Former CSKA basketball player Alexey Shved who currently plays in the Chinese championship, explained why he did not stay in Russia and also said that in the future he is ready to return to play in Europe.
The 35-year-old Swede left CSKA Moscow in the summer of 2023 and joined Shanxi, which plays in the Chinese Basketball Federation (CBA), at the end of October. In addition to CSKA, Khimki and Dynamo Moscow, Shved spent several years in NBA clubs in Minnesota, Philadelphia, Houston and New York.
“No one from Russia called me or offered me anything. Nothing. I heard the story that no one had enough money to offer me to stay, but in fact no one even contacted me, it wasn’t about money or a new contract.
Negotiations with Red Star? I spoke with the agent, we looked at all possible options – most were from Europe and China. We communicated intensively with Red Star. The conversation lasted about a month. Personally, I liked the team, I saw that it was of high quality, and there was also a coach, Dusko Ivanovich, whom I appreciate and whom I really like as a person.
I wanted to come. I was completely ready and I talked to people at the club about it. They told me I still had to wait. A whole month passed, I reminded them once again that I was ready to come and help them. But they told me there were problems. They pointed out that the biggest obstacle was the away games and my passport. For example, I couldn’t play in Lithuania. Apparently, that ultimately became the deciding factor. I love Serbia and Belgrade, I have a lot of friends in Belgrade, I also know that the fans respect me, but that’s life. We must move forward.
A possible return to Europe? I don’t follow what’s happening in European basketball right now due to the large number of games in China. We play almost every other day, but my dad watches everything and tells us what’s going on. And my agent also reports.
Of course, I’m ready to return to Europe when everything is over in China, but for now I’m just focusing on helping the team this season. We play a huge number of games – every other day. After the season, I will think about everything and make a decision,” Shved said, as quoted by Mozzart Sport.
Source : MatchTV
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