Vasilije Micic ready to play for the NBA but not for the Thunder, per ESPN
There has been recent speculation surrounding former EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic finally wanting to make the jump to the NBA this upcoming season and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirmed those reports in his recent article that details the perfect 2022 NBA draft for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Those 15 contracts don’t include draft rights OKC holds in 28-year old Vasilije Micic, arguably the best point guard in Europe, who is intent on making his way to the NBA, a source told ESPN, but isn’t an ideal fit with the Thunder’s timeline considering the plethora of young talent the team already has in the backcourt.”
While Micic being interested in joining the NBA next season has been floated around several times throughout the years, Givony reporting it makes it essentially true this time around and isn’t just a ploy from Micic’s camp during contract negotiations with EuroLeague clubs.
It looks like Micic, who is 28 years old, does not want his waste time being in a backcourt logjam on a rebuilding team and would prefer to be on a contender. The feeling is probably mutual with the Thunder as it doesn’t make a ton of sense to add Micic onto the roster as player development will be the top priority next season. So a trade is the only solution to this predicament.
The only question left is figuring out what Micic’s trade value exactly is. The answer is probably worth around the same as a late first-round pick to a couple of second-round picks. While Micic is an accomplished basketball player, it’s unknown how he would play against NBA competition.
The Thunder acquired Micic in the Al Horford trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, who drafted him 52nd overall in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft.
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