Walkup reveals conversation with Sloukas, credits Olympiacos locker room leader / News - Basketnews.com

Per Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos players were aware of the concerns that were bothering Kostas Sloukas, but they tried to get everyone on the same page in achieving their goals without trying to influence his decision regarding his future in Piraeus.

Credit: IMAGO/ANE Edition - Scanpix Credit IMAGO/ANE Edition - Scanpix

Amidst one of the biggest transfers in EuroLeague history, there are always simple household matters to sort out in the background. Like what to do with Kostas Sloukas in the Olympiacos group chat.

Thomas Walkup

Position:SGAge:30Height:193 cmWeight:88 kgBirth place:Texas, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

In the latest URBONUS podcast episode, Thomas Walkup gave some honest insights about the Olympiacos players' conversations with Sloukas before he decided to join Panathinaikos Athens.

With URBONUS co-hosts Errick McCollum and Donatas Urbonas, Walkup shared that Olympiacos players avoided influencing Sloukas' decision-making process. Still, they did express their desire for him to remain with the team in pursuit of their dream of achieving the Triple Crown.

When McCollum inquired about what came first - Sloukas being removed from the Olympiacos group chat or Olympiacos players creating a new chat without him - Walkup couldn't hold his laughter.

"I think it was just a notification that I saw came up, but I don't think that he was dying to stay in the group chat either," Walkup responded.

Asked who was the admin of that group, Thomas Walkup gave a shoutout to Antonis Katsikis, Olympiacos' team manager.

"He's the one that makes everything go around here, and he was the one that had to do the booting," he smiled.

On a more serious note, Walkup revealed the details of his conversations with Sloukas during the 2022-23 season.

"We all know he wanted to play more," Walkup explained.

"I fancy myself being pretty level-headed and consistent throughout the year, either through ups and downs. I'm trying to bring the guys that are down, and I try to keep the guys that are being too emotional or maybe too hot-headed and bring them back down to earth. It was a little bit of a battle throughout the season to keep him involved with us and locked in and say, 'It doesn't matter if you're unhappy with this or unhappy with that, but we have a chance to do something really special here, and that was to win the Triple Crown.' That was what we were talking about all year," Walkup revealed.

"At one point, I told him, 'Hey, if you want to leave after the season, okay. If you want to stay, okay, that's completely up to you; that's your own decision. But we have a chance to do something special here, so stay in the moment now, and let's do and achieve the maximum that we can. If that's to go to the Final Four and lose, okay.'"

"I thought this year was ours to win and that we could have won it. That's not what happened, so I can't sit here and say, woulda, coulda, shoulda. But I wanted to live in the moment and try to win a Triple Crown," he added.

"That's the sort of conversation that we had throughout the year. It wasn't like, 'We need you to stay, we want you to stay.' That's his decision to make for his family and himself. That's not for me to say, 'Dude, you need to stay here!' But I did make it known that I enjoyed playing with you, and you're important to this team. He chose otherwise, and that's his choice," Walkup concluded.

The 30-year-old American-Greek guard also revealed the central figure in the Olympiacos locker room whom everyone looks up to for guidance during challenging times.

"Before I say that name, I think it's important to point out the culture in the locker room that we build at Olympiacos and that coach Bartzokas has built. When I first signed in, the first conversation I had with him, it was about how he wants good characters in the locker room, and he has really done that. So we have a good group of followers as well. A good group that's willing to follow. Nobody wants to stray away. But for sure, without a doubt, the one guy that everybody's waiting to hear from is Pap - Kostas Papanikolaou," Walkup said.

"He is not only vocal, but he also leads by example. You can obviously see throughout his entire career how he does whatever is needed for the team. This year, it was Game 2 [of the Greek league finals], and Sasha [Vezenkov] was out. Sloukas was out. I got ejected. And Pap became the scorer of the team. He stepped right into the shoes, and he did it. He became the playmaker who ran every pick and roll. He's never going to put himself over the team, and I think that's one thing that I respect about him. Especially when you take a step back and realize this guy is a legend," Walkup spoke on the URBONUS podcast.

"I can walk around sometimes, and I can get recognized. Some people take pictures, whatever. But when I walk around with Pap, everybody wants a picture of Pap. Everybody wants to talk to Pap. Everybody wants to touch Pap. Everybody wants to sign something," Walkup smiled.

"For him to act with such humility within the locker room but also with a very clear head on his shoulders makes him somebody that I'm really happy to follow," Walkup admitted.

Watch the entire URBONUS episode where Walkup and McCollum delve into various topics, including the type of reinforcement Olympiacos might need now and their insights on how the team could fill the void left by Sasha Vezenkov.

They also discuss the ongoing saga surrounding Nikola Mirotic, Kemba Walker's arrival, and the different perspectives on players' naturalization:

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