The most bizarre pump-fake to ever consistently fool NBA defenders is headed overseas.
Atlanta Hawks power forward Pero Antic is leaving the team to return to Europe, according to a tweet from his agent. Antic has signed a two-year deal with an option for a third season with Fenerbahce Ulker, a powerhouse in the Turkish league and in Euroleague.
Fenerbahce seem poised to lose Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica to the NBA, and Antic helps re-establish the frontcourt presence that took the team to the Euroleague Final Four this season.
Antic signed a two-year, $2.5-million deal with the Hawks as a 30-year-old two summers ago, and was set for restricted free agency on Wednesday. Since the Hawks tendered him a qualifying offer, they'll retain his NBA rights so long as they don't renounce them.
The Macedonian has been a regular member of Mike Budenholzer's rotation in Atlanta, averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game over the past two years. The 6-foot-11, 260 pounder has some floor-stretching ability - he shot 30.7 percent from outside of 16 feet this year - and his loss could mean more playing time for Mike Muscala, though there's far too much offseason remaining to speculate on back-end rotation changes.
Prior to his NBA run, Antic played for Olympiacos in Greece, averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 2012-13 on his way to a second consecutive Euroleague championship.
Antic is due in a New York City courtroom on Sept. 9 alongside Hawks teammate Thabo Sefolosha. He faces three misdemeanor charges stemming from an April incident in which Sefolosha broke his leg in a confrontation with police after Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed outside of a Manhattan nightclub.
