Savovic seeking some rest before next step

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

All Predrag Savovic wants to do right now is rest.

The former University of Hawai'i basketball star said he is over the disappointment of going undrafted in Wednesday's NBA Draft, but not over the dream of playing professional hoops.

"I want to play somewhere, but I'm not going to think about it until next week," Savovic said. "My agent is working on things and we'll talk about it next week. Right now, I just want to relax and have fun this weekend."

Savovic will remain in New York this week with his agent, Marc Cornstein.

Cornstein said Savovic "will assuredly play pro ball" somewhere this year. The only question is where.

"I've talked to 15 to 20 NBA teams and at least that many teams from overseas," Cornstein said. "So there's lots of interest in Predrag. We just have to figure out the best situation for him."

Savovic, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard originally from Yugoslavia, conducted private workouts for 15 NBA teams prior to the draft. Cornstein said most of those teams, plus several others, inquired about Savovic yesterday.

"A lot of teams were surprised that he wasn't drafted," Cornstein said. "Some teams that we hadn't really talked to before were calling."

Cornstein is hoping for a guaranteed free agent contract for Savovic with a NBA team, although he did not want to list teams in order of preference.

NBA summer leagues for rookies and free agents begin in mid-July, so Cornstein would like to complete a deal by next week.

"We're hoping to get something more concrete next week," Cornstein said.

If a deal with a NBA team cannot be reached, Cornstein said Savovic has already received "firm offers" from several European teams.

"Some of them are willing to pay more than what a typical NBA rookie gets," Cornstein said. "So he has some very good options at this point."

• UCLA possible: Bob Nash, the UH associate head coach who is in charge of scheduling, said UCLA has inquired about playing the Rainbow Warriors in Pauley Pavilion in mid-December.

"There's an outside possibility, but we have to wait and see how some other things turn out first," Nash said.

The 2002-03 UH schedule remains in limbo until a federal judge in Ohio rules on the "2 and 4" rule for exempted tournaments (allowing teams to play in two exempted tournaments every four years).

Hawai'i played at UCLA for the first time in 2000.