By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The situation with Jonathan Motley seems to be getting more complicated as time passes.
Per Eurohoops sources, the player unilaterally terminated his contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv on Wednesday. However, this is not enough for him to become a free agent, and the Israeli club doesn’t seem to have any intention of accommodating him.
A contract termination can be sent by the player’s side if there’s a valid contract breach, usually delayed salary payments. This is not the case, since the player is fully paid by Hapoel and if the justification is the ongoing war in Israel, then the counter-argument of the club is that they have offered the player the option to stay in Bulgaria and play only in BKT EuroCup games.
However, things are currently at a dead end, with Motley having left the team already and Hapoel at the moment not willing to release him.
FIBA decision and the Israeli clubs
Motley’s side may go to FIBA and ask for the termination and the letter of clearance using the war as an argument.
If FIBA decides that this is a valid justification, equal to Force Majeure, like it happened with contracts in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, then essentially all players from Israeli clubs can use the same argument if they want to and get released.
With this in mind and also Hapoel’s alternative to Motley of staying outside Israel due to the situation, FIBA’s decision can’t be predicted and may set a precedent that will affect all of Israeli basketball.
Beverley’s reaction
Those implications explain the reaction of Pat Beverley on his podcast. Beverley, Hapoel’s biggest summer signing, criticized Motley’s decision: “All of a sudden my boy hit us with a pump fake saying he doesn’t feel safe no more, leaves team. Unheard of. Our leading scorer and best big man in the EuroCup, (says) I don’t feel safe anymore. Leaves the team, and wants to go to a Euroleague team in Serbia. So we are out here with no big man, just where do we go from here”.
The possibility of players having the right to leave Israeli clubs due to the war, explains also the interest expressed in Beverley, as he confirmed: “NBA teams called… Euroleague teams called me, Real Madrid called and a couple of other Euroleague teams out there to see if you guys are blowing it up”.
Speaking on himself, Beverley added: “I have been thinking a lot about what’s the next move, what to do, what to not do. Do I go back to the NBA? If I go back to the NBA do I turn my back on my team, that’s not my style, I don’t operate like that. I’m in it for the long run. I have some decisions to make and I am going to make the right ones like I always do. I have been truly happy here and they have been making sure, so we’ll see.”