SALT LAKE CITY — Mirza Teletovic will miss the remainder of the season because of multiple blood clots in his lungs, removing a rotation player from the Nets roster and making their task of trying to fight their way into the playoffs all the more difficult.
After Teletovic was taken to the hospital during Thursday’s 123-84 loss to the Clippers after he had complained of shortness of breath, the team released a statement Friday morning saying he had been diagnosed with the condition after undergoing a series of tests — including a CT Scan.
“Our first thoughts are with Mirza and his family,” Nets general manager Billy King said in a statement. “We are very fortunate that our medical staff, along with the ER staff at the California Medical Center in Los Angeles, were able to diagnose the problem. I have visited with Mirza this morning, and he is in good spirits as he begins his treatment and recovery.
“On the basketball side, we will explore all of the options available to us.”
Teletovic was to remain in Los Angeles to continue treatment, including further diagnostic testing and administering of blood thinners. He didn’t accompany the Nets to Utah for Saturday night’s game against the Jazz. The team said Teletovic won’t be able to return for the rest of this season because of the nature of the blood thinners he will be receiving, and once he’s cleared to travel, he will return to New York.
After playing eight minutes Thursday, Teletovic went to Nets coach Lionel Hollins and asked to be taken out of the game after missing all three shots he took — all from behind the 3-point arc.
“He told me he wasn’t feeling well, and that’s all I know,” Hollins said after Thursday’s loss.
“He came to the bench and said something was wrong with him, so he asked me to take him out.”
Before the Nets made their announcement, Teletovic tweeted he was all right early Friday morning: “I had a small problem, but now everything is ok. [Thanks] all fans from Bosnia, Spain and USA for support.”
The 6-foot-8 Bosnian power forward finishes his third season with the Nets with averages of 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 22 minutes per game. He has career averages of 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds across his three campaigns after spending the first part of his career starring in the Euroleague before agreeing to come to the Nets in 2012.
Teletovic is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
While King said the Nets will explore all options to add to the roster, one way they won’t be able to is via the Disabled Player Exception because the deadline to apply for it passed on Jan. 15. The Nets have one open roster spot after choosing to waive forward Brandon Davies just before the contract guarantee deadline earlier this month.
From a basketball standpoint, the loss of Teletovic is a big blow. The Nets already are short on shooting when healthy and are without their best 3-point shooter, Deron Williams, who missed his eighth straight game and ninth in the last 10 Thursday because of fractured rib cartilage.
Teletovic hasn’t been hitting shots at the rate he had the past two years — 32 percent overall and 30 percent from 3-point range since suffering a hip-pointer and missing three games in December — but he still was a threat to which teams paid attention.
The loss of Teletovic will also likely mean the Nets will have to play Mason Plumlee and Brook Lopez together more. That combination simply hasn’t worked by either the eye test or the numbers so far this season. Hollins said before Thursday’s game he wasn’t planning on trying to look at the pairing further despite Lopez’s improved play recently.
“I mean, they play together,” Hollins said. “The rotation is Brook, Mason, and KG [Kevin Garnett], and KG doesn’t play as much in the middle of the quarter so Mirza gets some of that and Mason gets some of that.
“We’ll just go out there and play with what we have and do the best we can.”