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Despite the blowout win, the conversation in the postgame press conference quickly shifted toward Friday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. The contest features a meeting between Rajakovic and his compatriot, three-time season MVP Nikola Jokic. When asked how he plans to neutralize the Serbian superstar, Rajakovic kept the mood light before turning to the realities of his roster depth. “We’re going to surprise Jokic. We’re going to put our point guards to guard him. So, we’re preparing a very special strategy against him,” he joked, drawing laughs from the media. However, his tone shifted to the importance of forward Collin Murray-Boyles, who has been sidelined with a left thumb sprain. “Having CMB would be a huge help to have in that game,” he added.
Kevin Chouinard: Serbia's KK Crvena Zevzda announced that they have signed Nikola Djurisic through 2027-28. He will be on loan to KK Mega, for whom he played before Atlanta, for the remainder of this season.
After an episode in the NBA, where he was a member of Atlanta, talented Serbian basketball player Nikola Đurišić is on the verge of cooperating with the red and whites, Meridian Sport has learned . As soon as the parting was certain, the president of the club from Mali Kalemegdan, Željko Drčelić, went all out to get Mega's former student, who gave the green light and is expected to sign a contract with the team that has been in his heart since childhood. Details will be known perhaps tomorrow.
Marc Stein: Cam Payne is signing a rest-of-the-season deal to join the 76ers, league sources say. It has been reported in Europe that the veteran guard is securing a buyout from Partizan Belgrade in Serbia to come back to the NBA.
A big surprise from the Partizan Mozzart Beta camp! Cameron Payne leaves the club and returns to the USA. As Mozart Sport learns, Payne will play again in the NBA league, in the Philidelphia jersey. The Black and White will earn $1,750,000 in damages.
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Joakim Noah: What have I learned after all this? I came here looking for a better understanding of something I always knew and was always drawn to. I wanted to know more about that will to compete at all costs. The never giving up. The caring about your teammates, the not caring about the individual accolades, doing it together as a team. I found it in a word I kept hearing over and over: Inat. Inat defined the Serbian resilience. For a basketball player, it means to never back down and to thrive playing with your back against the wall. It is in the way this city carries its history with its head held high. It is in the way a kid on a concrete court plays like his life depends on it. I am leaving Belgrade with a different perspective than when I arrived because this is the point of the journey.
Aleksej Pokusevski returned to Europe as one of the greatest pearls of European basketball. He showed what he can do in spurts. Now he wants more. And he wants it in his favorite jersey: " I have another year of contract, but with certain options. I would like to play for Partizan as long as possible. To be a local player who will help the club achieve success, and for me to have a nice role. Whether all of that will happen – I don't know. It doesn't all depend on me, but on the club. Only through work and daily dedication can something be achieved. You can ask anyone at Partizan, the truth is that I work as hard as possible to achieve it. That's why all of this is simple for me – I enter the gym, train and play to the maximum. And then, when I get a chance, I have to take advantage of it. "
Following his arrival in Belgrade and setting his sights on the EuroLeague Final yesterday, Cameron Payne formally signed his contract for the remainder of the 2025-26 season to complete his move to Partizan Mozzart Bet. The Belgrade outfit announced the addition of the 31-year-old combo guard on Tuesday morning.
To understand that sentiment, it’s important to grasp how much Serbia’s favorite son was attracted to horses in the first place. “We have a saying,” Jokić told The Athletic. ‘If you’re young and you swallow the horse hair, you cannot stop loving them.’ What I like about them is how they run, how they act, how they’re resting, how they’re smelling. I like to watch them, I like to train them, I like to see them running, racing. The only thing I didn’t do, I did want to race back in the day. I miss that feeling when you and the horse are basically one.”
10-year NBA guard Cameron Payne appears to be on the verge of becoming a new Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade player, with the move now looking like a matter of timing rather than uncertainty. On Sunday, Payne seemingly confirmed the transfer himself by posting black-and-white heart emojis on his Instagram stories — a gesture widely interpreted as a nod to Partizan's iconic colors. Although the agreement is reportedly finalized, Payne's official arrival is expected to wait until Tuesday, when Partizan are set to introduce their new head coach, Joan Penarroya.
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The Sombor native also recalled Gordon visiting his hometown in Serbia to launch his partnership with 361. “AG came to my hometown. We had a great time,” confirmed 30-year-old Jokic. “He introduced me to the 361 company and, of course, we have great chemistry on the floor. So, it’s good to have somebody who is basically with you through every part of the day. You can see this in a shoe, he’s coming back to Serbia, or whatever. I think I’m really privileged to have a teammate and friend as an agent.” “I’m just glad we have Joker on the team now, too, because it’s really, really great shoe brand, one of the best in the world, and you got the best ball-player in the world, too. So, it goes hand in hand,” said 30-year-old Gordon, earlier in the press conference.
Brian Jungreis, Malik Beasley’s agent, tells Front Office Sports that there have been talks with the European club, but the two sides are far from securing a deal. “These are exaggerated reports. We had conversations and some framework, but nowhere close to anything closing or happening for the moment,” Jungreis tells FOS.
He also shot down the idea that Beasley would sign an overseas contract without an option to return to the NBA. “The report of no NBA out is 100% inaccurate. We’d never not have that in the case he were to play anywhere else than the NBA,” Jungreis said. In a video posted on social media last month, Beasley admitted that he could play overseas, but has continued to wait for an NBA opportunity.