EuroLeague Star Sasha Vezenkov To Stay Overseas For 2022-23 Season
Earlier this month, there was a lot of speculation surrounding Sasha Vezenkov and whether or not he would be making the jump to the NBA from EuroLeague.
Now, it seems like an answer to this has been given, as Fox40’s Sean Cunningham reports that the Sacramento Kings will not be bringing Vezenkov over for the 2022-23 season.
Having his rights traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the James Harden blockbuster trade in 2021, Vezenkov recently had his rights traded once again, this time from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Sacramento Kings ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft.
Once he is ready to make the jump to the NBA, the Kings own the draft rights to the Bulgarian forward. There was some talk about Sacramento being interested in bringing him overseas right now, but the Kings appear to be happy with the roster they have already constructed this offseason.
Playing in 21 games this past season with Olympiacos in Greece, Vezenkov averaged 14.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and shot 55.3% from the floor, 37.8% from three-point range. He was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team and helped his team win both the Greek League and Greek Cup in 2022.
During a press conference when the Kings acquired the rights to Sasha Vezenkov from the Cavaliers, general manager Monte McNair spoke very highly of the team’s new international prospect.
“Sasha is one of the best shooters who's got great positional size in one of the best leagues in the world. He's already producing, that made it easy for us,” McNair told reporters. “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.”
While Olympiacos did extend Vezenkov’s contract through 2024, he does have an NBA-out option and the buyout for his deal is roughly $750,000.
The Kings will continue to monitor Vezenkov overseas during the 2022-23 season.
