By Javier Molero/ jmolero@eurohoops.net
Jabari Parker is not having the expected impact at Partizan. After signing with the Serbian team, the former Barcelona player has joined Asisa Joventut on loan for the remainder of the season.
The player accepted the loan to the Spanish club after not being included in the plans of Peñarroya, who replaced Zeljko Obradovic, for the remainder of the year.
Penya’s general manager, Jordi Martí, spoke with Mozzart Sport about the signing and how it was carried out, repeating the operation they already did with Sam Dekker at the time.
“We were in contact with his agent in Spain, Álvaro Torre. We made a similar move with him last season with Sam Dekker, who was then in London. The goal was to find a win-win situation for everyone. Because in these two cases, none of the players played – in the case of Sam Dekker in London, or in the case of Jabari in Partizan”, Martí said.
“Honestly, we needed time; normally, it was not an easy operation. Actually, this is more of an operation between the player and Partizan than with us. We must not forget that it is a loan, and Jabari still has a year left on his contract at Partizan“, he added about the signing of the former Barcelona player.
“Clearly he wouldn’t have come for free, although we’re very tight on our budget and we’ve had the options left by Decker’s absence, nothing more”, he explained to Mozzart Sport.
Martí pointed out that Peñarroya did not influence his arrival in Badalona. “None. We know Joan, because we have children of the same age who met in teams or national teams. But at no point did I want to put him in any kind of compromise, especially since he is far from home and building a team, and in my opinion, he is doing it with significant progress. I did not want to put him in any awkward situation at all”, he concluded.