By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The last two seasons have been wonderful for TJ Shorts. MVP in both Bundesliga and Basketball Champions League with Telekom Baskets Bonn, he emerged as a dominant figure for Paris Basketball too, winning the BKT EuroCup with MVP honors.
Ahead of his inaugural EuroLeague season, he spoke to Basketball Sphere about deciding to stick with the French capital’s team. “In the summer there are always a lot of rumors that kind of go about different EuroLeague teams that were reaching out. I never really like to talk about it much but there were other teams that were definitely reaching out”, TJ Shorts first revealed.
“[There were teams that] were calling my agent asking what my situation was but ultimately I felt it was best for me to stay here in Paris and start my rookie season here”, the representative of the North Macedonian national team also commented about continuing his chapter with Paris Basketball.
One major change in the team’s dynamics has been Tuomas Iisalo’s departure to join the Memphis Grizzlies coaching staff. “It was definitely a surprise when the news dropped. He had brought us in, and we had a meeting. He shared the news with us and obviously at the moment you have mixed emotions. You’re a little hurt, you’re happy, you’re sad”, the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup MVP commented too.
“All kinds of things that are going through your head but at the end of the day it’s just a little bit of a reminder that it is a business, regardless of what kind of relationships you build with a team, with coaches, with players”, he added. “I’m happy to see him reach the highest level. It was a surprising factor but at the end of the day I’m happy for him”, TJ Shorts also said on the Finnish head coach.
Replacing Tuomas Iisalo on the BKT EuroCup winners’ bench, Tiago Splitter is starting to get appreciated by his players. “It’s been a good transition. The main thing that he really brings to the team is that he’s a player’s coach. He’s a very young coach, very ambitious, a guy that wants to prove that he belongs as well. He finds a way to kind of connect to the players because he’s played at these levels: [he knows] what to expect going into the EuroLeague”, TJ Shorts commented on the Brazilian head coach.
PHOTO CREDIT: BKT EuroCup