By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
«It’s only in our decisions that we are important» said once Jean-Paul Sartre and Krunoslav Simon follows him by word. The Croatian guard had the opportunity to sign some months ago to some of the biggest clubs in Europe. But not in the way he liked and not in the time he liked.
So, he decided to play the game his rules. He stayed calm after the refusal of KK Zagreb to give him to Olympiacos and when Malaga, Caja Laboral and Siena offered him a contract few months ago, he refused.
Shortly before he decides his next step, he narrates to eurohoops.net how he became the “hottest” name of the winter and the course the negotiations with some of Europe’s biggest clubs: “I was very close to Olympiacos, but my team refused to let me go and the deal collapsed. Of course, I wanted to play in such a team. When you have an opportunity like this you say “yes” immediately. KK Zagreb, however, didn’t let me go. What could I do? It wasn’t on me. So, I decided to keep playing basketball here for 3-4 more months, until I will be free agent”.
Although in the meantime after the wreck of his transfer to Olympiacos until these days, his last in KK Zagreb, there were a lot stories. Some of them have been released and some not. His almost finished agreement with Malaga was canceled because “1-2 days before finalizing the agreement, Unicaja has asked me to sing a contract until the end of the season. I couldn’t agree to play there for only a few months, so I refused the contract”.
However, the name of Simon remained “hot” in the transfer market. “Caja Laboral also was interested and after Malaga. Siena called me. But they also wanted to offer me a contract only for a few months. I didn’t think it would help my career”.
He will probably make his big step this summer and he is looking forward to this moment. As he admitted in eurohoops.net, he has already an offer by Cedevita, but still it’s not the time to decide. As he says, “I feel ready for the leap. I play well; I have enough experience, since I am 27 years old and I am waiting for the right opportunity to help my new team”.
But what is the game profile of the player who suddenly surprised Europe this year with his performance? “My biggest advantage is that I understand the game. I’m not excellent scorer or shooter, but I can do everything on the court following the instructions of my coach”.
So, where was he hidden all these years? “Haha! I was not hiding, I played for nine years in KK Zagreb. But didn’t have the opportunity to play in Euroleague and be seen by whole Europe, so I stayed here. We won Cibona last year in domestic championship and showed to everybody that there is also another team from Croatia in Euroleague…” he says and he understands that this is the time that he can escape the confines of Zagreb.
His happiest moment couldn’t be other than the first victory of KK Zagreb in Euroleague: “We won Zalgiris in our home, a team that qualified in Top 16 and I played well. What more could I ask for?”
However, the season wasn’t so good for his team and given its financial problems, they had bad results. According to Simon that was expected because “we don’t have so many good players and depth to the roster. We had many games and had to play many minutes in each game to make it”.
Ιn a few days in Istanbul is taking place Euroleague’s Final Four and the Croatian guard believes that everything could happen: “CSKA is the favorite and also Barcelona is a good team. But you can never be sure with Serbians coaches, Obradovic and Ivkovic. In one game anything can happen”.