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Teletovic Gladly Takes Responsibility, Pays Price for Booker Prank

Mirza Teletovic admits he had it easy as an NBA rookie. The Bosnian forward didn't enter the NBA until he was 27 years old and had years of professional basketball under his belt. And Europe, he says, doesn't sport the same rookie pranking values as the NBA.

The good-natured Teletovic admitted he likes NBA rookie traditions better, especially after dealing a car-full of it to first-year teammate Devin Booker on Tuesday. The 19-year-old guard, fresh off practicing for the three-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto, found his vehicle stuffed to the roof with packing peanuts.

Teletovic was quickly identified as the perpetrator. Pegging him for the deed was not hard, though he did indicate that off-camera accomplices were involved.

"The cameras caught me because I didn't try to hide, not like the other ones did," Teletovic revealed. "I'll take the full responsibility for it. No problem."

Until Booker saw the Suns.com video himself, he was sure a different teammate had spearheaded the prank.

"I thought for sure P.J. had something to do with it," Booker laughed. "P.J. said he voted it off because I'm a good rookie. Usually it's a punishment, but I do everything they ask me."

Teletovic agreed that Booker has been an undeniably well-behaved rookie, good-naturedly accepting all the menial tasks every first-year player is assigned. He thought a Challenger-sized reminder, however, was still in order before the All-Star break.

"He's doing everything like a rookie does when you ask him," Teletovic said. "He does his duties, but it's like a nice farewell before he goes to the All-Star [Weekend]. It's something to keep him sharp."

At the very least, Booker kept a sharp eye on the road upon leaving the arena. He managed to scoop most of the packing peanuts out of his car, but a fair amount still remained by the time he had to leave for an appointment. At that point, Booker rolled down the windows to let speed and wind take care of the rest.

"I had a dentist appointment, and it was all the way up in North Scottsdale," Booker said. "It was out before then, but a lot of it's on the freeway."

Teletovic did not escape the prank unscathed, however. Despite some internal urgings for him to use actual popcorn on Booker's car, the thoughtful forward elected to use the packing peanuts so as not to unnecessarily stain the interior of Booker's vehicle.

The problem? Packing peanuts in that amount come at a price. In Teletovic's case, it was $200.

Was it worth it?

"Yeah it was," Teletovic said with a smile. "It definitely was."

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