"There was plenty of interest from several other EuroLeague teams and Partizan was one of the teams that was the most interested, but I don't think they ever made an official offer," Moneke said.
AS Monaco forward Chima Moneke returned to Europe following an uneventful stint across the Atlantic Ocean where he bounced between the Sacramento Kings and their G-League affiliate, Stockton Kings.
Chima Moneke
| Team: |
AS Monaco |
| Position: | PF |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 198 cm |
| Weight: | 101 kg |
| Birth place: | Abuja, Nigeria |
The 27-year-old played in just two games this season for Sacramento, scoring two points in his eight minutes of NBA action.
Even though his NBA dream was not as sweet as expected, Moneke was immediately chased by multiple European powerhouses since the news about his and Kings' contract termination broke.
But according to Moneke, AS Monaco acted so quickly that no other team stood a chance – not even Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, his friend Dante Exum's team.
"There was plenty of interest from several other EuroLeague teams and Partizan was one of the teams that was the most interested, but I don't think they ever made an official offer, so I couldn't even go there anyway," Moneke told Leonard Solms of ESPN.
"Maybe they would have in the next couple of days, but Monaco was so fast with their first offer that no other team really had a chance, because Monaco really, really, really wanted me, and they showed me that," he added.
When asked what else stood out about Monaco, Moneke referred to the famously relaxed Monegasque tax laws, which exempt individuals from income tax: "Obviously, no taxes; obviously, [the] living situation.
"I just want to be happy," he pointed out. "I want to be in one place for a while. I feel that every day I wake up in a place like this, I'll be happy, and if the basketball goes well, I'll be looking to stay here for years. It made sense. Financially, that was also a big reason too."
Moneke signed a deal with the Roca Team until the end of the 2023-24 season. The energetic forward has already played in Europe.
After going undrafted in 2018, Moneke has played in France and Spain. He won the MVP of the Basketball Champions League with BAXI Manresa last season.
Chima Moneke is now well aware of both basketball styles, which dominate in the Old Continent and the U.S.
"I feel like everyone that's played both knows that it's true [that it's tougher to score in the EuroLeague than the NBA]. It's a different game and that's why you have games that are 60-65 and it's normal. Whenever [a team] scores 100+ in the EuroLeague, it's a big deal, so that tells you everything you need to know," he said in an interview with ESPN.
"Obviously, the game is shorter, but it's different styles of basketball and that makes it very competitive, because in the NBA, [teams] are scoring 130, 140 points, so if you're down 20, you can come back in a quarter. Being down 20 in Europe feels like you're down 40 in the NBA," Moneke concluded.
He made his EuroLeague debut when Monaco overcame Milan on Thursday night, 101-88. Moneke scored 3 points in 7 minutes.
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