Johnathan Motley says he sat too much on the bench during his Hapoel Tel Aviv title run

Johnathan Motley delivered Hapoel Tel Aviv its first-ever European trophy last season and walked off with Finals MVP honors for doing it. Three months later, in an interview with ONE, he explained why that triumph wasn't enough to keep him in Israel.

"I think I sat too much on the bench last year, and I feel that wasn't good for me," Motley said, according to ONE, adding that the reduced role didn't fit where he wants his career to go at this stage.

The comments sit awkwardly against the backdrop of what Motley actually produced when it mattered. He was the standout of Hapoel's 2-0 sweep of Dreamland Gran Canaria in the EuroCup final, averaging 22 points across the two games, including a 26-point outing in the clinching win, and was named Finals MVP.

None of that was enough to keep him at Hapoel. According to ONE, Motley had already signed a contract extension with the club, but the Israeli side ultimately approved his release this summer, and he moved on to Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) in Serbia.

The switch reunites him with Chris Jones, his running mate in Hapoel's frontcourt-backcourt pairing last season, who also joined Zvezda's roster over the summer. ONE reports the pair pushed for the move together, wanting to keep the partnership going in Belgrade.

There is history at the new club too. Crvena Zvezda's newly appointed sports director, Milos Teodosic, was Motley's teammate at the LA Clippers between 2018 and 2020, giving the move an added layer of familiarity even though the two won't share the court this time.

Motley framed the decision around opportunity as much as loyalty. According to ONE, he said reaching the EuroLeague playoffs, something he says he has never missed in his career, was central to his thinking, a bar Hapoel's EuroCup campaign, for all its success, does not clear.

For Hapoel Tel Aviv, it means saying goodbye to the player who defined its most successful European season to date. For Motley, it's a bet that more minutes and a EuroLeague roster will do more for his career than another title on the smaller stage.