Much has been written this summer about the fate of Mike James. After numerous speculations, the great American stayed in Monaco, which he himself confirmed today.
The former NBA ace was a guest on the Basketnews podcast with Donatas Urbonas, where he explained what happened this summer.
“There were some doubts about my future this summer. I came here to clear it up. “I don’t know if I’m really a supporting pillar of the Monaco project as they said or just a part of the project, but I was told that I will stay and spend the next season in Monaco,” said James.
When asked if his wish was to stay or if only the club informed him so, the experienced playmaker answers:
“I don’t really know the correct answer. I was only told that I am staying with the team this year and that I am not allowed to consider other options. Whatever the correct verb is, it is important that I stay”.
As he was a bit vague, an additional explanation followed.
“I had some unanswered questions. Actually, I haven’t even to this day. So I considered the options. The questions were about my future in the team. If I didn’t see that future last season, there really wouldn’t be any point in staying in the team for this season as well.”
As the 33-year-old American has a contract with Monaco only for the next season, he does not exclude the possibility of looking for another midfielder next summer.
“I think I am in this team this season. Next summer I will be a free agent and then we will see what happens”.
It has been mentioned that Panathinaikos could bring in James who has admitted that there have been some talks.
“I don’t know how aggressively they went after me, but I had several good conversations with President Yanakopoulos. I think he asked me about my status then. I told him I’m staying in Monaco this season. When he realized that I wasn’t going anywhere, all the stories stopped,” James concluded.
