Savovic to start Predrag Savovic's professional hoop dreams will be in a different language next year.
pro career in Europe
The former UH star will earn
better money in his rookie year
than any NBA team was
willing to guaranteeBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comSavovic's New York-based agent Marc Cornstein confirmed yesterday that the former Hawaii star will be taking his talents to a club in Europe, rather than the NBA.
"He traveled to Europe yesterday," Cornstein said. "We're in negotiations with a few teams in Europe at the present time.
"No team in the NBA was willing to give him his full-guaranteed contract, so unless that would change dramatically, which I don't anticipate, he'll be playing in Europe next year. We'll keep the NBA options open for the future."
Savovic was en route to Yugoslavia and unavailable for comment.
Savovic was not picked in the NBA Draft on June 26. Discussions had continued with one NBA team and some teams had offered partial-contract guarantees, a rarity for non-drafted players.
Cornstein would not disclose team names, but Savovic will probably sign with a club in Italy, Greece or Israel.
The money that Savovic would earn with a top European club would be double the NBA minimum, perhaps as much as $400,000.
"To have that guaranteed from some of the elite teams in Europe was just too good to pass up just for him to go into a summer league and hope that he has the opportunity to make an NBA franchise next year," Cornstein said.
Cornstein hopes to finalize a deal early next week. Professional basketball in Europe begins in mid-September.
Despite not being drafted, Savovic is eager to begin his professional career.
"He's excited, very excited," Cornstein said. "He's hopeful to get this process over within a short period of time. He's very excited to start his professional career.
"For him to play in Europe is no disappointment. He's certainly more familiar with Europe than the typical American player."
And it shouldn't be too hard for him to learn another language. Savovic excelled in his studies at Manoa and was a Verizon academic third-team All-American.
Savovic is Hawaii's career leader in 3-point goals (178). He averaged 20.3 points last season and is the fourth leading scorer in Rainbows history with 1,414 points.
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