Eurobasket in doubt for injured Hornets F Stojakovic

Jan 27, 2007 - 5:38 PM NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - There is fresh doubt over Peja Stojakovic's availability to play for Serbia at EuroBasket 2007 after New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott admitted the forward might not return this season.

Stojakovic, 29, has played only 13 games for the Hornets since signing as a free agent last summer. He has been out since November with a back injury.

He had surgery in mid-December but appears no nearer a return, and Scott has admitted he may already be done for the season.

"I think that's a realistic possibility," Scott said of the former King in the Sacramento Bee. "I think you've got to be prepared for that. In Peja's situation, you have to be prepared for the worst."

Before the injury, Stojakovic joined Nenad Krstic of the New Jersey Nets and Darko Milicic of the Orlando Magic in committing himself to play at EuroBasket in September, but Krstic has since gone down with a season-ending knee injury.

Neither Stojakovic or Krstic played for Serbia at the FIBA World Championship, and it appears increasingly likely that coach Dragan Sakato head to Spain with a team similar team to the one that played in Japan.

That could work if they follow the example of Turkey, who were without NBA stars Mehmet Okur and Hedo Turkoglu and still reached the quarterfinals in Japan last September.