Heat forward keeps improving at FIBA World Cup

Heat forward Nikola Jovic didn’t get to play much during his rookie season in 2022-23, but he’s been making his mark at the 2023 World Cup, Ira Winderman writes in a pair of stories for The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Competing for the Serbian national team, which went 3-0 in its group and advanced to the second round, Jovic had a solid if unspectacular first game, putting up nine points (on 3-of-6 shooting), three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes against China.

On Monday against Puerto Rico, the 2022 first-round pick recorded a game-high 17 points (tied with teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic) on just nine field-goal attempts. He also recorded four assists and three rebounds in 24 minutes.

Jovic followed up that strong performance with a perfect game on Wednesday against South Sudan, once again leading the contest with 25 points while shooting 9-of-9 from the field, to go along with three assists and two rebounds in 27 minutes.

Former first-round pick Nikola Milutinov, whose draft rights are held by the Nets, praised the young Heat forward after Serbia defeated South Sudan, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.net. “He’s playing amazing, he’s a great part of our team and has a bright future,” Milutinov said of Jovic. Serbia faces Italy on Friday and the Dominican Republic on Sunday.

Overall, the 20-year-old has averaged 17.0 PPG, 3.0 APG and 2.7 RPG with a scorching-hot .750/.667/.778 shooting line thus far. He has yet to commit a turnover in his 75 minutes on the court.

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

• P.J. Washington‘s new contract with the Hornets features a declining structure, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who reports that Washington will earn base salaries of $16.8M, $15.5M and $14.2M over the next three years. The 25-year-old also has $500K in annual incentives, which are currently considered unlikely. Washington needs to play at least 74 games and 2,400 minutes to achieve the bonus in each season, Marks adds.
• The Hornets‘ NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, has retained its head coach in Jordan Surenkamp, but the Swarm have a new general manager, per a team press release. Taking over GM duties is Cole Teal, who acted as manager of basketball operations and player development last season. Cole is replacing Cam Twiss, who is now a pro scout for Charlotte.