Sasha Vezenkov is an intriguing old beginner for the Raptors
The last time the Sacramento Kings visited Toronto, on March 20, Sasha Vezenkov didn’t even dress to play. He remained sidelined, still convalescent from a sprain.
As the Kings left the locker room after a solid win, the Bulgarian remained sitting in his spot, absorbed, perhaps consumed by the loneliness of a Euroleague MVP ignored by the NBA. He barely played 42 games last year with an average of 12 minutes to go with 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists while shooting 44 percent from the field and a decent 37.5 percent from deep with 3 attempts per game.
Vezenkov could have gone unnoticed on the court on that day, but he was going to make himself heard when asked about whether he felt underrated as the reigning Euroleague MVP at that moment.
“Yes, 100 percent,” said Vezenkov in a quote that resounded in Europe.
“They don’t care if you are the Euroleague MVP, you have to start again, and if you adapt quickly you will have options. If not, it’s really hard,” he said.
It turns out that the versatile power forward could prove himself in the city where he spoke up — if the Raptors keep him on the roster. Toronto landed the power forward on Thursday along with Davion Mitchell and the 45th pick of the draft in the trade that sent Jalen McDaniels to the Kings. While different reports say Vezenkov will return to Europe to play in Olympiacos again, Michael Grange, from Sportsnet, said the Raptors don’t intend to waive the Bulgarian and expect to have him in the training camp. It looks like Toronto will look to keep him.
While Mitchell was the most eye-catching name the Raptors got in this trade, Vezenkov might be the most intriguing one. The story of a sophomore turning 29 years old in August must be interesting.
Sasha Vezenkov had everything in life in Europe just a year ago. He had longtime recognition, he had just reached the pinnacle for a European superstar by being named the Euroleague 2023 MVP. He was one more Greek god at the foot of the Parthenon as an Olympiacos idol, a hard-to-achieve privilege in the eyes of the emotional and demanding Greek fans, those who make a drama out of any loss and intimidate opponents by setting off flares.
He had just lost the Euroleague final against Real Madrid, but the loss wasn’t that dramatic if he put everything into context. So there was still something to prove. And he had worked his tail off to reach that plateau, forged by five years in Olympiacos after feeling mistreated in his previous tenure in Barcelona.
And yet he started again from scratch.
Six years after being selected in the draft with the 57th overall pick by the Brooklyn Nets, Vezenkov embarked on an exciting but uncertain journey at 28 years old by signing a $20 million two-year contract until 2025 with the Kings, who owned his rights.
But the Bulgarian, a well-established player in Europe and accustomed to the slower-pace basketball overseas, decided to defy any obstacle.
He was one of the biggest reasons Canada’s coach Jordi Fernandez travelled to Kaunas (Lituania) to watch the Euroleague’s Final Four firsthand. Back then, Fernandez was the associate coach of the Kings.
He came back to Sacramento dazzled by the power forward after seeing him scoring 29 points in the final, tying the highest individual scoring performance on Euroleague’s highest stage.
“It’s a player who generates basketball very easily, he makes everything look easy. He plays really well off the ball, cuts very well, shoots, is always in the right position, grabs rebounds,” the new Brooklyn Nets’ head coach said to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.
However, Vezenkov never blossomed in Sacramento in his rookie season, or not at least in the way he was supposed to do as an MVP. He didn’t consolidate himself as the backup to Keegan Murray, even though, on paper, his constant off-ball movement fit with Domantas Sabonis and his playmaking role from the elbow.
Defensive struggles were one of the reasons why Vezenkov never found his place in the Kings. However, Mike Brown wasn’t specific about what the Bulgarian was lacking.
“We are playing very well right now, I’m not just going to take out a guy to put another one on,” he said following Sacramento’s win in Toronto.
“He will have to work hard on both ends of the floor and, as soon as he gets an opportunity, capitalize on it,” Brown said.
In other words: I don’t care about how good you were in Europe or your complaints. You’re just a rookie here.
If Vezenkov expected to be given something because of his Euroleague reputation, one of the lessons he took from his first NBA season is that this league, somehow egocentric in some senses, is indifferent to achievements out of its borders when it comes to earning respect.
However, it has been proven that being a Euroleague MVP doesn’t guarantee any success in the best basketball league. If it plays some role, it seems to be an overwhelming burden. Milos Teodosic, former Raptor Nando De Colo, Sergio Rodriguez, Nikola Mirotic, or Jan Vesely were more or less irrelevant in the NBA. Vasilije Micic is a similar case as Vezenkov, as the point guard had his rookie season last year at 30 years old, getting traded to the Hornets after playing for the Thunder the first half of the season.
Luka Doncic, the Euroleague MVP in 2018, is a rare exception.
Vezenkov was a rookie, but he didn’t act like it as he decided to control his own future once the season ended. He requested a trade two weeks earlier, according to a report from the European basketball website Eurohoops.
In what could be a sign of fate, a premonition of what would happen, Vezenkov, and Rajakovic met in Greece on a panel discussion of a coaches congress per an Aris Barkas report.
It’s hard to envision what will be the role of a 29-year-old sophomore coming off a disappointing rookie season on a rebuilding team like these Raptors. It might continue to be small, as it was in Sacramento. But there’s much more opportunity for him in Toronto, as it’s a worse team with fewer established veterans ahead of Vezenkov on the depth chart.
Everything starts with Rajakovic. A European head coach might be more likely to understand a player who feels misunderstood. But Vezenkov also might find valuable help from Mike Batiste in trying to adapt to the dazzling pace of the NBA.
Batiste, one of Rajakovic’s assistant coaches, was also a legend for a Greek club, although it was Olympiacos’s rival Panathinaikos. He made a name for himself as a three-time Euroleague champion after only spending one season in the NBA with the Grizzlies (2002-2003).
Despite his problems adjusting to a new basketball, there’s no way Vezenkov doesn’t get Rajakovic curious, as he seems to be made for his system at first sight. While he has to adapt to the NBA game, he is not the prototype of a European star, who is usually a dominant ballhandler. He feels comfortable moving off the ball and he can open up a lot of lanes to the rim through this constant and smart movement. He can shoot threes out of DHO and he can set himself up in the corner to hit a three or to end up cutting towards the paint in a very Rajakovic thing.
His perimeter threat at his size can’t be overlooked on a roster still lacking shooting — with a shortage, especially, of big men able to shoot consistently.
Vezenkov also has a manageable contract, with a $6.6 million year left and a $7 million franchise option for the 2025-2026 season.
The Bulgarian might feel like an old man with beardless students, sitting with them to learn instead of teaching. Even Scottie Barnes, who will only be a fourth-year player and much younger than Vezenkov, could teach him much about the NBA.
Moreover, the history of the Raptors says old beginners still have something to say in Toronto. Vezenkov’s arrival brings back memories of another bearded European — Jorge Garbajosa. The Spaniard, who got to the NBA at 28 years old, made the All-Rookie team in 2007. Vezenkov got lost in Sacramento, but he might find himself in Toronto.
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