[Chronic]Spanoulis says he won't return to Rockets

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Spanoulis says he won't return to Rockets


By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Spanoulis said Wednesday that he and his agent have told the Rockets many times he will not leave Greece for a second season in the NBA, or to play for another team in Europe.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said on Tuesday that the Rockets still want Spanoulis back for next season and have no plans of releasing him from his three-year contract. Spanoulis cannot sign with any FIBA team, which includes the teams in the Greek league, unless released by the Rockets. Morey had no further comment on Wednesday.

"It's something very personal," Spanoulis said. "It's family problems.

"I'm not disappointed. In life, you never know how things are coming. Some things you expect when you sign a contract, you go there, something happens, and your decision has to change. When we are so far away from home, the culture and life and all these things are different. It's very difficult to know what will happen.

"I want to stay in my country. My hope is to play for one team in my country."

Spanoulis played in 31 games last season, averaging 2.7 points and .9 assists in 8.8 minutes per game. He made 31.9 percent of his shot, 17.2 percent of his 3-pointers.

Spanoulis' agent, Miodrag Raznatovic, said he and Spanoulis have told the Rockets 10 times since the end of the season that Spanoulis will never return to play for the Rockets and that nothing would change his mind.

"He told them 10 times 'I am not coming back,' " Raznatovic said. "In the beginning it was between him and Jeff Van Gundy. Now it is not. He didn't adjust to the American way of living. 'I cannot survive. I must stay at my home.' I do not understand how they cannot understand. It's something serious.

"I've been trying for one month and a half to make them understand. This is crazy. Believe me, he sold everything, his car, his apartment. He is not coming back. I don't understand how they don't understand. He said, 'I cannot live there. I thought I can. I was very happy when I signed the contract. After eight months, 10 months, I don't want a single second more.'

"It's not about money. It's not about playing time. It's not about anything else. They could trade him to San Antonio and he could be the starting point guard, and he would he would say, 'No, I cannot.' "

Raznatovic said Spanoulis, who earned $1.8 million as a rookie last season, would repay the $350,000 buyout the Rockets paid Panathinaikos last season out of his next contract.

He said Spanoulis has told him he would not play for any team outside Greece again.

"They could try Miami, New York, L.A., it would not matter," Raznatovic said. "Maybe he goes to Spain and (would) feel different, but we'll never know. He said, 'No, no, no. I cannot leave Greece.'

"He is looking for an escape. He calls me every day. His mother calls me crying, saying, 'Get my son back.' This is serious. If they want to send a message to all international players that if (they) come and cannot adjust, they cannot go back, that they have to stay there like a slave, that won't work. If he comes back, what can he do? Can he be a good player? Of course not. It could be a disaster."

The Rockets have repeatedly called to try to convince Spanoulis to return, with Morey, Rick Adelman and Yao Ming each calling. But Spanoulis said his decision is not about basketball.

"It was very hard," Spanoulis said. "This life was very different. I expected it to be a lot different. I am very close with my family. I prefer to be with my family than to play in the United States. It is very difficult for me to make that step, to be away from them and live there.

"From the basketball side, I had a very tough season with Jeff. That year was 5, 10 percent what I had in my mind. Now this is past. I respect all the people there. I respect the new coach, Rick Adelman. I respect him as a person and as a coach, and the new GM and the people of Houston. But to me, I cannot come back."

jonathan.feigen@chron.com