Savovic enjoying NBA ride, but injury has him sidelined
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Predrag Savovic is already driving a new Ford Expedition, flying on a private jet and staying at five-star hotels.
And he has yet to cash his first professional paycheck.
Such is life in the NBA.
"It's been a great experience so far," said Savovic, the former University of Hawai'i basketball star from Yugoslavia who is now a member of the Denver Nuggets.
However, Savovic will open his rookie season in the NBA on Denver's injured list because of a sprained right ankle. Still, he is one of only two former UH players currently on an NBA roster (Anthony Carter is expected to start at point guard for the Miami Heat).
Savovic, UH's career leader in 3-pointers, will travel with the team for its season opener at Minnesota tomorrow, but will not play for at least the first five games of the season. Once his ankle heals, he is expected to be a reserve shooting guard.
"The coaches here are giving me a chance, and I have to make the most of it," said Savovic, an All-Western Athletic Conference player for the 'Bows the last two seasons.
Savovic, who is 6 feet 6 and 225 pounds, was not selected in June's NBA Draft. He signed a guaranteed free agent contract with the Nuggets in July.
"I think he'll make a lot of teams second-guess themselves for not taking him," said Savovic's agent, Marc Cornstein. "He's in the ideal situation because everybody on the team is being given an equal opportunity. Now he has 82 games to prove himself."
Savovic appeared in seven of Denver's eight preseason games. He averaged 5.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. He shot just .306 from the field, but led the team with an .882 free throw percentage.
"He's not your typical rookie because of his maturity and age (26)," said Denver assistant coach Jarinn Akana, also a former UH player. "He wasn't drafted, but he's already looking better than the guys who were drafted. He's a shooter, and there's always a spot for a guy like that."
Savovic added: "I feel OK with how I performed. But I know I have to shoot better; I know I can do that."
One of his highlights of the preseason came last week against Washington: Savovic was summoned off the bench to match-up against Michael Jordan.
"I think anybody who plays basketball looks at him as a hero," Savovic said. "I tried not to think about it, but it was fun. He fouled me on one of my shots and I made both free throws."
Savovic missed the Nuggets' preseason finale because of the sprained ankle.
Savovic, who wore jersey No. 1 at UH, is No. 4 with the Nuggets. Donnell Harvey, a third-year forward, is No. 1.
"It didn't matter to me," Savovic said. "I just wanted a chance to play."
The good part is Savovic should get his chance because of the relative lack of experience on the Denver roster (he is one of five rookies on the team, and six others have less than three years of NBA experience). The bad part is the Nuggets are expected to struggle this season (one scout said in a Sports Illustrated article that the Nuggets would struggle in the Southeastern Conference).
Denver went 1-7 in the preseason, but Savovic points out that the lone victory was against the Los Angeles Lakers. "We beat the world champs, so you never know," he said.
Savovic has been quick to praise Hawai'i during his interviews with the Denver media. He even described UH coach Riley Wallace as the most influential person in his basketball career.
"What I learned in Hawai'i from Coach Wallace has helped me so much on this level," he said. "Not just the physical part, but also the knowledge of the game."
The only thing Savovic wasn't quite prepared for was the NBA lifestyle. Admittedly frugal, Savovic said it took some time for him to get adjusted to the first-class treatment of NBA players.
He has been most impressed with the team's private jet.
"There's a lot of traveling, but we have our own plane and our own little airport," he said. "It's better than flying first class."
Savovic will not collect his first NBA paycheck until Nov. 15. He will make the NBA rookie minimum of around $360,000 this season.
During the preseason, he was getting most of his funds from recently completed endorsement deals. According to Cornstein, Savovic signed a shoe contract with And1, and several contracts with various trading card companies.
"Considering where he came from and where he is now, this is a dream come true for Predrag," Cornstein said.
