By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
KC Rivers is the definition of a professional. He never complains and he always tries to get the job done, no matter what. That’s why even if he is still a free agent, he remains ready for the next step of his career.
KC Rivers talks about a peculiar summer, the talks with Panathinaikos, his injury that complicated things and ultimately the future of his career, since he rejected his share of EuroLeague offers, looking for a situation that will be truly ideal for him.
At what stage are you right now? Are you working out? Are you staying in shape? How do you feel and what are your plans for the future?
“Well, right now I live in Riverside, California, so I’ve just been at home training, doing workouts. Basically, I’m working out every day. My plan is to try to stay in shape, be ready for when it’s time for me to leave, wherever I go. Just trying to get back to being the same aggressive player that I’d been since the beginning of my career, on top of being the shooter. But my main focus is to get back to what I’ve been used to doing and to just try to have an injury-free season.”
As far as I know, you haven’t had an offer yet that is satisfying to you at the club level and financially. Obviously, that’s the reason you are still a free agent. Were you expecting such a strange or tough agency for you this summer and do you think your injury last season has played a role in this situation?
“It’s funny because my injury could’ve been a factor but, at the end of the day, how many people get injured, how many guys tear their ACL or something, and come back better? I had what they call an autoimmune deficiency that attacked a nerve in my body that was basically something I couldn’t control. I don’t think people will quite understand it. They expect me to just shoot the ball, but they don’t understand the difficulty of not being able to lift your arm or not having the strength that you once had. Actually, now, being at home watching sports, you find out how common it is. In the NFL there are a couple of guys that have the same problem and I just found out that Venus Williams, the tennis star, has been diagnosed with something similar for seven years. So, for me, I was lucky enough to have a small case and to be able to contain it, but it doesn’t affect me now. I’ve been working out every day, I haven’t had a problem. My muscles are stronger than they had been before. I’m taking care of my body, knowing what works and what doesn’t work. For some people, they look at it and they think it affects my playing because of what happened last year. But that was last year, this is this year. I tried to finish as strong as I could in the finals of the Greek league. I thought I did OK. There was a portion where I lost my rhythm but, now, for the most part, it shouldn’t affect what happens. Other injuries don’t affect guys when it comes to signing, I just think it didn’t go the way we expected it to.”
In your two seasons with Panathinaikos, you won titles, you had many big nights – especially in crucial games, and the team’s fans loved you. At the end of the day, does the fact that you didn’t stay make you sad? Were you expecting that or did you think that your future was with the Greens?
“Another big mystery story. A lot of people sent me messages on Instagram once I had said my goodbyes and they were saying, “You should have signed an extension.” And the thing is, I agreed to the extension but what people don’t understand and fans have a hard time understanding, is that there is a difference between negotiating, agree and sign. If you agree to something then you and the other party have an understanding. Signing is when you get that contract and you put the pen to the paper and you sign. I didn’t do any of that. Some things fell apart in between the time that the season started and the time that we agreed to the extension. It’s nobody’s fault but things change, budgets change, minds change, everything changes. So, it’s out of my control and out of anybody else’s control. I didn’t expect anything like that to happen. In my mind, I was set on staying in Panathinaikos for three years but, things happen. I don’t have any negative feelings towards the club or anything. Things happen over time, so, for that matter, that’s what it was. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to stay, but we agreed and some things happened in between that altered the agreement and it fell through. Again, it happens, it’s part of sports, it’s part of the business. It is what it is. But there’s no hatred, I don’t feel any sort of way against anybody.”
All that time coach Pascual seemed to trust you very much and that you guys had a very good relationship. How do you feel about coach Pascual?
“I think Xavi is an excellent coach. He’s a very gifted basketball mind. He definitely plans the game accordingly. He puts trust in a lot of his veteran players and I was fortunate enough to be one of those players, along with Calathes and Gist and Singleton, even Mike James for that matter. We were all trusted heavily by Xavi to get things done because we had a year to grow with him, the greater part of a year, I should say. He definitely gave us a lot of leeways to play and do things our way and sometimes it was good and sometimes it was bad, but the fact that you had a coach with whom you were able to do that is very respectable and I respect what Xavi does and what he brings to the game.”
If we try to create a flashback, which moment of your career at Panathinaikos do you think is the most unforgettable or the strongest moment with the Greens? And what are the main reasons, in your opinion, that the team didn’t manage to qualify for the Final Four in the last two seasons? Because when the series was about to begin, it seemed like Panathinaikos would be able to make it to the Final Four. Perhaps you weren’t very lucky since you had to play against the two teams that ended up winning the title, Fenerbahce, and Madrid respectively.
“I had a lot of moments. I think the highlights were always the games against Olympiacos. To be able to do what I did against that team on numerous occasions is quite difficult to do, so it’s definitely one of my biggest highlights. Even the playoffs against Fenerbahce and the playoffs the year before were good. Overall, for us, I think we did it to ourselves. In the series against Fenerbahce, if you noticed, we came out of the gates, gunning fast, running fast, had them on the ropes. Had we taken that first win, that would’ve altered the series a little bit. Even in the second game, we still had chances but we just had plays that went the wrong way at the wrong time. With the Madrid series, again, I think that first game kind of altered everybody’s mentality. It was such a big blowout, everybody was into it, emotions were running high, but in that second game, we didn’t come back out with that fire. We allowed them to start controlling the series, and then, of course, you have the whole political side of it and everything that somewhat played a role, but we shouldn’t have allowed it to play a role. So, all in all, we control what we should’ve done. We had a team that could’ve gone to the Final Four and possibly win it but, again, it started with us. We can’t point the finger of blame at anybody, the refs or anybody else; we just have to point it at ourselves. I’m not going to say we didn’t do what was necessary, but we didn’t take care of what really needed to be done to get over that hump. We had moments of lapse that cost us at times.”
You have won many titles, including the EuroLeague back in 2015, and you have achieved a lot so far in your career. So, what is your biggest dream for the remainder of your career and what is your biggest motivation for the future?
“I’m always about winning titles. I just want to be somewhere where everyone has the same mindset. I mean, we all had it Panathinaikos, we just had to do it, and when that moment came in the EuroLeague we fell short. But getting two Greek titles was big enough. It’s definitely big in Greece to win the domestic titles. For my career, again, it’s just trying to move forward and win as many titles as possible before it’s time to hang my shoes up. I’m all about being part of a team that’s into winning and wanting to win, that’s big for me. Going down the line, I feel like I have a good six or seven years left, so, I think it’s best to try to get as many titles as possible and play the best basketball I can play while I still have that youthfulness in me.”
If I’m not mistaken, you have played in Italy, France, Russia, Spain, Germany, and Greece. So, which country do you like more in terms of the lifestyle, the culture, the fans, everything? What are your favorite spots and memories, with your family and basketball-wise, from all those countries, cities and teams that you shared moments and had so many experiences with?
“If I had to say, one of my favorite countries I would say it’s Italy. My wife and I both love Italy so much. Just the loving atmosphere, the culture, being able to be out and walk, everything that the country offers, the relationships, people in general. When it comes to other cities, Madrid was definitely a great place to live in. We enjoyed it for the year and a half that we were there. And then Greece, man. We love Greece, definitely missing being in Greece. The language was not a barrier, it’s very easy to get around, very family friendly. And then when you talk about fans, there’s no other place better than Greece. Playing in Panathinaikos, having experienced the excitement of the fans – Gate 13 was just unbelievable, those two years there involved amazing excitement. It’s just the thrill of when a game comes, especially a big game, you know how much the people are going to be behind you, you can feel the energy. By the time we run out of that tunnel and getting ready for warm-ups, the energy is electrifying. So, Greece is definitely the best place when it comes to fans, especially when it comes to big games, big rivalries, the cross-town rival games. It’s very exciting.”
I would like you to pick for me the best teammates you’ve ever had and, furthermore, the toughest opponents you’ve had to guard. And this is covering your entire career.
“It’s hard to say, you know because I’ve had a lot of great teammates with whom I had great chemistry. I’ve bonded well with the guys we had in Panathinaikos. We were able to relate to each other very well. And then the level of competition amongst us was definitely high. Mike James was always the jokester of the team,
Nick was a joker, he joked a lot, Chris had a competitive edge, and J.G. was competitive as well. During the time we had Demetris Nichols and then Denmon as well, these guys were all competitive so we had moments in practice and after practice, you’d play one-on-one, guys would talk junk to each other. But it was a very vibrant type of feeling, there was never anything malicious from any of these guys. And Kenny Gabriel, Kenny was also one of the guys that were always in the mix. So, it was all of them that made it special and probably one of the better teams for me, in that I felt comfortable because we all kind of got each other, we could all relate one way or another. So, I would say that those two years, has probably been the best in terms of teammates. And I grew up with and have had a slew of teammates that I’ve played well with, chemistry-wise: from Rondo to Josh Smith to go to school with Kevin Durant. So, I can name a whole bunch of guys that I’ve come up with who have been great teammates but, I mean, being around guys on a year-to-year basis, these last two years, it’s been those guys in Panathinaikos. That’s all I’ve known for those two years and been able to relate to.
Even in Madrid, you know, those guys, they were just different. Their mentality, the way they approached everything was just laid back, but it was a winning mentality. Even for them, it was that same feeling I had in Panathinaikos. I just knew I could count on those guys. That year we won everything just because we were all one, we were on the same level, we were all connected and understood what needed to be done. So, between Madrid and Panathinaikos, those have been the best teammates. I can’t really single out anybody. If it came to finances, I would say it would be Jaycee Carroll. He’s the first person that I really talked to about things other than basketball, mention things that were geared towards bettering the future for yourself and your family. In terms of closeness then, he and I got close on other aspects outside of basketball.”
You are very experienced, you know the EuroLeague as a competition very well, and I’m guessing you’re following the transfer market closely. What’s your opinion on the new EuroLeague, how do you see and what is your prediction in regard to the strongest teams, and which teams do you think are able to go all the way to the Final Four?
“The EuroLeague is always tough, man. From top to bottom, it doesn’t matter. Some teams struggle, don’t exceed and only win a certain amount of games, but at the end of the day, they always play tough basketball. From top to bottom, it’s hard to say because on paper some teams look better than others but then again things happen during the season that can alter a team’s shape and what happens to it. But I think, for the most part, it’s still going strong. The main thing is – and I agree with some of the guys I’ve been seeing, like Roll, Pargo, and some other guys, they were talking about the basketball situation – I think it should be just one basketball that they use, probably the Spalding ball that they use in the EuroLeague or something similar that everybody uses in every single competition, whether it’s FIBA or any other. I think that it’s certain because some leagues have different balls and things change and you don’t have time to adjust, so, in that regard, it should just be one basketball, one feeling for each competition.
Regarding the Final Four, it’s hard to say. I mean, you have the typical teams that you think are going to be in there – like Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Olympiacos, Madrid, CSKA, Baskonia – these teams are, by definition, teams that you expect to be in the playoffs and expect to have a chance to make a Final Four push. But there are always a couple of other teams that make a run that surprises everybody. Zalgiris was, not a surprise, because they play hard, they play so damn tough, they’re well-coached, but they surprised everybody in the sense that they got in the Final Four and the way that they did it was very respectable because they just really came to play night in, night out. But, when you look at teams this year, I think Milan have a big chance. I think it depends on how well Mike James plays, how well Nedovic plays, how well they run the show. They look like they have a good core, it looks like they can make a strong push to get into the playoffs and I think they might be a sleeper team. It could be a surprise. I’ve seen that Efes have also built a core and, depending on how well they’re coached and how well they play the game, they can definitely make a run. There are a lot of teams that have a lot of leadership and a lot of experience coming in, so, it’s just a matter of how well it’s put together, how well it’s used, and it can go many different ways. There are always the surprise teams, so, I feel like it’s up in the air. I can’t say there’s one favorite because everybody can play basketball. It’s a matter of who does the little things and who does extra to get the stops, get the wins, and when playoffs time comes, making the extra plays to put the team in contention of events.”
What are you going to miss the most about Greece, Athens, and Panathinaikos? If you had to choose only one or two things, what do you think you and your family are going to miss the most?
“I think what I’m missing more is just being around everybody. Just in general, whether it’s having dinner, whether it’s kids’ play dates, or just hanging out for that matter, it’s going to be well missed being in Greece. It’s definitely something that makes living in Athens much more comfortable when you have a bunch of teammates that have kids and everybody’s around or when you’re able to step outside the court and just relax and enjoy each other’s company and be somewhat of a family for those ten months. So, that’s definitely going to be a big miss for us. I’m not sure where I will end up or what will happen, but this is always something that is needed, especially once you get older and you’ve been in Europe, after a while that comfort is much needed, much regarded. And it comes with being in Europe for a certain amount of time. You start to get to places and you’re there for one or two years, you develop a sense of comfort, you know your way around, you know the people around you, you become a little more trusting. So, that’s definitely going to be missed. Once you start gaining stuff like that it becomes a miss knowing you’re not going to be there.
I think, all in all, for me, it just sucks because people think that I became too demanding and I wanted to garnish million dollar contracts. Not all. But I can’t be somewhere where I have a certain value and my value has to drop, that’s not how I look at things. I don’t think anybody looks at things that way. I know it’s common because now you hear guys saying, “Pay me what I’m worth,” or, “I’m not cheap,” and I understand that. I love to play basketball but at the same time, it is a job. It’s not always about the money but at the same time, you have to know your worth. And everybody can say I had a bad year and I’ll say it was a terrible half year because if you say ‘year’ you have to start from September all the way through. For a while, if you remember, I was having a great run and I was doing what needed to be done. I looked great, I felt great, but then I had a hiccup that was out of my control and something I had never experienced before. So, for me, I don’t think my value has dropped, but it just sucks when you have people that had these reports saying I’m too demanding and I had a bad year and all this. One of the best quotes I’ve heard all year is from Denzel Washington, when he said, “If you don’t hear the reports you’re uninformed, but if you do hear the reports you’re misinformed.” Because you’re not getting the information from accurate sources. You’re just going off what 20 million different people say, the story changes 50 million times, so you don’t know exactly who says what or what’s what.
So, coming from me, I don’t demand anything, I don’t exaggerate what I think I’m capable of or what I think I’m valued at. I’m also the quiet guy, the shy guy, I don’t speak up a lot, but when I do it’s because I want to be appreciated and that’s it. It’s not about trying to be the asshole or being the bad guy. It’s just being real and letting it be known how I feel because I don’t do it that often. To me, it’s upsetting that people think I’m beyond means or that I’m trying to stretch beyond because that’s not the case. But at the same time, I’m not going to lowball or lower myself or my services for the benefit of other people. Nobody does that. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would do that or take a low deal just to do business. Life doesn’t work that way and that’s the game we’re in. It’s not my fault, it’s just how I view things and I’m sure I’m not the only one who views things this way. So, for me, I think the main thing is to know that my character is impeccable in the sense that I’ve never had an issue with any teams, I’ve never been a head case, never had a problem. But the moment something goes wrong, the story is ‘I’m too demanding’ or ‘I had a bad year.’ But who doesn’t have a bad year? A lot of guys that have a bad year still come back strong the next year. So, it’s like I got written off after having an injury and it sucks.
The moment I got written off as a result of this injury, it looked like my career was over. That’s how people portrayed it. My career is done because I had an injury to a nerve that I can’t even pinpoint to you. It’s so small but it does so big of a damage that nobody gets it. But, to me, I know how I feel, I know where I’m at, and I feel better than ever. For others, though, they probably look at it like, “Oh, he’s done lost it.” And I haven’t. I’m only 31 years old, so, to be written off or to say that my career could be over or anything, these reports are false. Nobody knows, everybody just speculates. Again, if you don’t listen you’re uninformed, but if you listen to certain people you’re misinformed. I’m saying that I’m perfectly fine, I’m in good health, I don’t have a problem, I’m ready to play basketball, I’m ready to win, and hopefully somebody takes me up on that, you know. I’m not greedy, I’m not selfish, far from it. But, at the same time, I know my value. I know my worth and that’s how I view things.”