VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - Where has Nemanja Nedovic been of late, you might be asking?

Where he is right now is all that matters.

The Serbia international touched down in Valencia, Spain, last night. The Euroleague club will unveil him as their new player this week.

Immediately after EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia, where Nedovic helped Serbia qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, he jetted off to the United States to launch his NBA career.

The Phoenix Suns had selected him 30th overall and then dealt his rights to the Golden State Warriors so Nedovic headed to California and there was a lot of excitement about his arrival.

Trying to get playing time with a club that already had one of the best backcourts in the league with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, though, was not a recipe for success. 

He spent the majority of the season practicing hard and going back and forth between Golden State and the Santa Cruz Warriors.

With no guarantee of minutes this season, Nedovic decided to return to Europe.

At this crucial, formative stage of his career, he needs to play and he wasn’t going to with the Warriors.

The 23-year-old asked for his release so he could return to Europe and Golden State accommodated him. He immediately signed for Valencia.

Nedovic will now, just as he did at EuroBasket 2013 under Dusan Ivkovic, play for a hard taskmaster in Velimir Perasovic.

Great coaching and a lot of minutes - that's what he needs. 

He'll get both.

"The key to the decison had been playing time," he said after stepping off the plane on Saturday.

"As you know, I haven't been playing much in the NBA and I want to play. The option of playing for Valencia came up and it's a great opportunity."

Nothing will be given to him, but expect Nedovic to fit in well with Valencia’s up-tempo game, one that attempts to play tough, full-court defense for the majority of their games.

Valencia need another good player as they attempt to bounce back from a 1-4 start in the Euroleague.

"I will do all that I can to help the team reach the Top 16," he said. "I want to help the team win. I don't think it's too late. We have the second half (of the regular season) and I think we will do well."

The club never outspends the big teams in Spain or Europe but instead brings in cheaper but very hungry players with points to prove.

As for the NBA, one never knows how a foreigner is going to fare in the the league, especially a young one like Nedovic who oozes with potential but lacks big-game experience.

Maybe if he’d joined a different team, things could have been different but it’s always a gamble for a promising player like Nedovic to leave Europe early in his career.

Though Sergio Rodriguez had some good games over a period of several years that saw him play for Portland, Sacramento and New York, he never got the playing time he needed and perhaps deserved.

Since returning to Europe and joining Real Madrid, Rodriguez has become arguably the best point guard on the continent and also regained a place in Spain's national team.

Nedovic wishes things might have worked out differently in Golden State.

But instead of entering an anonymous world that is now inhabited by, coincidentally, former Valencia star Victor Claver, someone the Portland Trail Blazers often leave off the roster on game days, Nedovic has wisely chosen to return to Europe to play and gain experience. 

Who knows? 

Should things go well, Nedovic could even return to the NBA one day.

But really, who cares? 

The NBA isn't the only place where they play basketball.

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

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