He signed a three-year, $1 million deal with Fenerbahce, a team stacked with talented athletes who spent time in the league as well.
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“None could guarantee that”, said Datome. I also want to thank all the Euroleague teams which showed interest in signing me cause it has been an honor to have the possibility to choose among so many prestigious Clubs.
However, it’s unclear whether or not he had any National Basteball Association offers, and with his contract in Turkey supposedly being lucrative, he may have just taken the biggest deal offered.
Datome is also excited about playing for Fenerbahce coach Zeljko Obradovic, a Serbian who has won eight Euroleague titles, and is considered to be the Gregg Popovich of Europe.
He started once a year ago, and it happened to be the final game of the regular season, when Stevens decided to rest many of his starters.
Datome said he was grateful that Celtics gave him a chance.
“It was the most positive experience in my career”, he said.
His breakout game came in Boston’s season finale against Milwaukee, as he lead the Celtics to a 105-100 victory with 22 points in 27 minutes of action. Gigi proved Stevens right by hitting 47.2 percent of his shots from downtown. “And I love the fans in Boston and I am gonna be a huge fan now of the Celtics”.
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Hunter’s solid play in summer league, coupled with the team’s need to find out what the injured James Young can accomplish once he recovers from a bruised left hip, has likely made Datome’s return to the Celtics unnecessary.
