Ergin Ataman makes ambitious NBA statement

Ergin Ataman, head coach of the Turkish National Basketball Team and Greece's Panathinaikos, said that while he does not have a dream of going to the NBA, he could evaluate offers from teams there that want to be successful.

In his statement to an AA reporter, the experienced head coach recalled that they achieved significant successes, such as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and Greek League championships, with Greece's Panathinaikos, which he took charge of at the beginning of last season.

Emphasizing that they are also ambitious for the new season, Ataman said, "We kept the entire team roster. We only made one player change. We brought in Lorenzo Brown from Maccabi to replace Luca Vildoza. He was a player I really wanted. Even before the season ended, the president said, 'We need to make your contract much longer. We need to win more championships together.' We immediately extended the contract for 3 years."

Explaining that he wants to experience new successes with Panathinaikos, the experienced head coach said, "The goal is to push for and win these championships again within these three years. If I had said at the beginning of last year, 'My goal is the EuroLeague championship,' everyone would have laughed. Now we are one of the biggest favorites of the EuroLeague. We will try to continue this. Of course, our job is not easy. In every match we play, we will have an opponent who wants to beat the champion team," he said.

ÖMER FARUK IS ON OUR RADAR

Ergin Ataman stated that they have the budget to add a big man, saying, "We cannot add just any ordinary player there. I am a bit worried that the player we add might disrupt the team's balance. Because we have found a system there. I am thinking of not making this transfer at the beginning of the season. Sarp Ataman has a very good name in mind. We have been thinking about this player for two days. Ömer Faruk Yurtseven has left the NBA and is talking to European teams. He was also offered to us. Ömer is a very good player whom I like. I think he will do very well in Europe."

Stating that Ömer Faruk Yurtseven is a player who wants to play constantly, Ataman noted the following:

"We have Mathias Lessort, the most important big man in Europe. Signing such an important player as Ömer Faruk and entering that transfer would give us great power on paper. However, we have concerns about how it would reflect on the court. We are thinking about it, honestly, he is on our radar. Ömer Faruk is a very important player. If we can participate in the European Championship next year, he will also be one of the most important players of our national team. That is why I really want him to play in Europe. Furkan Korkmaz has finally come to Europe. It is a very good choice for him. This will also reflect positively on our national team. I hope this happens with Ömer Faruk as well."

THERE IS TREMENDOUS INTEREST IN GREECE

The experienced head coach emphasized that they have seen great interest in Greece since the first day, stating, "Today, many people in Turkey say, 'We have become Panathinaikos fans.' There is tremendous interest in Greece towards a Turkish coach. The Greek Prime Minister called and said, 'I see that this is not only because of Panathinaikos's EuroLeague championship, but that the environment you have created here has a huge contribution to the integration of the two peoples, both at the public level and in a political sense, and I thank you.' Our President said the same sentences with even more when he came to Athens and when he called after the matches."

Touching on the decision to continue with Panathinaikos, Ataman continued his words as follows:

"I hope our sporting partnership will also reflect on Turkish-Greek relations. From time to time, there are hardenings and tensions. I truly see that a very important stage has been reached between the peoples of the two countries and that there is a very beautiful friendship. I see the dialogue between our President and Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis as positive. I think this partnership will also make a great contribution to our entry into the European Union, which we have been kept out of for many years. Perhaps one of our biggest supporters there could be Greece. We are a country that deserves to be there with everything we have."

NBA STANCE

Upon a question about his career plan, Ergin Ataman stated that he signed a 3-year contract with Panathinaikos and is happy in Greece, saying, "I no longer have any dreams regarding the NBA. I am the coach who has achieved the most successful and best results in the EuroLeague in the last five years and has championships. I don't have a dream. If any NBA club has a dream of transferring a European coach and achieving what he has achieved in Europe there, they will come, and we will talk. I am not thinking of leaving Panathinaikos in any way. If there is an NBA club with such a dream, they will come, we will talk, and we will look at it for the future periods," he said.

News Source: AA