Basketball: Cunningham interview:”Not so good players expected”

FC Bayern Basketball has secured a Guard with a lot of NBA experience in Jared Cunningham.In an interview with SPOX, the newcomer spoke about his first impressions of Munich and Europe, a lack of loyalty in the NBA and expectations in China.

SPOX: Mr.Cunningham, you have your first preparation with Bayern Munich behind you.What are your impressions of your new club?

Jared Cunningham: First of all, I had to find my way in, of course, because I was hired directly from the USA.But that was quick – and I can now say that there is no reason to complain about anything.This applies equally to the club and the city, I have been able to travel a lot here.Basketball may not be as important here as elsewhere, but you can still see how dedicated people are.

SPOX: You had to complete much of the preparation without head coach Sasa Djordjevic, who was in charge of the Serbian team at EuroBasket…

Cunningham: That’s right, that was a pretty weird situation!Because, frankly, I didn’t really talk to him before he got back.Neither around my commitment nor during my first weeks in Munich.

SPOX: But did you have the chance to follow the Serbs at the European Championships and get a picture of what kind of basketball you can expect?

Cunningham: Yes, yes.We’ve been watching some Serbian games as a team in the cabin.I was able to gain some first impressions.I was particularly impressed by the defensive concept.

SPOX: Let’s go back a few weeks: It was a surprising move for the public when your commitment was announced.When did you first have contact?

Cunningham: The timing of the first contact and the signature were very close together, which was a rather quick process.I didn’t even notice that Bavaria scouted me while I was playing in the Summer League.This was all about my agent, who didn’t inform me until it was very concrete.

SPOX: And then you didn’t have to think long?

Cunningham: No.I liked what the people in charge expected of me and what role I should play in their system.I have also heard a lot about the city of Munich before and quickly decided that this would be a good place to feel at home with my family.

SPOX: This is a point that was certainly not always easy for you – after all, you’ve been around a lot for 26 years now.But we will come back to that later.First of all, your career: you were drafted in 2012 and then played for the Mavericks and the D-League team of Dallas.

Cunningham: Exactly.I was in a strange situation then, because I was injured before the draft.That’s why I couldn’t do any workouts, so I never trained with the Mavs.Unfortunately, this injury has also affected my rookie season, so I was supposed to collect some practice in the D-League and get into shape.It wasn’t always easy, but it was a very important experience for me – after all, I came to a team that had just won the championship.And I was allowed to train with Dirk and other players I had been following for a long time.

SPOX: Since you’re already talking to Dirk:”It’s practically a duty for me in Germany to ask you about him now….

Cunningham: (laughs) I can only confirm what all those who have ever had to do with him say: He’s a great guy and you have a lot of fun with him.But he is also one of the best – perhaps the best – Europeans of all time and you can learn so much from him.You only have to watch him because he does everything right and works very hard.

SPOX: Back to you: How do you generally evaluate the parallel system of the NBA and D-League?You know both leagues very well.And there are also some players who are stuck in the development league without a real perspective.

Cunningham: That may be true, but you just have to have the ambition to fight your way through it.The D-League is a bigger platform than many people think.There are a lot of scouts sitting there, which immediately notice when you make progress or have potential.It is certainly no coincidence that there are many current NBA players who have signed a major contract and were once in the D-League.So it’s a great opportunity to play there, especially for the many young players.

SPOX: You have been sent to the D-League four times.So you didn’t have the fear that your professional career would be stalled or even endangered?

Cunningham: No, never.I know I’m very good at playing basketball and there are a lot of clubs that pay me for it.Of course, especially in my NBA days there were many highs and lows.But in the end, I was used everywhere because my skills were appreciated.

Page 1: Cunningham about Munich, coach Djordjevic and Dirk Nowitzki

Page 2: Cunningham about loyalty in the NBA,”his” championship with the Cavs and basketball in Europe