Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew is not in Israel to hire Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt as his assistant, Blatt told R-Sport on Thursday.
Drew’s pre-season visit to Tel Aviv prompted speculation he may be planning to bring Blatt onto his team. But Blatt, who doubles as Russia national team coach, said Drew’s visit is simply about "sharing ideas."
"There’s no connection whatsoever between him being here and any NBA possibility on my behalf. I don’t know where that rumor started but it’s very untrue," Blatt said.
"Coach Drew, in the interests of gaining knowledge and sharing ideas with a different place and different style, came to visit with us."
Drew’s visit has proved fruitful, Blatt added.
"We’re in constant discussions. He’s with us, meeting us in the coaches’ room every day, he’s at the practices and we’re out to dinner together and we’re discussing a lot of things."
After leading Russia to bronze at London 2012, the first men’s basketball medal in the country’s history, Blatt said he was not sure whether he would remain with Russia, which he has led since 2006.
He has yet to decide on his future, he said Thursday.
"Nothing’s changed," he said.
"The feelings are very good on both sides, but that’s not concerning me staying or not, that’s just our general feelings about each other."
Blatt will meet with federation officials to discuss the Olympic campaign in the "near future," he said, adding that no date has yet been set.
