The market doubts It seems that they are being resolved in the convulsed culé summer, with several high-profile starts and great arrivals. After the departure of Sarunas Jasikevicius as the first coach of the squad and the arrival of Roger Grimau, the players section is being completed. They left Kuric bound for Zenit and Sanli to Fenerbahce. Less famous was Mike Tobey’s goodbye, quite the opposite of the case of Nikola Mirotic. The Spanish-Montenegrino player is still negotiating his departure from the Catalan team, although this seems close and with a cost close to 17 million euros. The big doubt on the issue of outings is that he would spend with center James Nnaji.
The young Blaugrana player (18 years and 2.12 m) arrived in the Catalan city in the summer 2020, aged 16, to play with the junior team after leaving Africa for the Ratgeber Basketball Academy in Hungary; They had discovered him through a Facebook video that was recorded with his mother on the campus created by Masai Ujiri, raptors president. Last April he announced his decision to be part of the 2023 Draft, despite his young age, 18 years old, and the few minutes he has still had in the ACB and Euroleague, 12.1 minutes with 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds. He center was Picked 31st overall in the draft, first pick of the second round, by the Detroit Pistons. Although, like every night of the draft, the movements for the second rounds were not long in coming, first he would be part of the Boston Celtics and finally would make it to Charlotte Hornets. The North Carolina franchise was interested in the player, who would be part of the roster in the Summer League from Las Vegas
His anxious debut would come in the second game of the preseason against the Golden State Warriors. In the 17 minutes that he was on the field, he was able to score 5 points, capture 4 rebounds and achieve a block. A meeting to gain confidence in the next matches that he was going to play. After that, two more would arrive to date, the first against the spurs and the second against the Lakers. Against the Texan team he had a complicated ballot, defend Wembanyama. More focused on defense than attack, he went zero in scoring and had seven rebounds in the thirteen minutes he played. His last match against the Los Angeles franchise was the best for sensations. 4 goals, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in just 13 minutes.
According to the player himself, He will continue one more season in Barcelona before making the leap to the NBA… At least that’s the idea. “According to the information I have, I will continue for another year. But I don’t want to say yes or no, we have to see how everything goes, the circumstancesIt depends on what happens in the Summer League. But for now I would say yes, ”he said in words collected by eurohoops. A continuity that would be normal for a player who this year must settle in the culé rotation and gain greater prominence on both sides of the field. However, the final decision will be up to the Charlotte franchise. Although everything suggests that the center will return to our League, due to the salary and roster problems of the American team. At the moment, they have a full roster and with a fixed rotation to which they add the return of Miles Bridges and the arrival of pick 2, Brandon Miller. No doubt, James Nnaji has left good impressions on the franchise’s coaching staff, but we’ll still have to wait, at least one more year, to see James make his debut in the nba.