Arriving this summer in Italy, near Varese, Willie Cauley-Stein did not take long to endear himself to local fans. His technique for becoming the talk of the town? A small statement on the eternal debate between American basketball and European basketball. Willie has chosen his side, even if it’s a bit of a spit on the plate that fed him for several years.
Willie Cauley-Stein has had a somewhat choppy career in the NBA. A good selection in 6th position in the 2015 Draft, rather nice years in Sacramento afterwards, then a gradual fall towards training partner roles, with a series of very short contracts and stints in the G League. So much so that last season, he didn’t even play a single minute in the Big League.
Enough to slam the door of Uncle Sam’s country and look elsewhere? That’s the idea, yeah. A one-year contract in Varese, Italy, just to relaunch on the old continent and – why not – catch the eye of another team in the country. In the meantime, it is a beautiful declaration of love for European basketball that the player has formulated for Sportingwhile not failing to place a nice praline in the NBA.
“I chose to come to Europe for the more ‘tactical’ aspect of the game, compared to the 1 on 1 game that is played today in the NBA, and which is conditioned by the players’ personal desire to produce statistics . Here in Europe, every game and every ball is important, not like in the NBA where all 82 games are equal.” –Willie Cauley-Stein.
Come on, no hard feelings, above all. We are not going to say that he has put a stick in the wheel for a return – no doubt dreamed of – to the NBA, but let us at least imagine that this is a declaration in “I love you, me neither” to indicate to the Great League that in any case, his departure from the United States was not forced but voluntary. Where it might become funny is if an NBA team ever comes to offer him a new deal. It could well be that the jacket becomes a little reversible.
Source : Sportando via Yahoo Sports
2023-09-19 08:54:00
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