The facts on Vezenkov: What his trade to the Raptors means

Since the “basketball” season ended in HellasThe Sasha Vezenkov became the most important name in Greek current affairs. His friends Olympiakou they started thinking early on about the return of the former EuroLeague MVP, while they too Panathinaikos AKTOR to dream of another transfer “bang”.

Under these circumstances, a trade that probably went unnoticed on the other side of the Atlantic, became the most popular news of the day in Greece. The Bulgarian forward left the Sacramento Kingswho granted him by exchange to Toronto Raptors.

At first glance, it seems Vezenkov to get what he wanted. His former player Olympiakou he was unhappy with his role in the “kings” and wished to go to a team where he would be “appreciated” more.

The Canadians, a franchise that after winning the championship the 2019 is in constant decline and has now gone into phase rebuilding, seem like an ideal destination for a player looking for a bigger role in the rotation. Unlike the Kings, who are looking to qualify for the playoffs and want to be considered contenders, the Raptors are in a “rebuilding” (after the departure of Siakam and Anunoby in recent months), so they are much more likely to give opportunities.

Another element to consider is the location. The Toronto is Canada’s most populous city (2.7 million) and is much more reminiscent of Europe, as opposed to Sacramento of 500 thousand inhabitants, which was not… the best choice for someone to live in their first year away from the old continent. Therefore, in this case too, Vezenkov will find a more ideal environment around him.

As far as the competitive part is concerned, the Raptors, as we said, is a team that is currently being “built” for the future. Her coach, Darko Rajakovicis only the second European head coach in NBA history, so he can appreciate an athlete from the old continent much more and will likely know him better than his American counterparts.

It is worth noting that a few days ago the Serbian coach was in… Glyfada for the conference of Euroleague coaches and he even attended the same panel as Vezenkov. Not knowing if any of their contact there played a role in his moving to Toronto. His assistant, in fact, is Mike Batiste, who knows the player very well because he closely follows European basketball.

On the other hand, his team Canada seems to have several players in a similar position to Sasha. The star of the franchise, Scotty Barnes, competes in both ‘4’ and ‘3’. At the same time, there are also two very capable “four fives”, o Kelly Olynyk and Chris Busherwho, however, spend a lot of time in position “4” as o Jacob Peltl he is irreplaceable on the front line. Add to that Jonathan Mogbo, another developing forward Toronto acquired in the second round of the draft, although his contract is still not guaranteed.

But there is a possibility that Sasha will serve the Raptors, thanks to his excellent shooting. His team Toronto was third-worst in the NBA in three-point percentage (34.7%) last year, so he might be able to find room in the rotation for an efficient shooter like Voulgaros.

As for what can be done next, the scenarios are actually four different. The first is to stay Vezenkov to the NBA to try his luck there again, in a team that might give him more opportunities. If he doesn’t want to, he can negotiate some kind of buy-out to get a piece of his contract and return to Europe.

On the other hand, if the Raptors want, they have the option of using the former Euroleague MVP in another package for a trade. Finally, if they intend to get rid of his contract, there is the option of placing him on the waivers list. If this happens, for 48 hoursany team in the league can sign him with the his existing contract.

In his rookie season, the 29-year-old forward had 5.4 points (37.5% on 3-pointers) and averaged 2.3 rebounds in 12.2 minutes playing in a total of 42 games. It has a guaranteed contract value 6.6 million dollars for the next season. His summer 2025there is an option on the part of his respective team, for another year of cooperation with earnings of approx 7 million dollars.