Photo: Peter Baba

Dubai Basketball general manager Dejan Kamenjasevic believes Panathinaikos’ attempt to lure Nikola Jokic to Europe should be viewed positively, saying a move of that magnitude would benefit EuroLeague.

Speaking to Mozzart Sport, Kamenjasevic discussed Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos’ ambitious approach and made clear he would welcome Jokic eventually joining the Greek powerhouse.

“What Panathinaikos have done is legitimate to me. God willing, let them sign Jokic next year. God willing. That would be good for the EuroLeague,” Kamenjasevic said.

“That is how I look at it. I don’t look at it like, ‘What are they doing now? What is this?’ Great. Great if they do it.”

Kamenjasevic also addressed the perception that Dubai relies heavily on its financial strength.

“But don’t constantly mention Dubai in a negative context because of money, when money is absolutely not the most important thing,” he added.

He questioned whether Dubai would receive the same reaction if it publicly announced an attempt to sign Jokic.

“When a club owner comes out and publicly says that he made Jokic an offer, that’s fine. We all applaud and say, ‘What a great guy, what a great person,'” Kamenjasevic said.

“Imagine if Dubai had done that. Imagine if I came out and said, ‘We made Jokic an offer.’ How would you look at us? What would happen?”

When the interviewer suggested people would assume Dubai offered Jokic $200 million, Kamenjasevic agreed.

“Exactly. That’s it,” he responded.