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Hello Brooklyn: Get to know Mirza Teletovic

Mirza Teletovic is a gifted shooter the Brooklyn Nets will look to for scoring.

Jim O'Connor-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire

Imported from Euroleague club Saski Baskonia, of the Spanish ACB League, sharpshooter Mirza Teletovic was given simple advice by the Brooklyn Nets.

Take your best shot.

On the court, Teletovic is a gifted shooter. Once settled into the Spanish League, he won the league's Rising Star Award, became a team captain and named MVP of the three-game Spanish King's Cup tournament. Last season was truly a breakout for Teletovic. He averaged a career-high 21.7 points and six rebounds per game, but in June he reached a buyout agreement with Baskonia, freeing him up to play in the NBA.

Teletovic, 27, signed with the Nets, and besides stretching the floor he's catching on with some of the smaller nuances of the American game.

"He's pretty much a pure shooter, but he has so many other aspects to his game," Joe Johnson said last Friday after practice. "I've seen him do a pump fake, get in the lane and shoot a floater. I didn't know he could do all that."

But when the chips are down, Nets head coach Avery Johnson wants Teletovic to catch, pull up and pop. Such long-range precision will create openings for Johnson's stars to inflict further damage while enhancing Teletovic's appeal on an international level.

"I told him he's just got to take his shot," Johnson said. "Camp has been pretty hard so far, so I know from a fatigue standpoint, his legs are probably not as strong, especially coming out of the European [championship] games. I just want him to take his shot. I know he can make it."

-- Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC