Pero Antic is a 6'11" power forward who played for the Hawks the past two seasons, and was known for his ability to occasionally stretch the floor by knocking down shots from three-point distance.
But entering a summer where he’s facing restricted free agency, it appears as though Antic has decided to take his talents overseas, rather than dealing with the politics of figuring out his next stateside destination.
From Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net:Pero Antic is a restricted free agent, however he already decided to return to Europe. The former Euroleague champion with Olympiacos has a deal in place with Fenerbahce/ Ulker which is expected to be formalized in the next days.
The official announcement is the only thing missing. Antic after two seasons in the NBA returns to Europe and Fenerbahce needs many new faces in its front line, specially after losing its ancor, Nemanja Bjelica. However Antic is expected to be used mainly in the center position, replacing Luca Zoric.
It’s worth wondering if Antic’s decision was at all affected by the police incident he and teammate Thabo Sefolosha were involved in near the end of the regular season.
Whether it was or it wasn’t, the numbers showed that he regressed year over year with the Hawks. At age 32, the safer bet, from both the standpoint of available dollars as well as on-court expectations, might simply to be to return to playing in a league where he can more readily dominate at his position.