Dimitris Priftis: Three players cover half our budget / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Credit Zuma Press - Scanpix | BasketNews/A.Zaikauskas Credit Credit Zuma Press - Scanpix | BasketNews/A.Zaikauskas

In his first interview after taking over Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, coach Dimitris Priftis weighed in on each and every topic related to the six-time EuroLeague champs. The former UNICS Kazan bench boss explained his decision to return to his home country and analyzed the background behind the club's moves on the EuroLeague transfer market.

Priftis described Mitoglou's departure to Milan as a "great loss", revealed that he had "a very good conversation" with Mario Hezonja, explained why the "Greens" signed Daryl Macon, Kendrick Perry, and Okaro White, and also admitted that Wade Baldwin was one of his targets, despite his "salty" price.

This is what the 52-year-old tactician had to say to Greek outlet sdna.gr:

"I always had the desire to be in Panathinaikos. I think it's an honor to be here. Now, the conditions have matured. I know it's a tough situation, that we're going to have some difficult nights. I'm ready. In Kazan, the pressure was coming from the president of the club, who's a special personality. Greece is the place where fans put pressure on you.

I can't promise anything because there is no tangible data at the moment. I want us to build a team that will have vigor and will be highly motivated every day. I want us to play good basketball, be tough spiritually, pass the ball and show some toughness on defense. We're trying to make a rational roster. Obviously, the loss of Mitoglou made Papapetrou a priority for us. We got to have the Greek element on the team. High-level teams use many non-domestic players. For Panathinaikos, it's a necessity to make a team with 8 non-Greeks and 6-7 Greeks."On losing Dinos Mitoglou to AX Armani Exchange Milan: "Mitoglou is a great loss, more than any fan of Panathinaikos can possibly imagine. It is 100% certain that he would play better next year because of his multifaceted features. Making the decision about Nedovic (to renew his contract), with Papapetrou being considered a necessity and Papagiannis's big contract, we've got three players who more or less cover half our budget."

On the reason Hezonja decided to leave: "This is a question that should be addressed to him also. I had a very good conversation with Mario. We talked for over an hour. We analyzed everything, we went into details, and when that communication ended, I was very optimistic. He can put the ball on the floor, be used as a spot-up shooter, penetrate, even play one against two. He could be a good creator, too. I was hoping he would play at "4" and occasionally at "3", being a reference point. He has size, efficiency and I am confident that he would be very efficient at "4" because he would change our level on offense."

Credit BNSOn Kendrick Perry: "He's a guy that I know well. He's improving every year. He's a fighter. I've met him personally, he has character. He can become a EuroLeague player, I believe that. It's not just up to him. It's up to me, to my assistants, to his teammates."

On Daryl Macon: "His role is twofold. Based on the need to find someone with ease in scoring, I thought that he can cover the point guard position or give us some of Nedovic's features. Could we get Laprovittola, Brown, and Pangos? No."

On Nate Walters: "The money left to buy a point guard is little. If we make a change, it won't secure us anything noticeably better. Walters is a tall guard. He's a kid who has played in the EuroLeague, he is a very good defender and only a point guard."

On Okaro White: "I know that in previous years Panathinaikos wanted him, but he was injured and his mind was only in the NBA. We worked together on two teams. He has some ingredients that make the game easier. He's a player with character. I mean his spiritual toughness, that he won't back off when things get wild and there's a lot of angst and anxiety.

He is athletic and defensive-minded. In the second part of the season, he shot the ball well, which is something that we need. Defensively, he can guard from "1" to "4" with great efficiency. He's a low-risk option because he has not played in the EuroLeague, but he's been on NBA teams and to many different countries."

On Wade Baldwin: "We were interested in him. Is he really a point guard? He looked the part at Bayern. We thought of him because of his size and maybe he would fit in. It was a little early and his contract was a bit high. I can't say he was rejected as an option. I even had a conversation with him."

Current roster

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

Position Player Status PG TJ Bray Signed until 2022 PG Georgios Kalaitzakis Signed until 2022 PG/SG Nemanja Nedovic (story) Signed until 2023 PG/SG Kendrick Perry (story) Signed until 2022 +1 PG/SG Daryl Macon (story) Signed until 2022 +1 SG Nikos Diplaros Contract option +1 SG Lefteris Bochoridis (story) Signed until 2022 SF Howard Sant-Roos Contract option +1 SF Ioannis Papapetrou(story) Signed until 2023 SF Alpha Diallo(story) Signed until 2024 SF Leonidas Kaselakis (story) Singed until 2022 PF Okaro White(story) Signed until 2022 + 1 PF Jehyve Floyd (story) Signed until 2022 + 1 C Georgios Papagiannis Contract option +1 C Zach Auguste Contract option +1 Coach Dimitris Priftis (story) Expired contract Mario Hezonja (not coming back), Shelvin Mack, Aaron White (not coming back), Ben Bentil (story), Ian Vougioukas Rumored to leave Interested Nigel Hayes (story), Stefan Jovic Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.