Multiple NBA Teams Competing for Serbian Olympic Star

Multiple NBA teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Clippers, have expressed interest in Serbian guard Aleksa Avramovic.

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The Ozon Press, a Serbian newspaper, reported on the news.

If teams are serious about negotiating a deal with Avramovic, they can do so before Tuesday. Avramovic has an out clause in his contract with CSKA Moscow that permits him to sign with an NBA team. The clause will expire on Tuesday, so the time to do so will be limited if the Hawks and Clippers are serious.

Avramovic is coming off an impressive Olympic run, representing his home country in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 29-year-old was named Best Defensive Player in the Paris Games and averaged 10.5 points on 53.3% shooting from the field and 36.8% shooting from behind the arc.

The veteran Serbian guard has spent the last three seasons with Partizan and averaged 10.2 points per game, 1.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.8 steals while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from three.

Avramovic is an eight-year veteran overseas who has seen him play for Openjobmetis Varese, Unicaja, Movistar Estudiantes, and Partizan.

The 29-year-old’s CSKA contract includes a buyout fee that an NBA team could contribute up to $850K to help cover. Neither the Hawks nor the Clippers have made a formal offer, but we’ll see if that comes in the coming days.

If these teams or no other teams take action on Avramovic, then he will continue his basketball career overseas in Russia as he is currently preparing to travel to Moscow for the start of training camp on Aug. 26.

Avramovic did his part to lead his country to the Bronze medal and then some. He averaged 3.4 steals per 40 minutes in the tournament and had four steals against Germany in the third-place game. Avramovic and Serbia were ever so close to completing one of the biggest and potential upsets in basketball history in the semi-final game against Team USA. In 18 minutes, he recorded 15 points, shot 5-for-8 from the field, 1-for-2 from three, four rebounds, and three assists.

Avramovic is a proven veteran overseas, and he could be a significant help to either the Hawks or Clippers. Both these teams have 15 players on standard contracts, so to sign him, they would need to part with guaranteed money before the start of the season to add him to the roster.

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