EA7 Milano’s Alessandro Gentile has dropped a strong hint that he might leave the Italian champions in the summer for the NBA.
Gentile was selected late in the second round of a stacked 2014 NBA Draft, led by Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker with the Italian international opting to stay in Italy to gain more experience with EA7 Milano and look to guide them to a possible Euroleague Final Four birth in Madrid.
Unfortunately though that goal has not panned out exactly how Gentile wanted. Milano are on the verge of elimination from the Top 16 with a 2-7 record in Group F plus they were edged by Dinamo Sassari in the Italian Cup.
The 22-year-old, who is averaging 12.2 points a game has been one of the leaders of a new Milano unit this year and is aware that the Houston Rockets, the team that landed Gentile via the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 53rd pick are watching his progress closely.
“The Rockets make me feel like one of their family even if I never went to Houston yet,” he said in an interview with La Gazzeta dello Sport.
“They came to Europe very often to watch me and the contacts are frequent. The NBA is a challenge that fascinates me more and more and [I] could come soon. But now I am just focused on winning a back-to-back title with Olimpia Milano. But the final results of this season won’t affect my future decisions.”
Despite their Euroleague status, Milano sit comfortably on top of the Italian league, ahead of second placed Reyer Venezia, and are favourites to lift the domestic crown for a second straight year.
