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Poirier understands the point of the G League but he still compares it with the French second division: “Of course, I don’t know which is more valuable for the NBA, the G-League or the EuroLeague. But I think the GLeague is probably the same level as the French second division or something like that. No disrespect, but that’s the way it is, I played there too. I know players who went to Europe and were much better when they were playing in the G-League. It’s got a little bit of everything there.”
Serge Ibaka back to Real Madrid?
Real Madrid and Serge Ibaka have already outlined an agreement for the center to join the club, as confirmed by various sources to our website this Saturday. With only the final details remaining, the Spanish-Congolese player will sign for one season and will replace Poirier, who is moving to Efes. Following the signings of Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Andrés Feliz, which our website reported in recent days, we can now announce the Ibaka deal.
Vincent Poirier criticizes Doc Rivers
In a French interview with Le Parisien translated by Eurohoops, Poirier said the following: “I wish someone had told me, ‘We were wrong,' ‘You can’t play with us.' I like it when things are straight. The coach didn’t even send me a message, although I know he sent others. I’m not asking him to give me compliments but just a message to wish me good luck. We are not commodities, we are still human beings. It’s a minimum of sending a message, to say that the situation was complicated, but thank you for your professionalism. A bogus thing, even if he doesn’t really mean it.”
“If I have to return to Europe I will return. I just want to play,” Poirier said in an interview with Le Parisien. “But right now I’m in Philadelphia. I’ve found a gym to train and I have a coach who was sent to me by my agent. It’s not 5 on 5, but it is what it is.”
Poirier felt disappointed due what he considers to be a lack of opportunity to prove himself, in both Boston and Philadelphia. “It’s frustrating because I never really had my chance to show what I could bring. But we know that the NBA is a world apart. I played in two franchises (Boston and Philadelphia) where the team was well established. It’s hard in these cases to pretend anything. You have to be in the right place at the right time, sometimes it comes down to nothing. We are a little helpless in these situations. But it’s still a good experience. The NBA was a goal but I don’t want to stay there to say I’m there. I want to have my place and playing time, if I don’t, if the NBA doesn’t want me anymore, I won’t stay.”
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“I wish someone had told me, ‘We were wrong’, ‘You can’t play with us’. I like it when things are straight,” Poirier also mentioned on the Sixers trading him. “The coach didn’t even send me a message although I know he sent others. I’m not asking him to give me compliments but just a message to wish me good luck. We are not commodities, we are still human beings. It’s a minimum of sending a message, to say that the situation was complicated, but thank you for your professionalism. A bogus thing, even if he doesn’t really mean it.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Poirier retweeted an interview with French sports outlet We Sport in which he was quoted saying he spoke to Brad Stevens after the season. Poirier said he told Stevens that he didn’t want to spend another year at the end of the Celtics' bench. “In my head, it’s obvious that I’m not doing one more season at the end of the bench to applaud," Poirier told We Sport, via a Google translation.
But Poirier -- who has one more year on his contract with the Celtics -- told MassLive that quote was taken out of context. He did indeed speak to Brad Stevens after the season, and he addressed his role with the team, but he was not upset about his minutes. “I just told him I accepted the role I had this year, because obviously that’s what I deserved, because I didn’t show anything,” Poirier said. "But I think I worked, I think I understand the game, so I used this season to grow and to progress. I’m just saying that was cool, but as a competitor, as a man, as a basketball player, I want more. I’m not here just to be with the guys. “So that’s why I said that. I said, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to do two seasons like that,' not because I think I don’t deserve it, just because I want more. Every basketball player in the world will tell you the same thing. It’s nothing personal against Brad, it’s nothing personal against the Celtics, it’s just like when you play in the NBA, you want more than to just be on the team.”
Sean Deveney: Enes Kanter almost always comes up in trade rumors regarding the Celtics. It would be delicate trading him, he's been really looked-up-to by the team's young bigs (both Williamses, Tacko, Poirier). But almost impossible for Celtics to do much at the deadline w/out Kanter leaving.
Chris Grenham: Windhorst discussed Capela to Boston on the Lowe Post: "You'd be talking about Daniel Theis being in the deal, probably. Poirier being in the deal, Romeo Langford maybe being in the deal and one of their first round picks."
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The Celtics carried an open roster spot last year and tried to sign Poirier late in the regular season. But Poirier said the timing was not right for him. He knew the Celtics had interest, though, so he began to watch their games and scan their highlights to become more familiar with their style. “The way they play basketball, they’re one of the team that plays like European teams,” Poirier said. “They play a lot of pick-and-roll. Their coach is really smart. So it’s kind of like playing overseas. And they play to win. That’s what I want. I want to win. So it makes a good, good fit.”
Foye’s future was in his hands this summer. He was in talks with other teams during free agency, but chose to come to Brooklyn, with familiarity playing a big role. “Brooklyn made the most sense,” Foye said. “I could have gone to other places, but talking to Sean and talking to Kenny and talking to Chris [Fleming] – who coached me – talking to Sebastian [Poirier], talking to all of these different people, it made sense. You go somewhere else, you don’t know anybody, but if you go here you know three or four people. It just made more sense.”
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