Slowly but surely, Ben Gordon has grown accustomed to his role with Great Britain as he aims to land a contract next season, and while the free agent still has hopes for a spot in the NBA, the EuroLeague is an option as well.
Following GB’s 95-72 win over a stubborn Luxembourg on Wednesday night, which improved Great Britain’s record in Eurobasket qualifying to 2-1, Gordon remained open to the idea of a move to the EuroLeague but insists that the NBA still remains the main priority.
“I’m open to any contract offers, obviously the NBA is my main goal but if the offer in the EuroLeague is good, it will be a great opportunity for me,” Gordon said to TalkBasket.
“End of the day though, I’m just going to look at my options and evaluate what’s best for me and if it falls in the NBA or the EuroLeague or elsewhere, then I’ll head there.”
The international basketball scene has opened Gordon’s eyes to altering his style of basketball, for which he is known for his scoring attributes. Despite failing to land a single field goal in their opening Eurobasket qualifier against Hungary, Gordon has contributed in other areas on the court dishing five assists and pulling down eight rebounds for the Brits in their 96-77 loss.
The 33-year-old London-born guard quickly warmed up his cold spell from the field a few days later against FYR of Macedonia by hitting a deep three with his first shot and ending with 17 points as he kept to the decent numbers in assists and rebounds, the latter of which he leads the team with 6.3 a game.
Since beginning training camp with the Brits up until now, Gordon admits that he has had to get accustomed to the style and pace of international basketball but that is what makes you a better player in the long run.
“It’s different, some of the officiating is very different to what I’m used to,” Gordon said.
“The physicality has surprised me but each game has been an experience and for a professional basketball player, you have to be able to adjust to whatever surrounding comes your way and deal with it.”
And adjusting to different styles of play is something that Gordon can bring to any team going forward. GB coach Joe Prunty, also an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks is adamant that the 2004 first round NBA Draft pick will land a contract for the upcoming season.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of secrets with Ben,” Prunty explained. “He’s a well proven professional basketball player and can provide a lot of things. He’s had games with significant points, he’s had games with significant rebounds, he’s had games with significant assists.”
Photo: Mansoor Ahmed
