NBA
Sasha Vezenkov Believes Kings ‘Might Make An Offer’ To Bring Him Over To NBA This Summer
Jun 29, 2022, 8:54 AM
| Updated: Jul 14, 2022, 3:33 pm
(Photo by Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images)
(Photo by Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images)
When the Sacramento Kings traded away its 49th-overall pick during Thursday’s NBA Draft, the return might have seemed insignificant at first glance.
In return for the Kings’ 49th pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent back the rights to Bulgarian forward Sasha Vezenkov in the deal, a 6’9 forward with the ability to knock down shots on the perimeter at a high level. Unfortunately for the Kings, the 26-year-old is under contract with Olympiacos B.C., a Greek basketball club that competes in the EuroLeague, through 2024.
There’s a wrinkle to that 2024 pact, however: Vezenkov has NBA opt-out clauses in his contract for the next two off-seasons.
When speaking to BG Basket on Tuesday, Vezenkov said that he believes Sacramento could be interested enough in himself to bring him over to the NBA this summer.
“My rights are with a team that really sees something positive in me and something that might make them make an offer to me,” the All-EuroLeague first-teamer said of the possibility of joining the Kings next season.
Dream. Believe. Do. Repeat.
Sasha Vezenkov was the bwin MVP of the Game!#OlympiacosBC #WeAreOlympiacos #TogetherWeFight #ASMOLY pic.twitter.com/SIiXzH0Avg
— Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) April 28, 2022
Sacramento general manager Monte McNair had nothing but great things to say about Vezenkov, adding that he envisions the forward fitting in with franchise cornerstones De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.
“Being able to acquire his rights, we’ll see what we do going forward,” McNair said of Vezenkov on draft night. “He’s just another guy that we’re excited to welcome to the Kings. At the end of the season, wanting to add shooting was a priority, and so going at one of the best shooters who’s got great positional size in one of the best leagues in the world who’s already producing, that made it easy for us.
“Sasha is a guy we see fitting with Domas’ [Sabonis] passing, with [De’Aaron] Fox’s ability to collapse defenses, just another guy who can stand there and hit shots. We all know how important that is in the league these days, we all just saw the playoffs.”
Over 21 games for Olympiacos this season, Vezenkov is averaging 14.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 55 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the three-point stripe.
It’s currently unknown if McNair and the Kings will lure Vezenkov away from the EuroLeague this summer, but with free agency set to begin on Thursday afternoon, we will likely have an answer in the coming weeks as Sacramento crafts its roster for the 2022-23 season.
