This offseason, Shane Larkin opted out of a $1.5 million guaranteed contract with the Brooklyn Nets in order to test his luck as a free agent. Opting out led to him signing a contract in Europe with Laboral Baskonia.

Trading a guaranteed NBA contract with a European one is not something we see every day, but Larkin says he has no regrets over his decision.

He recently had an interview with HoopsHype's Jorge Sierra and tried to explain what happened with his free agency attempt and his new contract.

“It was a pretty anxious free agency for me. I had a few teams that were interested in me. I don’t really know where the conversations went with those teams, but I ended up switching agents halfway through free agency because I wasn’t really happy with the direction I was going in with my other agent.

“So I made that switch and by the time it happened it was really late in free agency and all the teams pretty much had their spots taken up. A few teams called with invitations to training camp with partial guarantees and options like that, but I just thought the opportunity to play in Spain and in the EuroLeague with the option to get big minutes, work on my game and become a better basketball player was the better opportunity at the time compared to the other options on the table.

“If you go to a team on a partial guarantee, the opportunity might be there, but obviously you’re not going to be one of their first options. Baskonia really wanted me and wanted me to be a big piece of the team. I just thought that now it would be more beneficial for me and my young career to come here, play in some good competitions with great players and learn a different style that should make me better.”

Shane was also asked to comment if he now holds any regrets for taking the player option out of his contract with the Nets which eventually led him to Europe.

“Not really. The situation in Baskonia is a better situation than Brooklyn knowing that they wanted to go in a different direction. I could have possibly been in a bad situation with the guards (Brooklyn) drafted perhaps playing in front of me because the new management might want to see them play. That situation wasn’t ideal. I don’t feel any regret about my decision… it’s not all about the money, but I’m playing for more money this year than I did last year and I’m playing in a good situation where I’m going to have a lot of people watching me play and seeing my improvement. I’ll play in a competition where there’s a bunch of talented players.”

At the end of the day, Shane Larkin will have the chance to play in a new league in order to prove people wrong about their perceptions of him as a player. After all, the travel between the NBA and Europe is becoming easier as years go by, so it won't be surprising if Shane gets another chance in the NBA in the future.