The Sacramento Kings officially announced on Tuesday that they’ve signed Sasha Vezenkov. The deal was first reported on July 1st, but there was a delay in finalizing the contract. According to Fox40’s Sean Cunningham, the delay was due to a letter of clearance the Kings and league office were waiting on. The announcement from the Kings confirms that clearance was received.
From the Kings:
Vezenkov was named the 2022-23 EuroLeague MVP after he averaged 17.6 points (55.3 FG%, 38.3 3pt%, 84.0 FT%), 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in 40 games (39 starts) for Olympiacos. He also received the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy and was selected to the All-EuroLeague First Team for a second consecutive season.
During the 2022-23 season, Vezenkov competed in the Greek Basket League for Olympiacos, posting averages of 16.7 points (58.0 FG%, 39.4 3pt%, 80.3 FT%), 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest. For his performance, Vezenkov was chosen as the league’s Most Valuable Player for the second season in a row and helped lead his team to win the Greek League Championship.
It had originally been reported that the Kings signed Vezenkov to a 3-year, $20 million contract. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto recently reported additional details of the contract:
Sasha Vezenkov’s three-year, $20 million deal with the Sacramento Kings is fully guaranteed the first two years and includes a team option for the 2025-26 season, league sources told @hoopshype.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 14, 2023
While Sacramento’s pursuit of Vezenkov demonstrated their level of faith in his ability to translate and succeed in the NBA, this contract does minimize the risk to the Kings. If, for whatever reason, he isn’t a good fit, the Kings are only on the hook for two years. If Vezenkov is a good fit, the Kings can keep him at a value contract for an additional year.
All that being said, there’s a lot to suggest that Sasha will be a very good fit with the Kings.
That took awhile. Find, flirt, flatter, finalize.
He could be a bust but he could be real good. The basket is 10 feet high in Europe and he made shots there and with a lot of opponent attention.
He cuts, he passes, he does not over-dribble. This is a complementary guy. Sort of the anti-Kuzma.
I think he will be another weapon.
Duarte? I want a Dillon Brooks without the bullshit.
Kings may still need third PG and for sure could use some size and rim protection in the paint. Monte is like my brother- so deliberate it drives me crazy.
Could have used O-Max who has done well but I guess I get the decisions and sequence. A few of the free agents might have been useful- Yuta, Torrey Craig, and I liked Omer Yuvetskin who signed yesterday.
I hope Colby can step it up but did not expect anything from him this year.
is there a PG ( maybe Ford) or a rim protector out there.
Does all this have to do with sequencing and salary cap- over or under the cap?
Getting the best player in Europe on a two-year, 14 mil deal with a team option that would give him Bird rights if picked up – what a signing!
Not only do I believe in Sasha’s talent, I think his fit is impeccable. He’s as efficient of a play finisher as one can get, and he’s going to be left wide open on kickouts from Fox and DHOs from Sabonis.
And when you watch him play you can see he’s a dog, too. Not afraid to compete. He’s the kinda guy that comes over here certain that he’ll be starting at the 4 by the end of the season and I wouldn’t be shocked either.
There’s a real chance this guy can give us something like 20-6-2 if given 30mpg. Maybe I’m crazy and this take will age like milk, but I think Sasha is way better than people are anticipating. The man is a walking BUCKET.
Such a good deal, I love that there is a team option in the 3rd year.
I believe he’ll benefit from the offense and the way the Kings play which will only highlight his efficiencies.
Geat signing, great contract, great fit.
All of the above.
If he plays any defense at all, this is the steal of the decade.
I think you might be right. 2 consecutive MVP awards says something. There’s a lot of good players in that league. It’s why I feel as you do, that people are underestimating this guy in an NBA uniform with better players surrounding him.
Has Sasha ever played with arguably the best rebounding Center in the NBA who’s also one of the best passing Centers and screen setters alive?
Has he played with elite shooters like Spock, Barnes, Monk, and Heurter?
Oh, and there’s him, the guy who plays PG.
Will there be an adjustment for Sasha? Sure there will, he has 14 new teammates speaking his second or third language in a new system in a new country. Excited to see him get better and better throughout the season.
I was trying to keep my expectations low but I just watched this video on YT and now I can’t contain excitement. I think you 100% right, he probably knows he has to earn his spot in the starting lineup but I bet he proves that this season as well.
Sashamento is going to be fun as hell to watch and root for.
Also IN YOUR EYE to the three random dudes on Reddit who said he was never coming over.
I hate those 3 random dudes and all other dudes who say dumb shit they can’t possibly know with so much certainty. It’s a reflection of how society is so F’d.
Deep thoughts by Arco Thunder.
Agreed. The soapbox syndrome has gotten INSANE since smartphones became a thing.
Social media allowed unimportant people to suddenly believe they had exceptional value to add.
yep.
smart phone/dumb person
Way too much certainty and opinions in a highly nuanced real world.
The Reddit guys- how would they KNOW? it was just an opinion, but expressed as certainty.
Hornets will win the NBA title this year. I know it.
MM continues to kill it with how he structures contracts.
Watching Sasha highlights, he reminds me a little of Sam Perkins.
Good contract for the team.
Sasha got enough money but the team kept the leverage.
This guy is a bit of a wildcard. We know he brings shooting, and probably at an elite level. He has decent size. Beyond that he showed toughness and rebounding. It’ll be interesting to see how his game translates because he’s a below average athlete by NBA standards. If he can guard 3-4 at an average level, this is an awesome pickup.
The only teams with defense worse than the Kings are in Europe.
There are a couple in the NBA, The Kings are not at the bottom.
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