Mr.Bottomtooth
09-17-2006, 10:29 AM
Nikoloz Tskitishvili to help Georgian team before signing contract with Seattle-Super-Sonics
The Georgian basketball team is set to start its European championship qualification round on September 3 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Coach Gordon Herbert’s team will host Luxemburg. The Canadian coach named his squad a month ago and held several friendly matches. Compared to last year’s qualification round, this year the Georgian team has no injured players. Only Nikoloz Tskitishvili had not taken part in recent matches. It took Nikoloz Tskitishvili, a full member of the main squad, quite long to form a club contract. Due to this, the issue of his playing in the European championship match was under question, however, now everything is settled and “Nika” is in Tbilisi preparing together with the rest of the team.
GT: You spent a lot of time in finding a new team. Which team did you finally sign contract with?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: Yes, it took me a lot of time indeed. My term with the Phoenix Suns expired, so I was left without a contract. I started searching for a new team. I had several proposals and I was thinking of choosing the best one. Now everything is cleared and finally I chose the Seattle Super-Sonics. So, I found my future team and headed directly to Georgia.
GT: Have you already officially signed a contract with Seattle?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: No, officially not yet, but the agreement is made and nothing will change. I will go to Seattle after the Georgian team matches and will sign the contract then.
GT: What will be the term of the contract?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: This will also be decided after returning to America. Presumably, one-year contract, maybe one year plus.
GT: If it is not a secret, what is the financial side of the contract?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: To tell you the truth, I did not pay that much attention to that side while looking for a new team. I will have almost the same salary that I had before.
GT: Which other teams were proposing to you?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: New Orleans, San Antonio and Miami. There were several other variants, but the best of them was the Seattle Super-Sonics.
GT: Another Georgian, Vladimir Stepania, used to play in Seattle. Did you seek his advice before making your decision?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: No, I did not ask him. But I know how they love Stepania in Seattle and how successful his career was. This was one of the motivating reasons for me to agree to a move to that team.
GT: Have you not thought of moving to a European team?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: The most important for me is guaranteed playing time, and in case of moving to a European team I wouldn’t have problems with that. But they also promised me in Seattle that I will have no problems in that respect.
GT: With the Seattle Super-Sonics, you will play together with Ray Allen...
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: Ray Allen is one of the best NBA players and playing together with him must be great pleasure. And generally, having a star in the team is an additional stimulus for other team members.
GT: Let’s talk about the Georgian team now. Last year the team could not manage to move up from B to A division. Do you have better chances now?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: In my opinion, we now have a better team. The only drawback is the absence of Shemond Williams. He left the national team and was replaced by American Tyron Ellis. Besides Ellis, we have Vakhtang Natsvlishvili, Manuchar Markoishvili and Victor Sanikidze. These basketball players are of great influence to the Georgian team, and they were not with us last year because of injuries. In this round, we just need one more victory to reach Division A. This year we must achieve our goal, by all means!
The Georgian basketball team is set to start its European championship qualification round on September 3 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Coach Gordon Herbert’s team will host Luxemburg. The Canadian coach named his squad a month ago and held several friendly matches. Compared to last year’s qualification round, this year the Georgian team has no injured players. Only Nikoloz Tskitishvili had not taken part in recent matches. It took Nikoloz Tskitishvili, a full member of the main squad, quite long to form a club contract. Due to this, the issue of his playing in the European championship match was under question, however, now everything is settled and “Nika” is in Tbilisi preparing together with the rest of the team.
GT: You spent a lot of time in finding a new team. Which team did you finally sign contract with?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: Yes, it took me a lot of time indeed. My term with the Phoenix Suns expired, so I was left without a contract. I started searching for a new team. I had several proposals and I was thinking of choosing the best one. Now everything is cleared and finally I chose the Seattle Super-Sonics. So, I found my future team and headed directly to Georgia.
GT: Have you already officially signed a contract with Seattle?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: No, officially not yet, but the agreement is made and nothing will change. I will go to Seattle after the Georgian team matches and will sign the contract then.
GT: What will be the term of the contract?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: This will also be decided after returning to America. Presumably, one-year contract, maybe one year plus.
GT: If it is not a secret, what is the financial side of the contract?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: To tell you the truth, I did not pay that much attention to that side while looking for a new team. I will have almost the same salary that I had before.
GT: Which other teams were proposing to you?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: New Orleans, San Antonio and Miami. There were several other variants, but the best of them was the Seattle Super-Sonics.
GT: Another Georgian, Vladimir Stepania, used to play in Seattle. Did you seek his advice before making your decision?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: No, I did not ask him. But I know how they love Stepania in Seattle and how successful his career was. This was one of the motivating reasons for me to agree to a move to that team.
GT: Have you not thought of moving to a European team?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: The most important for me is guaranteed playing time, and in case of moving to a European team I wouldn’t have problems with that. But they also promised me in Seattle that I will have no problems in that respect.
GT: With the Seattle Super-Sonics, you will play together with Ray Allen...
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: Ray Allen is one of the best NBA players and playing together with him must be great pleasure. And generally, having a star in the team is an additional stimulus for other team members.
GT: Let’s talk about the Georgian team now. Last year the team could not manage to move up from B to A division. Do you have better chances now?
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: In my opinion, we now have a better team. The only drawback is the absence of Shemond Williams. He left the national team and was replaced by American Tyron Ellis. Besides Ellis, we have Vakhtang Natsvlishvili, Manuchar Markoishvili and Victor Sanikidze. These basketball players are of great influence to the Georgian team, and they were not with us last year because of injuries. In this round, we just need one more victory to reach Division A. This year we must achieve our goal, by all means!