The wedding did not take place due to scheduling issues. The president of the Slovenian basketball federation, Matej Erjavec, confirmed today the contacts between the national team and Daniel GaffordLuka Doncic's teammate on the Mavs.
The idea was to extend the association between the two men in the continuity of the NBA finals until the Olympic qualifying tournament, by naturalizing the Texan pivot. The father of his teammate in Dallas, Sasa Doncic, also head of the federation, was also at the forefront of this potential recruitment.
” I can tell you that at the time, Gafford was absolutely the first choice of Sasa Doncic and coach Aleksandar Sekulic. After a game in Dallas, we had a meeting with the Dallas management, where we mainly talked about the coaching staff. Even they didn't know at the time that the Mavs were going to the Finals. “, reports the Slovenian official from the local newspaper Ekipa24.
After that first trade, Slovenia got Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney to sign as a part of the OQT coaching staff. Then came Daniel Gafford, whose energy instantly won over Luka Doncic's father.
An offseason already decided for the pivot
“ He immediately took my hand and said: 'Let's go. He's here, we have to ask him if he wants to play for Slovenia.' I tried to calm things down, saying that we would be there the next day. […] that there was no hurry, but Sasa was determined and he insisted “, continues Erjavec.
The Slovenian clan then asked the pivot if the idea of joining the national team might interest him. And although he was very surprised at first, he quickly reacted in a very positive way, saying that he was honored and flattered by the initiative and that he needed time to think. »
A few days later, he gave his answer by telephone: it will not be possible for this summer, the pivot having already put together an off-season plan to confirm his progress shown since his arrival in Texan during the season, from Washington.
The Slovenian federation, which has made a habit of naturalizing American interiors (Anthony Randolph at Euro 2017 or Mike Tobey at the 2020 Olympics), must then turn to another avenue. That of Josh Nebo, mentioned in April.
He will do very well at the TQO by finishing second best scorer and rebounder (16 points and 9 rebounds) of his team behind Luka Doncic. However, it was not enough to overcome the Greek obstacle and obtain the Olympic ticket to Paris.
Next opportunity to reunite the two Mavs teammates under the Slovenian jersey: next summer's Euro.
