very well supported,” he said, highlighting the work of members of the organization including Michel Veyronnet, Charles Kahudi and Florent Piétrus.

“They just want me to focus on the court and my job as a coach,” Parker explained. “The goal is to keep growing the club.”

Parker also made clear that his ambitions extend well beyond the short term. Rather than chasing immediate success at the expense of stability, he wants to build an organization capable of remaining competitive for decades.

“I want to be here for the next 15-20 years, and not experience something like Monaco,” he said. “The most important thing is that we have a project that’s sustainable over time.”

For Parker, patience is therefore an essential part of the process. Even if some of the club’s ambitions take longer than originally planned, he believes that delays should not change the overall direction of the project.

“And if everything is delayed by a year, that’s how it is,” Parker said. “Everything happens for a reason.”