Many players would jump at the chance to join the Lakers training camp by invitation, but not Cedi Osman.
The Lakers have garnered somewhat of a reputation over the summer, and not necessarily a good one, after missing out on players like Klay Thompson, Dejounte Murray and DeMar DeRozan.
After discussing a potential contract with the Lakers as well as Real Madrid, Osman reportedly agreed to sign with Panathinaikos instead, Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops says.
According to Eurohoops sources, the Turkish international was in advanced talks with Real Madrid but he ultimately didn’t find an agreement with the Spanish powerhouse,” Miloradovic said. “He also received interest from the Los Angeles Lakers, which invited him for a training camp; however, due to the lack of guarantees about making it to the season roster, he decided to refuse and come back to Europe.”
The forward said it wasn’t a difficult decision to sign with the Greek powerhouse after spending the last six seasons with the Cavs as a role player.
“It was a long process, but, obviously, it was an easy choice for me,” Osman said via Eurohoops. “I have known Panathinaikos for a lot of years. I played against them as a kid. And Ergin [Ataman] was my coach since I was a kid. There were links with other teams, but it was not a really hard choice for me.”
Over the past three seasons, Osman sunk more than 57 percent of his twos and 37 percent of his threes.
Only seven other players in the league (Duncan Robinson, Corey Kispert, Trey Murphy, Sam Hauser, Al Horford, Michael Porter Jr. and Kevin Durant) are in this category, while taking as many threes as Osman (330).
His shooting prowess alongside LeBron, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves certainly would have been welcomed, but Osman wasn’t willing to take the chance.
It will be Osman’s first time playing in Europe since 2017 after starting his career in 2011 with Anadolu Efes.
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