By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Mario Hezonja was not used by Barcelona in last night’s Euroleague game against Zalgiris, a decision which can be explained by the crowded back court of the Catalans. However things are not as simple as they may look.
Many NBA scouts were present in Kaunas and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was also in attendance as Hezonja is the hottest name from Europe for the upcoming draft. Still, Barcelona would love to keep him in Spain – specially after losing last summer to the NBA both Joey Dorsey and Kostas Papanikolaou – and this sometimes means not showcasing his talent. According to sources close to the situation, not only Hezonja is eager to enter the draft, but also the more Barcelona is trying to “hide” him in order to keep him, the more he is willng to leave Europe as early as this summer and if he gets pick in the lottery, like expected, then his buy out will not be a problem.
UPDATE: As it turned out, there’s also one more cause for Hezonja missing the game against Kaunas. The Croatian guard gave an interview to Croatian newspaper “Sportski Novosti”, in which he declared he should be the number 1 pick in the draft. The problem is that he never got permission by the club to give the interview.