The San Antonio Spurs have a lot of international players on their roster and with international players usually comes the desire to play for their country in international tournaments. Earlier this offseason it was announced that Patty Mills wouldn't play for the Australia in Olympic qualifying at the request of the Spurs and now it is being reported that Boban Marjanovic will also be held out of Olympic qualifying because of the Spurs according to E Carchia of Sportando.
The Spurs reached a deal with Marjanovic earlier this summer to bring him over to the NBA. The deal is reportedly for one year and the rookie minimum. Marjanovic went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft but the Spurs had his rights and felt the time was now to bring him over.
Marjanovic was set to play for the Serbian National Team in the upcoming EuroBasket tournament but the Spurs said no after they didn't like what they saw on a physical exam. The Spurs doctors reportedly found a bony edema in Marjanovic's left ankle which is basically an ankle sprain except on the bone. Because they weren't happy with his exam the Spurs exercised their right to not allow Marjanovic to play for Serbia. The Spurs reportedly suggested that Marjanovic spend the next three weeks in an air cast and rest the foot according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
The Serbian National Team is reportedly expected to fight the Spurs medical findings as they have said they performed a medical exam recently and did not find what the Spurs are saying they found. Marjanovic is caught between a rock and a hard place here as he wants to play for Serbia but the Spurs have the right to tell him he cannot play.
Marjanovic is a 7 foot-3 center who is being brought in by the Spurs to likely replace Aron Baynes who left in free agency. The 26 year old spent last year playing for Crvena Zvezda in the Euroleague and is coming off a very good season. In 24 games Marjanovic averaged 16.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game while shooting 62 percent from the field. He is expected to be Tim Duncan's backup at center this season so it is understandable why the Spurs want to make sure he is healthy going into the 2015-16 season.
