Nikola Vucevic on international play: ‘If they played by NBA rules, the US would be even stronger’

Nikola Vucevic: “Since Lonzo Ball’s damage, we haven’t been in a position to obtain the outcomes we may have. It disrupted us so much. When he performed, we had been on the high of the East for some time, which perhaps wasn’t a sensible outcome, despite the fact that we had been enjoying effectively, however with him, we might have fought for something between third and sixth place in the long run. The remainder of us focus extra on scoring: LaVine, DeRozan, and me. He introduced us all collectively, sped up the sport, meant so much on protection, guarding one of the best gamers with Caruso… Though his numbers won’t have been spectacular, he meant so much to us. We tried with younger gamers, after which we had quite a few accidents. Commerce talks additionally affected us, stopping us from attaining the outcomes we thought we may, however when outcomes don’t observe, modifications come… DeRozan left, Caruso left, the team got younger, and they wanted to go in a different direction. We’ll see how the season goes, and then decisions will be made based on that.” -via EuroHoops.net / August 25, 2024