The signing of Nick Smith Jr. by Real Madrid was the result of a lengthy negotiation process. Juan Carlos Sánchez, director of the club's basketball section, revealed on Real Madrid TV the difficulties involved in convincing the American guard to make the move.

According to Sánchez, Real Madrid spent more than 20 days negotiating with Smith and his representatives before reaching an agreement. The club also received help from several figures closely connected to Real Madrid during the process.

One of them was Luka Doncic. The Slovenian knows Smith from their time together with the Los Angeles Lakers and personally contacted the new Real Madrid player. According to Sánchez, Doncic explained the advantages of joining Real Madrid and the opportunities it could provide for his continued development before potentially returning to the NBA. The basketball director acknowledged the impact of Doncic's intervention: “That helps a lot.”

Doncic was not the only person involved in the effort to convince Smith. Alberto Herreros, Rudy Fernández and Pedro Martínez also spoke with the American in an attempt to persuade him to make the move to European basketball.

The collective effort eventually paid off after several weeks of negotiations. Sánchez described it as "the signing that cost us the most," explaining that the club spent more than 20 days working with the player, his agents and his entourage to complete the deal.

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