By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The eventful summer for Nikola Mirotic expanded to a message shared on his personal Instagram account.
“As information about continuing my career in Partizan reached the public, threats and insults began which surprised and hurt me. I don’t want to be a person who will divide people on any basis, let alone on the colors of the club. I have decided not to be part of such an atmosphere and that I do not want to expose myself or my family to further inconveniences,” he wrote explaining why he will not join Partizan Mozzart Bet, despite recently finalizing a deal in Belgrade.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet president Nebojsa Covic opened up about Mirotic in an interview with Eurohoops. Discussing allegations about threats toward the experienced forward aiming to block his path to Partizan, he denied any connection to his team.
“I must mention that not a single threat came from the Crvena Zvezda. I always have good and respectful communication with them,” Mirotic confirmed through the message posted on social media Saturday.
Besides sharing his view on focusing his career outside Serbia, the complicated offseason expands to FC Barcelona terminating his contract earlier this week. The two sides failed to reach an agreement regarding the compensation to the player and will instead settle disagreements in court.
Mirotic, 32, spent four seasons with the Catalonia powerhouse. Moving from his first professional team Real Madrid to the NBA, he logged 359 games played with the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, and New Orleans Pelicans from 2014 to 2019.