SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz fans who have been patiently waiting to see Ante Tomic play basketball might need to figure out how to get a European hoops channel.
Utah might be on the verge of adding a different European big man to its roster, though.
As far as Tomic’s situation goes, it appears as if the Croatian center, whose contract with FC Barcelona ends in July, will remain in Spain instead of joining the Jazz next season.
Multiple European-based sports websites and a Spanish newspaper reported Tuesday that Tomic has agreed to re-sign with his Euro club.
Tomic’s spouse reportedly preferred to stay in Spain rather than have her husband play with Utah in the NBA, according to pro basketball reporter David Pick.
"A happy wife is a happy life," a source told Pick in regards to Tomic.
The Jazz selected the 7-foot-2 Croatian in the second round of the 2008 draft and still own his NBA rights. Tomic was reportedly ready to give the Association a go before this latest development.
With center Enes Kanter having been traded this past season, the Jazz are in need of a reliable backup center for Rudy Gobert. The team has an option on the second year of power forward Trevor Booker’s two-year deal, but a fourth big will still need to be acquired via draft, trade or free-agent signing if Tomic doesn’t change his mind.
Sportando reported Tuesday that Tomic is in “advanced talks” to extend his contract with Barcelona, Spain’s reigning champion. A Spanish newspaper, El Mundo Deportivo, claimed a three-year deal has been agreed upon.
Tomic, a two-time All-Euroleague first-teamer, is 28 years old, so it’s unknown if he’ll ever make the transition to the NBA. Along with playing for Croatia’s teams, he’s played professionally for his hometown Zagreb, in Dubrovnik, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
He averaged 10.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.2 blocks this season.
On the other hand, Tomic’s Barcelona backup is considering making the leap to the NBA this offseason.
German center Tibor Pleiss could make the move to Utah after having his contract bought out by Barcelona, according to Eurohoops.
“His rights belong to the Utah Jazz, Tomic is not going there and Pleiss, despite having a contract until the summer of 2016 with Barca, has not satisfied the Catalans so far with his performance,” Eurohoops reporter Aris Barkas wrote Tuesday.
Pleiss is a 7-foot-2 center whom the Jazz picked up from Oklahoma City in the Kanter trade in February. He was the 31st pick of the 2010 draft, and his rights have bounced from the Nets to the Hawks to the Thunder and Jazz.
The 25-year-old Pleiss averaged 6.5 points (66.7 percent shooting), 4.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 14.0 minutes per game with Barcelona this season.
The Jazz own the rights of another player in Spain, but it’s uncertain at this point whether the Brazilian point guard Raul Neto will stay in Europe or come to the U.S. next season.
Neto was drafted by the Hawks late in the second round of the 2013 draft, but Utah traded for him for a future second-round pick. He played for the Jazz’s summer league in 2013 before returning to join his national team in Brazil.
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