Dino Radja joined the Basketball Without Borders camp in Belgrade and was critical of the players that just play for money.
Here is what the Croatian legend, who was inducted into the 2018 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame class a few months ago, said, per Basketball Sphere:
On players signing with other clubs just to earn more money: “It’s a bad influence for the players whose head isn’t straight. Once you start playing for the money, you failed as a player. You may have made a profit but you’ll gamble that away too, since you don’t appreciate the way you got there.
The one who is pushed forward by success, he’s got the chance to earn cash. Money is like dust on a highway. A car passes by and lifts it. You can’t recollect it afterwards.”
On whether there are any former Yugoslavia basketball teams that can be successful: “There aren’t any [clubs]. It’s all about the damn money. The one who’s got it [money], takes everything and pays no attention to anything else. All those clubs that don’t have a private owner are struggling. No money. Politics run the club.”
On the differences between the EuroLeague and the NBA: “The gap has decreased. There are a lot of players in the NBA from Europe and they have an important role. Some top EuroLeague teams could comfortably play in the NBA and not be a ‘kicking bucket’.”
