Montenegro have announced that Nikola Pekovic will not play at Eurobasket due to delays in his contract negotiations.
It comes as a huge blow to Montenegro, who finished the Eurobasket qualifying rounds last year with a perfect 10 wins out of 10 games played. The absence of Pekovic comes after the NBA free agent has not had his team, the Minnesota Timberwolves sign a new contract.
“Nikola is about to sign the most important contract in his career and we fully understand the gravity of this moment,” Montenegro’s national teams director Danilo Mitrovic explained.
“We were in constant contact with him and we had agreed that the 5th August deadline for him to join the team [in their preparations for the Eurobasket] made sense for both sides.
“However, after talking with him and his manager yesterday [Monday] we were informed that the contract has not been signed and that it will take some time for details of the agreement to be clarified.
“Therefore, Nikola Pekovic will not play at the Eurobasket in Slovenia.
“The entire national team and the KSCG wish him good health and the best of luck for the next season in the NBA.”
