At a press conference in Bosnia, Mirza Teletovic told reporters that his “desire is to stay with the Nets,” according to Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (on Twitter). Teletovic is eligible for restricted free agency this summer and he cited the Nets’ treatment of his blood clots as a reason for wanting to remain in Brooklyn.
Earlier this week, Nets GM Billy King confirmed that the Nets will extend the more than $4.21MM qualifying offer required to match competing offers for the sharpshooter. King also added that the market will dictate Teletovic’s next deal and from the outside it seems very possible that the Nets will set a hard limit on how far they’re willing to go to keep him.
Teletovic is in the final year of his contract, making slightly more than $3.368MM, and he said in the fall that he planned to listen to offers from the Nets as well as others after the season. The 29-year-old was averaging 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 40 games this season before he was diagnosed with multiple blood clots in his lungs in January. The third-year veteran had been seeing more minutes per game this season (22.3) than in his previous two NBA campaigns, though his playing time had been receding with each passing month.