"I wanted to stay in Belgrade, but they vanished during negotiations..." Calathes reopens old wounds for Partizan: "The coach, Jedi, and I will be rooting for Partizan"
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Partizan suffered a narrow defeat after Marcus Foster sank a three-pointer in the final second, sealing a 99-100 victory for the opposition.
In this particular matchup, Calathes didn't have his best performance, finishing with six points, four assists, and a concerning five turnovers, leading coach Andrea Trinchieri to label him as the game's tragic figure.
After reflecting on the game, the EuroLeague's all-time assists leader openly addressed rumors that he had wanted to stay with Partizan at the end of the summer.
"I wanted to stay, 100 percent, but they weren't interested during the negotiation period. I think they kind of disappeared then... But there are no hard feelings. For me, it's a great thing and a blessing that I had the opportunity to play for Partizan, and I'm very excited to play for PAOK. Partizan will always be in my heart. Those guys were great. The fans were incredible since I've been there, and I can't thank them enough." - Nick Calathes
His positive experience working with coach Joan Peñarroya further supports this sentiment.
"Coach Peñarroya was incredible with me. When he arrived, he was the first person in the gym and on the court. He really wanted to do something special when he took the job. That's why it's a shame we didn't win the ABA League last year, but I see good things in the future, and of course, I wish them all the best."
Calathes isn't the only member of the PAOK team with a Partizan connection; his current coach, Andrea Trinchieri, previously led the Belgrade black-and-whites from the bench.
"I know the coach loves Partizan. Jedi, Luka, our strength and conditioning coach, was also at Partizan. So we will always root for them and hope they are successful."
PAOK has assembled a formidable squad, positioning them as one of the favorites in the EuroCup.
"When you build a roster like this, you naturally have the pressure to win a championship. But we'll take it step by step. We haven't played much together yet. Jedi and I arrived later because we were with the national team. We have many players who can play different positions, many players who can do different things, and I like the way we look. We have a very deep roster and great potential to be good, but that's still a long way off. Daily progress and improvement will show where we'll be in the end."
VIDEO: Lessort and Obradović chat with Partizan staff
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