By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Johnathan Motley is resurfacing in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and will join Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, according to Eurohoops sources.
The initial wish of the Serbian club was to introduce him to the team coached by Giannis Sfairopoulos in Round 7 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague Regular Season against defending champion Panathinaikos Aktor in Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Friday night. Still, the deal was not completed in time.
The former Baylor standout logged 72 appearances in the EuroLeague with Fenerbahce Beko over the last two seasons. Switching to Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, he averaged 17.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest in the 2024-25 edition of the second-tier competition of Euroleague Basketball.
Since Joel Bolomboy is dealing with an injury in his right knee and a return date is considered unclear, the Belgrade outfit wanted to secure an additional option for the paint.
Meanwhile, Hapoel Tel Aviv officially updated the status of the 29-year-old big on Friday morning, noting legal actions against the player and denying him a release that can complete the deal with Zvezda.
“Late last night, we learned that Johnathan Motley had arrived at Shlomo Group Arena to gather his belongings,” mentioned the Tel Aviv outfit in an announcement shared across official social media accounts, “His actions in recent days are not in line with the generous contract signed with him.”
“The club started to operate in relevant legal channels,” the statement continues, “We are dealing with his actions very seriously. He signed with the club for two years.”
“The club has invested and will continue to invest enormous resources and efforts to provide a top-quality roster and successfully face the high goals set in all competitions,” concluded the announcement.
“They picked the wrong owner”
Following up with a post on his personal X account, team owner Offer Yannay shared his view on the recent developments.
“No player is doing himself a favor by being here. It is a great honor to play for this iconic club and the crowd. Amazing players, the best of the best want to play for Hapoel. It is a trend gaining momentum this summer and will only intensify. No guy messing up and making a mistake is going to change that,” he wrote.
“Generous agreements were signed with all the players here when the security situation was worse. Agreements should be respected. For causing damages, you must pay. Sometimes a lot,” he continued, “Hapoel has no interest in a buyout, no matter how much.”
“A player agent receives generous commissions but also has responsibilities,” he explained.
“To play for a team, a player must receive a letter of clearance from FIBA. Until then, he cannot play. To receive such a letter under the pretext of ‘war’ when you were offered to stay abroad is clearly unlikely,” he added, “Crvena Zvezda will find they picked the wrong owner for this tango.”
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net