Kalinic shares new FIBA format idea, hints he could have stayed in Zvezda / News - Basketnews.com

In an exclusive interview with BasketNews, Nikola Kalinic shared a proposal for how EuroLeague players could play for their national teams during the season. He also talked about his exit from Crvena Zvezda and the rise of Fenerbahce Istanbul.

Nikola Kalinic was very nervous watching the game that could have decided his nearest medal hopes with the Serbian national team.

Serbia hosted Turkey in Belgrade in a do-or-die 2023 FIBA World Cup qualification game.

He was alone in the room in Barcelona, trying to control his emotions. Not just because of his neighbors, who could have gotten scared by screams and shouts. But also, he had a six-month baby sleeping in another room.

"The worst thing for a basketball player is to watch games, not play them. You can't affect the result, so I was anxiously watching it," Kalinic replied.

He knew the game would be intense considering the history of tough recent battles between two great teams.

But even though Serbia led only by one point with 69 seconds to play and Scottie Wilbekin at the free throw line, Kalinic was confident about his team.

"I was sure we had a good team and that we were going to win," Kalinic told in an interview with BasketNews.

"The guys played incredibly. Guduric was leading them, but everybody else played great and won it for us," he continued. "I wasn't able to join them. I needed some rest with all the stuff that was going on. But I knew they would win, and they did it."

Straight after the final whistle, he texted his basketball friends and started thinking about the next national team mission. The World Cup will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10 next year.

Serbia had back-to-back NBA and back-to-back EuroLeague Final Four MVPs Nikola Jokic and Vasilije Micic, but couldn't pass through Italy in the Round of 16 of EuroBasket 2022.

"I think we learned that it's enough to win by one point. When we won our group games pretty easily, I think we all thought we would win against Italy by 20-30 points. So when we led by 6 points at halftime, which is totally okay, maybe we were unsatisfied and wanted to change something. Maybe that's a lesson that we can all learn. At least I've learned it," Kalinic said.

"People in Serbia like basketball so much that they hope for medals every time, which is great. But I think that the rest of the summer went great. We won against Greece in Belgrade and Turkey in Istanbul. Now we see how important these games were. And we also had great EuroBasket until that game. In general, I think it wasn't that bad. We didn't win medals or gold, but more or less, it was a good summer," Kalinic concluded.

Mid-season break and football example

An Olympic and World Cup silver medalist enjoys playing for his country. But he wishes to see a change in the FIBA calendar.

The vice president of the EuroLeague players association suggested a couple of ideas of how the schedule would fit player needs better.

He would prefer representing national teams twice a year: in the middle of the season and straight after the season.

"I don't think windows are not necessarily bad. I think it's bad that you put more games and less time to travel and recover," Kalinic, 31, spoke.

"You could make one window in the middle of the season, maybe in February, to make it like an All-Star break in the NBA. To make it a 2-3 weeks break in the EuroLeague when we could play cup games, travel, and play national team games. Americans could go to the States," he continued.

"Or maybe we could make it for Christmas. I believe many American players haven't been in the States for Christmas for, I don't know how long, so it would also be cool for them to be with their families," he said. "In that period, we could play 3 or 4 qualification games. And the other window could be at the end of the season or something like that."

He joined his new team Barcelona straight after the EuroBasket. Fourteen days after the last EuroBasket game for Serbia, he already battled for the Spanish Supercup. If he had gone all the way, he would have played the Supercopa final after less than a week.

"What I dislike the most is this year's EuroBasket. You finish EuroBasket, and you have games immediately after 3-4 days. Not even practices. That should also be changed," Kalinic pointed out. "Maybe you can put all the competitions after the season, something like in football. You finish the season, play for the national teams, and get two months off."

"I think two national team windows would satisfy everybody. But it's my personal opinion, not the official one of ELPA," Kalinic added.

Revised schedule, clear rules: Bostjan Nachbar on ELPA's agenda, FIBA-EuroLeague feud

However, he hinted that EuroLeague players are already making some moves to ask for a change.

"We're trying because we're witnessing that nothing will change if we continue like this. Everybody is just putting the ball in the other's yard. But every season, you have more and more games. You're just putting more games in the EuroLeague, domestic leagues, windows, EuroBasket, and World Cups.

I think it's time for players to give some suggestions, as we're going to do something in the next period to try to satisfy everybody. Especially players, because we're playing on the court at the end of the day. Okay, owners give the money, but we should also be asked," Kalinic declared.

"For me, it's not normal to ask everybody how the calendar should look. You're asking coaches, referees, and team managers, but not players. That's something which is really strange. But I think it's going in a good direction because the communication between all those sides is getting better," Kalinic stated.

Kalinic would support the five-month EuroLeague season idea regarding the club season calendar, but he doesn't believe the agreement will be found with the domestic leagues.

"I think it would be great. Everybody who plays in the EuroLeague probably thinks the same. But if you ask domestic leagues, they realize that the best teams are from the EuroLeague, so they're not going to love losing those most watched and attended games.

Like Partizan and Crvena Zvezda in the Adriatic league, Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, and Zalgiris playing some other Lithuanian team. For EuroLeague teams, that would be great. Also, you have to ask how many times in the last 20 years one EuroLeague team didn't make the playoffs.

Why don't you put them immediately? It would be better for everybody, but it's open for discussion. I like that proposal, but to be honest, I don't think that domestic leagues would accept this idea."

Sad Crvena Zvezda problems

Kalinic returned to Istanbul, which brings him memories of probably the best chapter in his career.

He won the EuroLeague in 2017, three Turkish championships, and three Turkish Cups during his tenure in Fenerbahce from 2015 to 2020.

He also made many friends there. But a six-month-old infant's father dreamed about a good sleep on the eve of the game.

Marko Guduric, Melih Mahmutoglu, and Tarik Biberovic are the last former Kalinic teammates still wearing the Fenerbahce jersey.

"I think they turned to trends coming up in the EuroLeague," Kalinic emphasized.

"I think they became more athletic. In every position, they brought guys who could play in the EuroLeague on the highest athletic levels. And it's working for them so far," he pointed out. "They're switching a lot, trying to slow the pace in defense. Itoudis is a great coach and is doing a great job. I think it's still early into the season to predict, but as we all see, they have only one loss vs. Barcelona. They won other games, so I think they're good."

He also has an eye on another significant team in his career.

But opposite to Fener, it started the season slowly and already made changes.

Crvena Zvezda are at the bottom of the EuroLeague standings with a 1-6 record. They already fired coach Vlado Jovanovic and hired Dusko Ivanovic. They also replaced guard Jaylen Adams with Luca Vildoza.

"I feel bad. That's the team where I played last year, so I feel sad," Kalinic reflected on Red Star's season start.

"But I think it's logical because they changed many players and a coach. More or less, we knew that something like that might happen. But I think the only loss against Zadar was the biggest deal.

For everything else in the EuroLeague, you can't expect to win away vs. Efes or some other big teams. But I think they're going to be good. They brought some new guys, and I think they'll do well this year," he added.

Asked about the direction Red Star took in rebuilding the team, Kalinic said they did well regarding the clear financial limitations.

"It would be best if they could bring Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Nikola Jokic," Kalinic smiled. "I think they did their best and have a good team. They just don't know the roles yet. I didn't watch many of their games, but from watching videos and stats, it feels like they still don't know their roles. It takes time. As time passes, maybe with the new coach, they can wake up a little bit, a shock therapy like we say in Serbia. But I really think they're going to be good. They have good pieces, they just need to put them together."

Kalinic left Red Star for Barcelona this summer to join the EuroLeague title contenders.

But Kalinic hinted he could have stayed in Red Star.

"I feel sad that some things didn't work out at the end of the last year. I think we had a good group and could continue," Kalinic revealed.

"There was a possibility all the time," he added. "Only it was a little bit slower than it was supposed to be."

"Yes, let's say like that," asked if the club didn't give him enough answers considering his status and the future of the team's centerpieces, Kalinic didn't want to go deeper.

Barcelona wins EuroLeague if...

But now Kalinic is in Barcelona and happy to fight for the title.

Barca also had some major changes. They started the season without their best player Nikola Mirotic. Some other essential players are constantly in and out.

Despite all the challenges, the Sarunas Jasikevicius team started the season with 5 wins in 7 games, including victories against Final Four contenders Fenerbahce, Real, or Milan.

"It's a new team, so we're still getting to know each other. Obviously, Satoransky is really vocal," Kalinic said, asking who tries to set a culture in the reshaped Barcelona's locker room.

"He's always talking and joking. He is maybe the loudest. But we're all really experienced, so we try to contribute basketball-wise and with some advice and suggestions. So far, it's going well. We had a slower start, but I think now we're finally finding out what Sarunas wants from us, what's our role in the team, who likes what, where to pass the ball, and small things which make the team great," Kalinic concluded.

Kalinic averages 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 8.0 PIR after the first seven EuroLeague games.

He leads Barcelona in minutes played (almost 26 MPG), which shows how vital his figure for Saras is.

"Both Sarunas and Zeljko Obradovic love details," Kalinic responded, asked to compare his former Fenerbahce coach and Jasikevicius.

"They're perfectionists, which made them so successful. They're hard workers and ready to put all their time into basketball. They're watching so many games that they want everything perfect.

Tactically you can see that Sarunas was playing for Zeljko on some occasions, but he's also building his own style. So far, the things he did in Zalgiris were really good. Also, in Barcelona. He's already a great coach but can be even better."

"He brought me because he saw a good fit that I can help him and his idea with his playing style. I think it's also a good fit for me. But I don't care about roles anymore. If we win EuroLeague, I can be Dogus Balbay," Kalinic said, indicating how the two-time EuroLeague champion plays his heart out in limited minutes. "To stay healthy and win games is the most important thing."

Barcelona wins the EuroLeague if...

"If we score more points than the other finalist," Kalinic smiled.

"There is no formula. If there were a formula, it would be easy to win it. In the last three years, I thought there was a formula. When I saw how Efes was starting the season, I thought no way they would make the playoffs. And they won it in the end," Barcelona forward recalled.

"I think the formula is to be healthy at the most important time. Who's the healthiest at that moment usually wins the EuroLeague. It was proved when we won the EuroLeague with Fenerbahce. When everybody returned, we started playing great. That might be a small piece of the formula, but there's no formula."

Video interview with Nikola Kalinic

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