Dwayne Bacon: Νever-ending gratitude to Michael Jordan and why he chose Monaco over NBA / News - Basketnews.com

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Along the French Riviera in Monaco during the summer of 2019, Dwayne Bacon and the entire Jordan Brand roster of athletes, designers and executives gathered for their annual extravagant team trip, a longtime bonding tradition led by Michael Jordan himself.

Michael Jordan

Position:SF, SGAge:58Height:199 cmWeight:98 kgBirth place:United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Bacon joined Jordan Brand in 2017. Earlier that same year, he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 40th overall pick in the NBA Draft following a draft-night trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.

A former Florida State standout, Dwayne Bacon impressed the team after a strong Summer League performance in Orlando. In five games, he averaged 15.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game on 41.8% shooting from the field.

His impactful showing can explain why Jordan signed the swingman both to his team and his company. The difference-maker here is that you don't see many second-round players getting contracts with shoe companies.

But let's get back to that trip to Monte Carlo. Dwayne Bacon had just completed his second NBA season with the Hornets, which saw him average 7.3 points in almost 18 minutes. Only 24 at the time, Bacon got to see something different and exciting.

"I was a part of Team Jordan, and all the athletes came overseas with him for a little getaway trip," Bacon recalls talking to BasketNews over the phone.

"It happened to be in Monaco that year. It was a very lovely, nice experience, just amazing; being around, walking around, sightseeing," he continues.

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The setting looked idyllic. Two years and as many NBA seasons later, Bacon's phone rang. It was Donta Hall, who had been a teammate of his at the Orlando Magic in the 2020-21 campaign.

"He called me and said: 'Hey, AS Monaco want you to come and play.' I thought about it," Bacon says. "I was with the team before he was. I talked to Dwayne about the situation and some things. It worked out for the good," Hall tells BasketNews.

3-pointers this season

37%13,9Points made:13,9Accuracy:36,6%Place in standings:5Record max:24Record min:4Most made 3FGs:Terry RozierTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The 24-year-old big man, who had split his NBA time between the Pistons, Nets, and the Magic from 2019 through 2021, was signed by the 2021 EuroCup champions in early August.

Monaco winning the EuroCup meant that they would make their debut on the big European stage in the 2021-22 season. Bacon had some homework to do before taking the plane to the Principality.

The first thing that crossed his mind when Monaco came up to him with a contract and a chance to play overseas was to check on the club that had shown interest.

"Being overseas for the first time and Monaco calling me, I already knew it was a great city. So, I had to do a little bit of digging to see what league they're in.

I saw they're in the EuroLeague, and I felt like it was the perfect opportunity. It's a nice league. That's all I can take for it," Bacon adds.

"It was something that he wanted to do, so why not try? I had no other say-so in that," Donta Hall goes on to say.

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From that point on, other people stepped in and finished off the deal.

"The GM (Oleksiy Yefimov) called. I asked him about my role, and he said they needed a starting '3' to come in and play. It was no hesitation. As soon as I agreed, I was there with them in two days," Bacon says and bursts into laughter before articulating his next sentence.

"Well, I haven't started very much so far, which is fine. I actually come off the bench."

That's true. The 26-year-old guard-forward has only three starts in 17 games with the EuroLeague newcomers. Over his six first appearances with Monaco, Bacon averaged less than 20 minutes of playing time.

"When I first came here, I wasn't really playing at all," he utters with a note of exaggeration. "I don't know why. I feel like I have a lot to give to this game. I'm still a young guy," he underlines.

In mid-December, following a streak of losses and poor performances, Monaco parted ways with head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, who had won the EuroCup title with the club. With him on the bench, the team started off on the right foot. Alas, the initial 4-4 EuroLeague record gradually dropped to 5-9.

However, it wasn't just results that got the Montenegrin tactician fired.

"The way we played and the atmosphere, in general, was not good," Monaco's star player Mike James admitted in a recent interview with L'Equipe.

Then, Sasa Obradovic came to the rescue.

"At times, the former coach was too passive and didn't pay the same attention to the details," James added. "Now we play using more of our strong sides. Sasa's approach, the way how he manages the team, and the changes he has made, saved our season."

Bacon concurs and brings his own case as an example. "Yes, I agree that our new coach is more detailed-oriented," he says.

"With Sasa, I'm playing more. Our first coach would play me five minutes, and I wouldn't even be on the court in crucial moments of games. So, I really didn't understand it. I'm sure he had his reasons," Bacon concedes.

The Florida native is certainly playing more under Obradovic, but with one exception (the double-overtime game against Real Madrid in Monaco), he has never stayed put for more than 30 minutes.

However, what cannot be debated upon is the fact that Monaco are a team on a constant rise. Since the Serbian coach took over, they display a 7-3 record in the EuroLeague, including some big road wins like those in Saint Petersburg and Belgrade.

Bacon has an explanation for it - and it's not flattering at all for coach Mitrovic.

"Sasa gave us a little more freedom compared to the first coach. He was kind of treating everybody the same, letting everybody just go out there, shoot whenever to do whatever...

I feel like Sasa believes in people having roles and guys doing what they're best at, not doing whatever.

We have a lot of amazing talent on our team. You got guys like me and Mike (James) that can score the ball all over. We got other scorers as well and others who defend at a very high clip. We also got great shooters.

When Sasa got here, he emphasized what he wanted guys to do and how he wanted certain guys to play to their best strength so that the team would look good. That's what we've been doing, minus a few games."

On a personal note again, Bacon says things have gotten infinitely better for him after the coaching change.

"I'm playing well right now, and we're getting wins. Since Sasa came, he's been great for me. Just display my talent and show EuroLeague what I can do."

In a EuroLeague season when many ex-NBA players moved and underperformed overseas, Dwayne Bacon is perhaps the only one with a clear role, more or less consistent minutes, and contribution.

Important names like Emmanuel Mudiay, OJ Mayo, Yogi Ferrell, and Kenneth Faried are already out of the league.

Bacon thinks that his own case could easily have turned out worse, especially had Mitrovic stayed in charge. So, how did he succeed where everyone else failed?"It can be kind of iffy like it was for me at first. I could have ended up in the same position as those guys, just because their teams were already in-season," he argues.

"Maybe our last coach didn't want to throw me in the fire. He thought that the game here is super different, he used to tell me that. 'This is different, this isn't the NBA!'. Which it ain't, but it isn't much different either.

Coach Sasa believes in me, and that's all you need. That's why I'm still here. There's someone who actually believes in me and wants to see me do things that can help the team win."

Speaking of the differences between NBA and Europe, now that Bacon has been playing in the EuroLeague for almost four months, he's able to express a comprehensive view on the competition."It has definitely lived up to my expectations," he stresses. "I can't complain. My first four months in Europe have been amazing, although it started off a little slow. It's definitely an experience, something that can change me. If I had to stay here for the next ten years, then that's what it is."

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Bacon believes that physicality is one of Europe's trademarks - and has no problem with that.

"I heard a comment from Luka Doncic that it's harder to score in the EuroLeague compared to the NBA. I feel it's kind of harder over here because they let you play through contact.

I'm not saying the NBA is super easy - because it's not. But here, they definitely make you bump and grind a little bit. I'm a physical guy, and I like the physicality that they have over here."

So far, Bacon has scored in double-digits in 14 of his 17 EuroLeague games.

The only discussion the former NBA player won't have is the one regarding his shooting consistency. His percentages seem to fluctuate considerably from game to game.

For instance, he went 8/15 from the field against Zenit Saint Petersburg and then 6/20 in a loss to Real Madrid. He shot very well (6/8) against Panathinaikos and Crvena Zvezda (8/14) on the road.

"What's more consistent?" he asks. "I'm shooting 45% from the field, 35% from the three. That's my overall average. That's pretty consistent, is it not?

I don't know, it's my first year here. What am I supposed to be shooting? Everybody has bad games," he points out.

Shooting efficiency has probably been of Bacon's less-talked-about downsides to his game. Robert Gandy, who coached him at McKeel (Florida) Academy, said that by 9th grade, Bacon was so much better than everybody else that he didn't need to play defense at all.

"I never had to play the best defense," Bacon now admits. "But it all started with coach Gandy. He pushed me to be the best. He'd seen something in me that I didn't even see in myself at the time. Then, it just transferred to Florida State where all they teach is defense."

One thing led to another. "When I got to Charlotte, I had to play defense - that's how I got on the floor my rookie year. I just pushed it from there and kept going.

There are times when I still take some plays off. But for the most part, I feel like I've been a lot better on defense."When he first started in 5th grade, Bacon didn't enjoy basketball. He considered himself a football player. By 9th grade, he quit football. He laughs at the memory and says the transition had taken place way earlier. "Even though I played in high school, once I hit 5th grade, I knew the type of talent everybody was telling me I had. That's when I said, 'yeah, I'm going with basketball. I'm not going to continue to play football.'

But at the time, I still couldn't give football up, and it took me after my freshman season in high school to stop playing football and focus on basketball," he explains.

At Charlotte, he got to play for the "greatest of all time", Michael Jordan, that is, for three years. Bacon calls the overall experience great and cherishes the moments he spent with MJ. "We had talks, and he told me how I can get better and read the game. It was great to have the opportunity to be a Jordan Brand athlete at the time. I have nothing negative to say about that situation."

Of course, Jordan is the man to be credited for Bacon's NBA debut in 2017, as he drafted his protégé out of Florida State.

"He gave me the opportunity that no one else did when I came into the league," the American swingman acknowledges. "He drafted me, so I will forever be grateful for that, for him and the little relationship we have built."

Bacon further adds that the two don't really talk now because they are on two different things.

"But we did have a relationship for sure," Bacon recalls.

After a three-year stint with the Hornets, Bacon returned to his hometown to boost the Orlando Magic'sbackcourt. Being born and raised in Florida, one would expect that the Magic would have been like a childhood dream come true for him. However, Bacon doesn't think so. In fact, it was like a mixed blessing for him.

"Honestly, it never was a childhood dream, but it was nice to play in my hometown for a little while. One of the most memorable and touching moments of my career was just being able to play at home."

The downside to it is that Bacon was unable to isolate himself from certain people and things he calls "distractions".

"I'm from 30 minutes away from Orlando. When you play in your hometown, there are a lot of distractions. I kind of isolated myself from home and from people that really didn't have a say on my life up until that point."

"I'm not saying it was bad. It wasn't a childhood dream, but it was definitely amazing," he clarifies.In any case, Bacon finished his only season at Orlando with career-high averages in points (10.9), rebounds (3.1), assists (1.3), games (72), and minutes (26) played.

On August 8, 2021, the Magic waived Bacon. "They just had a lot of young guys that they wanted to take a look at for a full season," he explained just three weeks before signing with Monaco.

"I knew that Orlando wasn't going to keep me. We had already talked. My time with Orlando was great. I felt like they loved me, but after the draft, the reason they waited for so long is that they didn't really know what they wanted to do," Bacon says now.

In 2021, the Magic finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 21-51, just one game ahead of the Pistons. That season was their worst in three years, as they failed to qualify for the playoffs.

In the 2021 NBA Draft, they selected Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs with the fifth overall pick, then Michigan center Franz Wagner with the No. 8 pick, and lastly, guard Jason Preston out of Ohio at No.33.

Bacon thinks that drafting Suggs and Preston made the franchise reconsider their plans.

"They got so many first and second-year guys on their team. Consider I'm still 26, but those guys are even younger - 22, 23."

That pill was not so hard to swallow, after all.

"It's not like I can never ever go back there, but I feel like I left on a great note, with no hard feelings. I can't really complain about that."

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Eleven days later, Bacon signed with the New York Knicks, relishing the chance to team up again with Kemba Walker after Charlotte. He joined the team for training camp, signing a one-year non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, but was beaten out by Wayne Selden for the 15th spot on the regular-season roster. The Knicks put him on waivers on October 14.

That one must have hurt.

"It was like they thought I wasn't good enough, although I didn't even play at pre-season. I can't really go off too much on that. Honestly, I can't say why. I feel like I was good enough to make that team. I felt like I was better than many guys on that team. But they obviously thought different," says Bacon. For Dwayne Bacon, basketball it's all about getting the chance to play. One particular incident illustrates his desire to be on the court for as much as possible.

While at Charlotte, he asked the Hornets' front office in two different seasons (2019, 2020) to be sent to the G-League. "It was never about getting my confidence back," he clarifies. "I just wasn't playing. I'm not in this game to just be able to say, 'I'm on an NBA team.' I'm in this game to play.

You only get a certain amount of years, once you hit the NBA or overseas, to actually play basketball. These are your most exciting years. I wouldn't want to waste my mid-20s and early 30s sitting on the bench."

Bacon says that his request to join the NBA's Development League and the Hornets' affiliate team didn't constitute an attempt to get his feel for the game back. "At the end of the day, I wasn't playing consistently with Charlotte and told them to send me down to the G League because I wanted to play. It wasn't that I didn't have a feel for the game.

Every day I worked my ass off if my number was called to go out there and play. There were times that year when my number was called, and I had big games. I ended up averaging like 31 points."

Bacon holds that the Hornets didn't provide an explanation for not playing him. Nevertheless, he makes clear that he would not be willing to go through the same process again to stay with an NBA team.

"I just told myself then that I wouldn't be this G League guy just for a team to have and say that they want or don't want. I'm better than that. I'm good enough to be in the NBA, no question about it. That's what I'm over here - because I got the opportunity to play, make good money and support my family."

Actually, this is the point where Monaco joins the conversation again.

"I came to Monaco because I wanted to play basketball. It would have been nothing for me to be in the league just to be sitting there and waste my talent. I could do that for the next 15 years.

Here, I can play for 25 minutes a game, display my talents and get better. There's no doubt that I have NBA talent. But at the end of the day, if I'm not playing in the NBA, talent will never show."

It looks like Bacon's time in Charlotte went off on the wrong foot from the very beginning. In June 2017, Hornets GM Rich Cho accidentally introduced him as "Dwyane Wade" to the local media. The player who had led the Florida Seminoles to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017 welcomed Cho's slip of the tongue with a light smile.

More than four years later, Bacon still has no explanation for it.

"I don't know, honestly," he replies. "He might have wanted Dwayne Wade at the time, and he had me. We never discussed it, anyway."

In case anyone is wondering why he deleted his Twitter account, it's because Monaco's second-best scorer wants to avoid negativity."That happened some years ago. I didn't need it anymore. The only social media I have is Instagram. I'm not really big on social media," he says.

"I try to stay away from social media because there's a bunch of people that have their assumption of you when I'm living in reality. I mean either fans or people who want to see you lose. I thought Twitter was such a negative source."

A look at Bacon's Instagram account betrays the fact that over the last four years that he's been active there, his posts are really scarce.

"Some type of negativity on Instagram there's too, but if I didn't have to do certain stuff, I wouldn't be on there either," he maintains.

After all, it's the court where Dwayne Bacon wants to showcase himself first and foremost - and over the last couple of months, he's been able to do just that.

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