Draft drama, Danny Wolf and trash talk with Dončić: Ben Saraf speaks out

Ben Saraf arrived in Israel and took part yesterday (Tuesday) in a "Foot Locker" event held at Cinema City in Rishon LeZion with Pini Baral, where he spoke about his rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets, his goals for the upcoming season, and more.

As is known, Saraf reached the best league in the world through the German Ulm. When asked what this chapter contributed to him, he replied: "The support system there was amazing, especially for young players - here they don't give the same minutes that they gave there, that is literally their goal. They gave me momentum and gave me the feeling that they were building me for the NBA. Practically, every coach works with you personally, it is in everyone's interest to succeed, but in the end, what is most important for every player is the playing minutes, and that is something they gave me there in a way that isn't given in other places. I was never promised minutes, but I was given the opportunity."

Regarding the fact that he stayed for the final series in Germany and therefore missed the NBA draft, he said: "I think that for me it was a given that this was the decision I would make. It isn't necessarily appreciated, but being a German league champion is something people work their whole lives for, and in my opinion, this loyalty is one of the reasons they chose me for this team."

On the draft day itself: "I couldn't sleep for a moment, the whole family is walking around the house, everyone is awake, my brother is running around in his underwear... I knew that Miami and Orlando wanted me, but we also knew that I would be chosen by Brooklyn, I knew they intended to choose me, I didn't have a fear that I wouldn't be chosen, but it is a stressful evening."

On the connection with Danny Wolf: "The day I arrived in Brooklyn, I met Danny Wolf and sat with his family at a restaurant. In retrospect, it helps a lot that he is there, he even knows a little Hebrew. I didn't know him before, but since then he has been with me here during visits to Israel, it is really fun and makes everything easier."

On the differences between Europe and the NBA: "Basically, it's playing the game, it's taking what the defense gives you, it's really that simple. In Europe, there is also a hierarchy - it's not a kibbutz, it's like that in every team. In the NBA, they don't like the mid-range, which is a shot I really liked in Europe. In the NBA, there are players you just can't do anything with, there is a huge difference in athleticism and physicality compared to Europe. There is a very big stigma regarding whether they defend or not, and I am here to say that they definitely do defend. The amount of games is intense and crazy, and it's hard to defend throughout all the games."

On the G-League demotion: "I don't remember the first time, but I remember that I went down and came back, it is of course very, very frustrating, and when I returned after the first time, I had a stretch of several good games. Before we went to the All-Star break, suddenly they show me the schedule and tell me that I'm going down again, but of course you understand why you are doing it - it is most important to them that a player gets minutes, and if I won't play my minutes there, then at least in the G-League I will. Of course, it's not a situation you want the most, but you have to make the best of it and understand the bigger goal. You can't be disappointed for more than one day. It's not necessarily that whoever plays well in the G-League will return to the league, but they check the improvement, not necessarily the percentages themselves, they just look at your path. They work with you a lot there, they literally show you videos of yourself playing and touch on points you are supposed to work on."

A warning sign for Ben Saraf: "Might see a significant decrease in his role."

On his low 3-point shooting percentages (21.1% in his rookie season): "I think that the more shots you take, the more you will make, and in the G-League I had eight or nine and in Brooklyn maybe two, but they are working on it. During the season, you can't do too much technique and really work on it, in the summer they work on it a lot and work literally on the mechanics. It's a lot of repetitions and a lot of footwork, things there is no time to do during the regular season."

On the meeting with various NBA stars and the dunk against Draymond Green: "Luka (Dončić) talks crazy trash. He comes to our bench and does to us - 'I have more points than you have wins this season.' A tough player, there is nothing to do against him. Draymond Green is the biggest trash talker there. They were very happy with me about that dunk, really players I don't even know sent me... My dream is some poster over Wemby."

On the connection with Deni Avdija: "We always talk before games against each other and regularly sit to eat together afterwards. In the game against Washington at the end of the season, one of the players suddenly came and said to me in Hebrew 'Yalla, yalla, yalla', under Deni's influence of course."

Saraf added and summarized: "The daily routine is very different, it is hard and honestly not healthy, but we have all the tools around us to do it. We have transportation, therapists, and everything is very comfortable, so to speak, and accessible to us in terms of what we need to succeed. There is a very clear order. Even in training, they check how many shots you made, so you don't do more than you are supposed to. I always think I am better than people think, I think that is the way to succeed. You have to be sure that you are a much better player than people think."

The Israeli guard recorded 44 appearances last year in his rookie season in the best league in the world - in 11 of them he started in the lineup. His averages were 7.5 points (39.6% from the field, 21.1% from outside the arc, 83% from the free-throw line), 2.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.