Posted on: Tuesday, July 9, 2002

Savovic still may have shot at NBA

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Don't count Predrag Savovic out of the NBA yet.

Marc Cornstein, Savovic's New York-based agent, said yesterday that "the NBA has re-entered the picture" in the negotiations for a professional contract for the former University of Hawai'i basketball star.

Cornstein is negotiating with two teams — "one from the NBA and one from Europe," he said, although he did not want to reveal specifics.

The NBA team is believed to be the Denver Nuggets, while the team from Europe is believed to be from Italy's elite league.

Last week, Cornstein announced that Savovic would not play in the NBA this year because teams were unwilling to match the guaranteed contracts offered by European teams. However, Cornstein said several new offers came in from NBA teams late last week.

"It's been evolving every hour," he said. "Europe is probably still the best deal, but now we have some other options."

Savovic could probably make between $300,000 and $400,000 as a rookie in Italy. A free-agent contract with an NBA team would probably be worth slightly less.

Cornstein said he hopes to have a deal finalized for the 6-foot-6 shooting guard by the end of this week.