“We met every day for Saben Lee”
Beşiktaş Basketball Chief Executive Officer Özkan Arseven broke his silence regarding the Saben Lee process, whose name was frequently mentioned with the black and white players during the transfer period, but went to Anadolu Efes. Stating that General Manager Nedim Yücel was in contact with the player’s manager every day, Arseven explained why the transfer did not happen with the following words:
“Saben Lee told us, ‘The priority is Anadolu Efes’. The reason is entirely EuroLeague. We explained Beşiktaş’s goals and met all their demands. He said, ‘If Efes does not exist, I will come,’ but he agreed with Efes.”
“We offered Sleva more, but he did not accept it”
Referring to last season’s successful player Dustin Sleva’s departure from the team, Arseven admitted that they made great efforts to keep the player. Arseven said, “I worked hard to keep Sleva. We met with his manager, we offered him whatever material and moral conditions he had and more. However, he had already agreed with Zalgiris and stated that he wanted to play in the EuroLeague,” and pointed out the decisiveness of the EuroLeague factor in transfers.
“Mathews is NBA Quality, Dusan is the Son of the Community”
Manager Arseven made complimentary statements about star Jonah Mathews and Coach Dusan Alimpijevic, who remained in the team:
“Mathews received many offers from EuroLeague teams. He has the talent and capacity to play in the NBA. However, he signed for 2 seasons without breaking our promise. Dusan also had a big impact on this.”
“We are very happy that Dusan embraces the Beşiktaş fans so much. This makes us proud. Dusan Alimpijevic is the son of the Beşiktaş community.”
