Washington Wizards draftee Jan Vesely looks to Europe as NBA lockout lingers on
Jan Vesely is back in the Czech Republic after getting fed up with the NBA lockout.
The player had been in the United States but returned last week after losing hope of an NBA season being salvaged. He will now most likely continue to play for Partizan, the club he represented last season.
Vesely came to the United States with high hopes and was a coveted draft prospect in the summer. The 6-foot-11 forward was drafted 6th overall by the Washington Wizards and he looked set to take on the might of the NBA
this season appearing alongside the likes of livewire point guard John Wall.
The NBA lockout though has put a spanner in the works for Vesely, who declared last season that he was bored of sitting around and waiting for the lockout to end.
“I stayed in Partizan last year. The reason was to play to get ready for the NBA and go this year, but now I work out and wait for lockout,” Vesely said in a recent telephone interview. “I’m disappointed about lockout.”
And things are only getting worse on that front. The NBA Commissioner David Stern has already called off a month and a half worth of regular season games. Players have moved court against the owners and now the dispute will mostly
cost us the entire 2011-2012 NBA season.
Vesely was in Los Angeles working out with trainer Rob McClanaghan last month while he also spent time with other NBA players. “I focus on my shot, my dribbling, getting in shape, running and the weight room,” Vesely said last
month.
Vesely admitted that he has had a ball since arriving in America. The Wizards draftee has been having fun in Los Angeles and enjoying himself, but his primary motivation to come was always playing basketball.
“I’ve been chilling, working out, and I’m getting bored with not playing,” he said last week. “I like to play games.”
For that purpose, he would now be reaching out to Partizan. He arranged a buyout with the club at the end of last season, when he was heading for the NBA draft and didn’t know the labour dispute would cause as much of a mess as
it has.
However, because of the lockout, he hasn’t yet signed any papers for the Washington Wizards. This means his contract with the European club is still intact, and Jan can go back for another year while the NBA labour dispute is being
sorted out.
Vesely is one among many top NBA picks that have come out of Europe this season who are likely to only see any action next season.
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