Report: Sacramento Kings contender for Euroleague star Milos Teodosic
The best player not in the NBA, Milos Teodosic, appears ready to travel to the U.S. and play in the league. The Sacramento Kings are calling.
The Sacramento Kings’ days of being a hapless franchise appear to be fading into the past. Perhaps even Vlade Divac’s clout is helping the Kings get in the running for one of the best players not in the NBA at the moment.
International hoops writer David Pick reports the Kings have emerged as an early contender to sign Euroleague star Milos Teodosic. He won the Euroleague championship with CSKA Moscow in 2016 in addition to his first-team All-Euroleague selection in 2016 and second-team selection this year.
Source: Kings legit contender to land Milos Teodosic. GM Vlade Divac has strong Serbian bond with All-Euroleague PG for CSKA.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) May 11, 2017
The 30-year-old combo guard has long been considered one of the best players not in the NBA. It seems like he is finally ready to bring his play to the world’s best league. Last year, Teodosic averaged 16.2 points and 7.0 assists per game for CSKA Moscow in Euroleague play. During the Olympics last summer, Teodosic scored 12.1 points and 5.4 assists per game for Serbia.
Teodosic is a crafty scorer and passer. He is an extremely skilled shooter, making 44.3 percent of his shots overall and 37.5 percent of his 3-point shots for CSKA Moscow this season. He has been something of a quiet legend for NBA and basketball nerds for a while.
Teodosic is not the most athletic player and, at 30 years old, he would be coming to the NBA at the end of his prime. It is certainly unclear whether he can cut it in the NBA. But consistently in international competitions against NBA players, he dominates play. At the very least, Teodosic can carve out a clear role.
Before the season began, Teodosic said he felt ready to make the trip to the NBA, but he would only do so if he could carve out consistent minutes.
That is why a team like the Sacramento Kings would make sense. The Kings are in need of a point guard relying on veterans Darren Collison and Ty Lawson. Neither of those guards would set the world on fire. Teodosic would get a lot of opportunity to prove himself as a starter.
The only question is whether the Kings have a clear direction and if Teodosic wants to win or just see if he can cut it in the NBA.
Nick Silva of ESPN.com suggests the Brooklyn Nets would also be a good landing spot for Teodosic and Nets officials have flown to Moscow to scout and meet with him in the past.
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At long last, it appears this Euroleague star will finally come over and take his shot at the NBA.