“This decision has nothing to do with money. I want a role and responsibility in a stable club,” Sh. Larkin said on the “Off The RECourt” podcast.
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This summer, it was announced that the defender, who holds US and Turkish citizenships, paid 400 thousand US dollars himself to terminate a 4 million dollar contract with “Anadolu Efes”, and he will earn less at “Fenerbahçe”.
“At this stage (of my career), money doesn’t matter to me. I’ve already earned enough. That’s not what’s important to me,” Sh. Larkin continued.
“The only important thing for me is that Šaras is here. He is one of the best coaches in Europe. He has proven it everywhere he has worked. He reached the Final Four with Kaunas ‘Žalgiris’, with ‘Barcelona’, and now he is repeating this success with ‘Fenerbahçe’.”
He is an incredible basketball intellectual who knows how to turn his players into the best versions of themselves. I don’t know if he has worked with someone like me before, but I believe our connection will be very strong.”
Sh. Larkin, who won the EuroLeague twice with “Anadolu Efes”, also revealed that he had received offers from Š. Jasikevičius much earlier.
“We have been talking to him for more than 5 years. The first time was when we won our first EuroLeague, and I was a free agent. We discussed the possibility of me moving to his then-coached ‘Barcelona’ team.”
“That conversation then and now was very similar. We respect each other. He values me as a certain level of player and knows what I can do on the court. I also value him for his basketball knowledge and coaching skills,” Sh. Larkin shared about the behind-the-scenes of the negotiations.
“Šaras didn’t ask anything about my talent. He asked, am I ready? Although this time the situation was a bit different, because five years ago I was 28, and now (in October) I will be 34.”
Šaras didn’t ask about my abilities because he already knows what I can do. Quite recently, we played in the playoffs against “Fenerbahçe” and in one of the matches I scored 30 points and made 5 assists. He doesn’t need to ask if I can still do that.
His question was: “How ready am I to be a team leader? How much desire do I have to delve into small details, work every day, try hard in training, and dedicate myself to coaching?”
Am I ready to fight for the team’s success in non-top-level matches, such as, for example, a Turkish league away game on Sunday at 1 PM against “Büyükçekmece”?
I know that it can sometimes be difficult with Šaras. But it’s never personal. Everything is only for the good of the team.
I answered him: “If we become champions at the end of the season, I am ready for anything. That is the only thing I care about.”
The 180 cm tall player’s statistics in the last EuroLeague season were 15.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 15.1 performance index rating.
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However, due to injuries, he only played 12 games.
