I think it's time for me to move away from basketball. It was a huge part of my life and gave me pretty much everything I desired but there comes a time when you just can't take it anymore.
I always felt like I needed to play basketball.
Now if you ask me about coming from Europe, I would suggest to any young player interested in the NBA to not spend two or three years in Europe searching for money. Just give it a shot. You can always go back.
Like everybody coming from Europe, I didn't believe it at first, but you really need time to adjust. I thought it was going to be like going from Croatia to Italy. But you really need the time just to understand things here.
Sometimes I haven't been happy, but it was never a problem with somebody around me. And winning, that helps a lot.
I'm excited to try the NBA. But, for sure, I need time on the court to get used to this style.
I feel as long as I'm playing productive minutes, I'll play. But if I'm sitting on the bench and not doing anything, then I'll retire.
It's very tough to build a championship team. It takes time and good players, and you have to get lucky as well.
I have an easy way to explain the war. It's a Croatian defending his country and a Serb attacking a Croatian country. With anyone who has a problem with understanding what's going on, that is the easiest way to understand it.
I'm not a political man. I'm a basketball player. So that's what I have to do first. But second, I will try to help my country because I am a Croatian.
Everything about me is Croatian.
I mean, if you're going to get traded, you're always looking for a good team to play with.
Michael will always, to me, be the best player ever. He changed the game. He made it global. Every player today should tip their hat to him.
I understood I would have to earn respect. I was coming to the best team in the world. You have to put aside all your accolades and pride. It doesn't matter if you were good in Europe. I was OK with that.
At least I can say no player got as much attention from the Dream Team as I did.
I love Scottie. The guy that helped me the most those first two years was Scottie. He is so easy to play with.
Everyone has an ego. Even someone that doesn't play one minute has an ego.
If people say my numbers aren't enough for the Hall of Fame, I'm fine with that.
Obviously, when you come onto a team that's playing in the Finals and the standards are so high that nothing but winning a championship is success, coming in new to that kind of environment, of course you're going to put pressure on yourself.
My family, I can say, is pretty Americanized. My son has lived pretty much all his life in Chicago, my daughter was born in Chicago, we all like Chicago.
