By Bugra Uzar/ info@eurohoops.net
After the win of Fenerbahce over Unicaja Malaga and a 7-0 start in the Euroleague Top16, everyone expected that Zeljko Obradovic would be happy in the press conference.
That was not the case and the reason for that was NBA prospect Omer Yurtseven. As the Serbian coach explained: “Omer went to Toronto to the NBA Basketball Without Borders Global Camp (ed. note: which will be held in Toronto during NBA All-Star Weekend). The club gave him permision to do so. We are happy that he has the opportunity to be there. But Antic is out and we didn’t have a full roster. Omer didn’t even ask me if the team needs him for the match against Unicaja Malaga. Why? It’s very simple. He doesn’t care for the team or us. He only cares about himself. For him, this team doesn’t exists. This summer, we decided to change the team. We gave opportunity to young players, because we consider them the future of the club. We offered him a five years extension contract, we made him an INCREDIBLE offer, the contract has an NBA out clause every summer, he thought about it for two monts and then he rejected it. Everything has an explanation in life. He left today but he didn’t say even ‘Good luck’ to anyone before the match. Do you know anyone in Europe playing so many minutes at this young age? I know only Luka Doncic from Real Madrid. But he doesn’t respect this and he wants to leave. This is his home. Everybody is helping each other in here. I don’t know why a young player isn’t happy to be here. He doesn’t have respect. He wants to go to NCAA but our club paid him for the last three years, so he isn’t eligible to play in the NCAA. He has to figure this out. When I first came here, we were playing in the preseason against the Oklahoma City Thunder and I took a timeout to put him on the court. He was only 15 years old. And now that’s his answer to me. I am really dissapointed. I trusted him so much. If he said to me ‘Coach, the team is in difficult situation, Antic is out, do you need me?’ then I would let him go anyway because it is a huge chance for him. But he doesn’t care for us, Fenerbahce, fans or teammates “.
Obradovic, a legend in Europe with 8 Euroleague titles, was furious and asked the press: “Would you give him an other chance?” The natural answer from everyone was no…