By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Enes Kanter Freedom said that he intends to continue playing in the NBA but if that doesn’t work out his priority outside the league would be returning to Europe and joining Panathinaikos Athens in EuroLeague.
In an interview for Greek newspaper Ethnikos Kirikas (National Herald), Freedom talked about the fact that he’s still a free agent since February, the reasons why he believes no team picks him up, and his options for the future.
Here’s what Freedom said on:
Being a free agent:
I was in Portland last year and I averaged a double-double and we went to the playoffs. I was a starter. And they come and tell me after a year that I forgot how to play basketball?
When I started talking about what is happening in China (the Uyghur genocide), they stopped showing the Celtics on Chinese TV. This cost the NBA money. The NBA says that the league stands on our side when it comes to freedom of speech. I don’t believe it. They stand on our side as long as what we say helps the league’s pockets, otherwise, they’ll do whatever they can to finish you. I’m saying that because they are trying to retire me at 29. However, I know that I can play six-seven years more because I love basketball, I’m healthy and I believe that people can see that I deserve to be in the NBA.
His career options:
My first goal is to play in the NBA and I want to be there. I grew up watching Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, and other teams and my brother (Kerem Kanter) was playing in Greece for Kolossos Rhodes last year and he was telling me how nice it is there. Before anything else, I’d like to meet Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis.
I’d like to shake his hand and thank him for accepting refugees from Turkey. It’s an important step of the friendship between Greece and Turkey. Then I’d like to talk to him regarding the possibility of coming to a team like Panathinaikos and building a friendship between the two countries. If I play on a Greek team it won’t be just for basketball. I want to build a bridge between our people. We are not far from each other: We eat the same food and our cultures are very similar.
Panathinaikos:
Panathinaikos is my first choice. My friend Mario Hezonja played there. If it’s a Greek team, I think I’d go to Panathinaikos. That depends of course on what will happen with the NBA and the meeting with the Greek Prime Minister.