The relationship between the two dates back to 13 years ago. In September 2010, Adams, who spent his second season as a Chicago Bulls assistance coach, first met Saric at a basketball camp without borders. Saric, who was 16 at the time, was a 198cm (6ft 6in) point guard and a prospect seeking a first-round NBA draft pick.
After camp, Saric caught sight of Adams. For Adams, Saric’s somewhat inferior athletic ability, physical ability or ability to score was not important. What Adams could feel from Saric was the way he watched the game and his seasoned reading skills even as a teenager.
“He was a thoughtful player who saw the game as clearly as he is now and knew how to deliver the ball to his teammates,” Adams recalled. “Offensively, he was neither a main ball handler nor a shot creator himself, but he had a strong understanding of basketball and felt like he was trying to integrate his team members.”
Additionally, Adams predicted that his shot would be a major obstacle to entering the NBA, rather than worrying about his athletic abilities, when evaluating Saric after camp.
However, Saric raised his career 3-point shooting success rate to 35.6 percent (3.8 attempts). In particular, in the 22-23 season, the success rate of three-point shots was 39.1% (two attempts) boasting high efficiency.
After 13 years, Saric has entered Golden State’s FA (Free Transfer Market) list. His signing meant a 13-year reunion with Adams as Golden State coach.
Saric, who joined Golden State, attended with Adams and coach Dejan Milojevic. Coach Adams called Saric, who reunited after a long time, a “serious practitioner,” as did veterans Chris Paul and Corey Joseph.
“He knows what I did when I was young and the way the players from Europe think about people who grew up here,” Saric said of Adams. “He knows how to speak, making it easier for us to understand what we do on the court.” 토토
Saric, who played 14 games for Golden State, did not show the same efficiency as last season with 41.1 percent of the fieldwork success rate and 32.8 percent of the fieldwork success rate, but he has established himself as an indispensable player in Golden State’s bench lineup. In particular, he scored 20 points in the only game that beat the Oklahoma City Thunder this season on the 4th, becoming the first player to score more than 20 points since Stephen Curry.
In addition, Saric has scored double-digit points six times this season, and has rebounded to an average of 10.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and a 3-point success rate of 35.4% (4.4) in the last 10 games after scoring only 5.5 points in the first four games.
Saric’s play reminds me of Otto Porter Jr., who was a key member when he lifted the 2022 NBA championship trophy. At the same time, you can see the image of Nemanya Bielica, and it makes you feel nostalgic for Sean Livingston and David West in terms of helping your colleagues back in the past.
Therefore, Adams praised Saric, saying, “He is a player who actually shows what coach Steve Kerr likes.”
