Nets interested in Serbian star
Milos Teodosic, the best player outside the NBA, finally wants to come stateside. And a report from his native Serbia said the Nets are among those interested.
The 6-foot-5 point guard led CSKA Moscow to the Euroleague title and Serbia to an Olympic silver medal within in the last year. Most NBA general managers picked him as the best international player not in the league.
But that last caveat could change, especially with his links to — and familiarity with — Nets ownership.
Teodosic, 29, is a free agent this summer and recently told Mozzartsport he “will go to the NBA for sure.” And on Monday, Serbian newspaper Novosti reported the Nets and Nuggets have interest in signing him.
“We’re going to be looking at where we can find undervalued players, and again that could be anywhere,’’ said Nets general manager Sean Marks, whose comments in regards to overall strategy were made Thursday, before the Teodosic report. “That can be from the DLeague, NBA, leagues in Europe, Australia, you name it. We’re going to be looking anywhere.”
At 9-49 with no first-round pick next season and Boston holding the rights to their pick in June, the Nets need talent. Jeremy Lin has missed 44-of-58 games this season, and excelled playing off the ball in Charlotte last season.
Yes, Teodosic turns 30 on March 19 and is a poor defender. But he’s a brilliant passer with sublime floor vision, one who had 18 points and six assists against Kyrie Irving in a near upset of the U.S. during the group stage at the Rio Olympics.
In the annual general manager survey, a landslide 53.6 percent tabbed Teodosic as the top foreign player not in the NBA. But while basketball personnel the world over know of him, the Nets’ brass actually knows Teodosic. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov also owned CSKA Moscow for years. Marks worked alongside ex-CSKA coach Ettore Messina in San Antonio.
The Grizzles tried to pry him away with a two-year, $5 million deal three years ago, but Teodosic re-signed with CSKA for three years and $7 million.
That contract is up this summer, when the Nets are slated to have up to $33 million in cap room. They could multiply Teodosic’s annual salary of less than $3 million and still have an efficient signing.
The Nets waived forward Luis Scola, 36, parting ways with their oldest player who had an impact in the locker room, but not much of one on the court.
Scola had already fallen out of the rotation, logging only 27 minutes this month and scoring just one point.
The Nets will give more playing time to newcomer Andrew Nicholson and the injured Quincy Acy when he returns.
“We appreciate everything Luis has done for our team this year. His approach and dedication to the game will continue to serve as lasting models for our young players,’’ Marks said in a statement. “While we would have loved for Luis to be with us for the remainder of the season, we felt he deserved the opportunity to contribute to a playoff contender.”