By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos is now at the peak of the EuroLeague, however back in 2019 the situation was quite different and Briante Weber experienced that.
Talking about his days in Greece, which he admitted he love, Weber states that he left the team for financial reasons. In an interview with Basketnews, Weber explains that delays in payments were something new to him coming from the NBA and that’s why he decide to leave.
As he said: “I received my first check close to a month later when it was time to get the second one. That’s super back. Then, I was hearing from everybody in the locker room that nobody was getting paid… So, I made a decision as a rookie overseas to say, ‘I can’t accept not being paid. I don’t care what’s going on. I expect you to hold your end of the bargain as well as I have mine.'”
While Olympiacos had well-documented delays of payments during the 2018-19 season – which ended up with the Reds quitting the Greek League in protest of the referees and willingly getting demoted to the second division, where they used a different roster compared to the one in the EuroLeague – ultimately all debts where settled and paid. Even at the time, the owners of Olympiacos made a public statement on the issue.
However, it’s obvious that the delays, in his case for one month, were a shock to Weber who according to Olympiacos was also homesick, while the Reds were also not satisfied with his general behavior. Meanwhile, together with Weber, Axel Toupane left the team simultaneously, clearly for financial reasons.
Still, Weber states that he values his experience with Olympiacos and the love of the fan base.
It has to be noted that Weber, despite some good performances at the time, was added in February to the roster as Olympiacos faced injuries and he was considered mainly a temporary solution for the team, which had the option to not extend his contract in the summer. That was the most probable scenario when he decided to part ways mutually with the team in April.
UPDATED: Olympiacos responded to Weber’s statements asking “how he was not paid for three months, as he said in the interview, while he didn’t stay for two months with the team and why when he left, he signed that there was no money owed to him?”.
About his behavior during his days in Greece, the Reds also mention that “the nighttime stories about Weber are many and he knows very well, why he left the team, leaving behind a wrecked car which was given to him brand new”.
The last word belongs to Briante himself via his social media.
See some people lil hurt but idc not for everyone to understand how I feel but you are entitled to ur opinion always Love Greece 🇬🇷 no hard feelings but every situation isn’t for everyone
— Briante Weber (@Sir_deuce2) March 29, 2023