By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
After days of uncertainty over the Shabazz Napier saga, Crvena Zvezda released an official press release to clarify the situation from the red-and-white Serbian side, officially letting the American player leave the team and coming back to Milano.
The statement was released to “prevent the publication of further speculations and numerous falsehoods, but also to protect the integrity of Ioannis Sfairopoulos”, and declares that Shabazz Napier “requested on 18/12/2023 to leave our club and informed Ioannis Sfairopoulos, who transparently informed the public about this case on two occasions in a short period of time”.
Moreover, the Serbian powerhouse officially says there was a clause in Shabazz Napier’s contract that stated the American guard could have only left the team to eventually come back to Italy, playing for Milano, where he spent the second part of the 2022-23 season. Finally, “the mutual termination was signed on 20/12/2023 in Belgrade with the consent of both parties”.
The former Washington Wizards guard, who didn’t completely leave his mark on this year’s EuroLeague first with Dusko Ivanovic and then under the Greek head coach, averaged 9.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals with Crvena Zvezda, dealing also with some injuries.
Coming back to Ettore Messina’s team, the 32-year-old playmaker made a huge impact on the Italian team’s performance midway through last season and will try to do the same now as the red-and-white club stands at 6-9 in the EuroLeague.
PHOTO CREDIT: EA7 Emporio Armani Milano