Mike James gives his version of his frustrated signing: “He was a Barça player”

The signing of the veteran point guard Michael James (36 years and 1.85 meters) by Anadolu Efes of Istanbul was one of the most surprising transfers of this summer market of the Euroleague.

And it was because for a certain time it was rumored that James, the Euroleague’s all-time leading scorer, I would sign for Barça, but the agreement, after the departure of its main supporter, Xavi Pascual, of the Barça team, finally it did not materialize and he ended up in the historic Turkish team.

James himself revealed, in an interview with Eurohoops Türkiyehis version of his frustrated signing for the Barça team.

“To be honest, He was basically a Barcelona player. “After the deal fell through, I don’t know the exact details, but as soon as it changed, I went out on the market and tried to listen to as many teams as I could about what they thought of me and how they would see me on their rosters, and from there, I made the best decision.”

James explained that Negotiations with Efes took some time and they were not immediate. “I think they (Anadolu Efes) were still trying to decide what they were going to do with Shane (Larkin). If he would stay, if he would leave, where he would go,… I think all that was still under discussion.”

Finally, Larkin ended up leaving for Fenerbahçeeternal rival of Efes, and James, after his frustrated signing for Barça, ended up accepting the multimillion-dollar offer from Anadolu, which has turned him, once again, into one of the highest-paid players in the entire Euroleague, with a salary that will be around 3M euros per season, a much higher figure than what he would have earned at the Palau Blaugrana.