Drew Nicholas has left Panathinaikos after three years full of titles with the team, the European champions announced on Saturday.
The US shooting-guard apparently refused to take a pay cut, which has been proposed to most players of the team, and is close to sealing a deal with Armani Milano.
The 30-year-old fired a parting shot suggesting in an interview on Saturday that he was surprised that Panathinaikos let him go even though he had one more year left in his contract. “I knew that the coach wanted me and counted on me for the new season,” he said.
Nicholas will likely join Antonis Fotsis and Yiannis Bourousis who have already signed for the Italian side.
Another Panathinaikos player who appears reluctant to accept the club’s pay cut is Romain Sato, with negotiations continuing with the Central African small-forward.
Meanwhile reports in Serbia spoke of a nightmare scenario for Panathinaikos, suggesting that coach Zeljko Obradovic would leave the European champions this summer due to the budget restrictions the owners have imposed.
However, Panathinaikos were quick to refute those reports, stating that Obradovic is going nowhere.
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