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Victor Claver contemplates retirement: 'I'm more interested in things off the court'
The rest of Spain’s roster: Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Alberto Abalde, Alex Abrines, Victor Claver, Rudy Fernandez, Usman Garuba, Willy Hernangómez, Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez.
Despite a slow start and a bad shooting night, Spain managed to get a 73-65 win over Iran in Group C of FIBA World Cup. Spain won all three of its games so far and stayed at the top of the group while Iran lost all three and finished last. Puerto Rico (2-1) got the better of Tunisia (1-2) earlier today and advanced further. Marc Gasol led the winning side with 16 points while Victor Claver and Juancho Hernangomez added 11 each. The latter also grabbed ten rebounds for a double-double.
Spain have announced a star-laden squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, one that has plenty of NBA players and also several standouts from their European Qualifiers campaign. Recently crowned NBA champion Marc Gasol of the Toronto Raptors, along with Ricky Rubio (Phoenix Suns) and the Hernangomez brothers, Willy (Charlotte Hornets) and Juancho (Denver Nuggets), are on the 16-man list. A couple of other former NBA players, Rudy Fernandez and Victor Claver, are included as well.
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“We got the bronze, but they deserve it, too, because they had a great tournament,” said Spain’s Victor Claver. And Australia certainly did, in fact it was their best Olympic finish in 14 appearances, and it was a shame that they missed out by a fraction. “Just heartbroken, it’s tough,” Australia’s David Andersen said, not mincing his words.
Barcelona Lassa announced the signing of Victor Claver. The Spanish forward penned a deal till June 2019. Claver returns to Spain after his seasons in the NBA and in Russia with Khimki and Lokomotiv Kuban.
Victor Claver is expected to be a member of Barcelona next year with Valencia getting 2 million euros as a buy out in order to let his sign with the Catalans. According to sources from Greece, Panathinaikos was expecting the last few days a signed contract by the Spanish forward, but today they found out that the player has a deal with Barcelona.
David 'Dubi' Pick: Madrid's deal with Victor Claver, his agent said, is dead. Valencia submitted a €3 million demand for his ACB rights.
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Victor Claver confirmed the interest of Real Madrid by speaking to the Spanish radio station “Cadena Ser” but denied that there’s a deal yet, even if it’s rumored that there’s a three year contract waiting him. As the Spanish forward said: “Real Madrid is interested on me , but for now, nothing is done. I am waiting. My priority is to be part of a Euroleague team. I have received calls from Euroleague teams, the options that I have are very good but I am waiting. I would like to be clear about my future as soon as possible but does not depend only on me. I have to wait”.
David 'Dubi' Pick: Source: Victor Claver signing three-season deal with Real Madrid once Valencia forfeit his ACB rights.
You talked about your return from the NBA. While you were there, you were mainly frustrated with your inactivity and lack of playing time. Do you feel you got the chances you deserved in Portland? Victor Claver: In the NBA it is hard to find a spot in the rotation. Especially when you are not a top draft pick. My rookie year was relatively good and I was playing. Not in every every game, but I was receiving some fair time on court. Then my injury came that put me out of the team for quite some time. Everything was different in the second season. The team simply changed a lot. There was fewer room for me in the rotation. The chances to play were decreased. When I realized my situation I just wanted to take advantage of being there. It was the only thing I could do. To work every day with the assistant coaches, trainers, the strength coaches etc.
Do you think that things would have been different in an other team? Maybe… yes. Perhaps in another team I would have gotten more chances to play. But that’s the NBA. It’s a challenge you have to take. In my second season in Portland the team had high expectations. The roster was big and everyone was available in each and every game. The opportunity to play never arose. A player’s job is to be on court. To play. How do you get over the frustration of not being able to do that? It’s not easy. But I never let it consume me. I never lingered on the fact that I wasn’t playing. What I did, was trying to channel my energies to other basketball related things and focus on getting the most just from being there. I preferred to work and enjoy the whole experience as best I could. I spent all my time trying to improve. If you leave out the fact that I was not playing, everything else was great. My assistant coaches helped me every day, and everyone in the team supported me and talked to me. Everything I needed was there.
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