Acie Law’s five month stint playing for Partizan Belgrade in Serbia has come to an end the team announced today and a number of NBA teams could move quickly to give the point guard a look.
According to Partizan, the 6-foot-3 Law received permission from the team to return home for the New Years holiday and was expected to return to Serbia on Monday to attend an evening practice but failed to appear.
“Since he (Law) did not come to Belgrade and clearly stated his desire not to continue the season in black and white shirt, we want to inform the public that Partizan is no longer counting on Law,” head coach Vladimir Jovanovic was quoted in the press release.
Law signed a one-year contract with the Serbian team last July, and the deal did not include an NBA-out clause that would allow Law to return to the NBA once the lockout was resolved.
Apparently Law decided to take matters into his own hands by not returning.
A first round draft pick by the Atlanta Hawks in 2007, Law bounced around the NBA playing for the Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Bobcats and Memphis Grizzlies in a four year stretch. He began last season with the Warriors before being dealt to the Grizzlies, where he finished the season. Between the two teams, he played in 51 games and averaged 5.1 points and 1.8 assists in 8.5 minutes per game.
Law’s play in Serbia had been solid this season as he was split between playing in the Adriatic League and the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. He averaged 12.7 points, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steal in 35 minutes per game in the Euroleague, and 9.8 points and 2.5 assists in 24.8 minutes per game in the Adriatic League.
While a number of overseas teams have previously shown interest in Law, it’s likely the free agent point guard will pursue opportunities around the league and probably won’t be out of work very long. Although Law has already been connected to the New York Knicks in one report, two other teams could inquire with his agent Mark Bartlestein about Law’s interest.
An email to Priority Sports and Bartlestein was not immediately returned.
Along with the Knicks — with Iman Shumpert rehabbing his sprained MCL and waiting for Baron Davis’ debut — the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are in need of point guard insurance and backcourt depth. The Spurs just lost Manu Ginobili indefinitely to a broken left hand he suffered on Monday night against Minnesota, and the Warriors’ Steph Curry has been playing day-to-day since injuring his surgically repaired right ankle last week. San Antonio also assigned guard Gary Neal to the Austin Toros of the D-League on Monday for rehab after Neal underwent an appendectomy on December 12. He is expected to practice with the Toros this week and then be re-evaluated by team doctors, who will determine a timeline for his return to the Spurs.
If Neal’s status remains unchanged, the Spurs may look for help on the open market without Neal and Ginobili available.
Late last week, the Warriors also decided to rescind the one-year contract they extended to center Kyrylo Fesenko, with Golden State saying they’ve “decided to go in a different direction”.
Could that direction mean adding some backcourt insurance?
If that is the case, Law just might be either Golden State, San Antonio or New York bound.
