Invited by the Lakers for their “training camp”, Cedi Osman obviously thought it was better than that, and unsurprisingly, the Turkish winger followed Evan Fournier's path, and like the Frenchman, he decided to continue his career in Greece. A logical and easy choice according to him.
“The process was long, but it was an easy decision for me” explained Osman upon his arrival in Athens. “I have known Panathinaikos for many years. I played against them when I was a kid, and Ergin [Ataman] was my coach since I was a kid. There were contacts with other teams, but the choice was not very difficult for me.”
He promises “back-to-back”
Asked about this invitation to the Lakers camp, he confirmed that there was “a few NBA teams he was talking to”. “But in the end, I had to move forward. I'm joining a team that has won the Euroleague seven times, and which is coming off a Euroleague-championship double.”
At Panathinaikos, Osman will have as teammates Kostas Antetokounmpo, Lorenzo Brown, Jerian Grant, Marius Grigonis, Juancho Hernangomez, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Mathias Lessort, Konstantinos Mitoglou, Dimitris Moraitis, Kendrick Nunn, Ioannis Papapetrou, Kostas Sloukas and Omer Yurtseven! The squad is exceptional, but it is necessary to respond to the XXL recruitment of Olympiakos.
“That's why I came here” he answers. “We have a great team, and they did an incredible job last season. But this year, I think the championship will be even more difficult. A lot of teams have made big transfers. But we are obviously still the best, and we will go for the double.”
