By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
German international Daniel Theis spoke openly about key moments in his career after returning to Europe from the NBA and signing with Monaco.
Speaking with Euro Insiders, he touched on the offer from Panathinaikos, his relationship with coach Vassilis Spanoulis, his NBA experience, and his thoughts on the NBA Europe league.
Theis confirmed he received an offer from Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos but had already been in talks with Vassilis Spanoulis before that.
“Yes, I received an offer from Panathinaikos. But I had spoken with Spanoulis before getting the offer from Panathinaikos. I’ve known the coach since a holiday in Greece 6–7 years ago. Nikos Zisis, with whom I was teammates, is his best friend. That’s how we met and talked,” said Theis.
He had an offer to join the New York Knicks before he decided to move to Monaco.
“Before coming to Europe, I had an offer from the Knicks. Mitchell Robinson was coming back from injury. I spoke with Thibodeau and he told me I would be insurance for them if Robinson couldn’t play. I thought, if I stay until the end of the season and don’t play, what chances will I have in the summer? So I said, ‘I’m going to Europe. If I play well, I’ll have better chances.’ Maybe I wouldn’t have come to Europe if Spanoulis hadn’t called me. I didn’t just look at the money, but the school, the life, everything.”
Theis played for six different clubs in the NBA, starting with the Boston Celtics in 2017, and his last club being the New Orleans Pelicans, so he knows a thing or two about trades.
“Trades in the NBA are kind of like, ‘Thank you, but you have to go — we traded you to Chicago.’ Then you pass medicals, go back for two days to where you were to get your things and move. It’s tough. After some years, you see the business side of the league. Sometimes it’s not that your team doesn’t want you, but another team wants you more. Or sometimes you’re part of a trade because your contract fits better somewhere else. It’s like Panini stickers — you take two, I take one. When you have a family, it’s not easy.”
Theis also spoke about NBA Europe.
“I think it will take a few years before it happens, because everyone worried it would happen immediately. You can compare it to the football European Super League attempt. If EuroLeague and NBA find a way to combine both worlds — take whatever NBA ideas they have, maybe teams they want, whatever, and put the EuroLeague in it — I think that’s the way to do it.”