Sasha Vezenkov speaks: Why Kings can’t sign EuroLeague MVP yet; timeline, contract, buyout

Sacramento is eagerly awaiting news on the future of Olympiacos star Sasha Vezenkov.

Is the EuroLeague MVP coming to the United States to ply his trade with the Kings as they try to assemble an NBA championship contender? Or will he stay overseas where he has already achieved a level of fame and fortune?

Kings fans will have to wait a while longer to find out, but Sacramento has made no secret of its interest in Vezenkov since acquiring his NBA draft rights last summer. Vice president of player personnel Phil Jabour, coach Mike Brown, general manager Monte McNair and chief operating officer Matina Kolokotronis have all traveled overseas to scout the 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward from Bulgaria.

The Kings will renew contract talks with Vezenkov in the weeks to come. They can’t sign him until after the NBA draft, but their intentions seem clear. The two-time Greek League MVP averaged 17.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists this season while leading Olympiacos to the championship game at the EuroLeague Final Four. He shot 53.6% from the field, 37.8% from 3-point range and 87.9% at the free-throw line.

Asked in recent days about the possibility of joining the Kings, Vezenkov told BasketNews.com: “I feel very good when specialists and coaches say nice words (about me) but I know it’s a business and it’s all about how, what, and when. We agreed that it would be fairest to finish the EuroLeague season and then talk. We’ll see if they have a specific offer. I’m ready for new challenges, but as I’ve said before, Athens and Olympiacos are my home and I feel great. For me, the most important thing is what’s best for my future.”

Vezenkov was 21 when the Brooklyn Nets selected him with the 57^th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired his draft rights in a multi-team trade involving James Harden in 2021. Cleveland sent his rights to Sacramento last summer in exchange for a late second-round pick.

The Kings believe Vezenkov would be a solid fit in their offense, which emphasizes pace, space and shooting around point guard De’Aaron Fox and center Domantas Sabonis. Brown has spoken highly of Vezenkov’s toughness and his ability to shoot the ball.

When can Kings sign Vezenkov?

Under rules of the collective bargaining agreement, teams can’t begin negotiations with unsigned draft picks until after the draft. That includes unsigned players from prior draft years.

This means the Kings will have to wait until after the 2023 NBA draft to sign Vezenkov to a contract. This year’s draft will be held June 22 in Brooklyn.

How much does Vezenkov make?

Olympiacos renegotiated Vezenkov’s contract in January, increasing his salary while adding a year to the deal. Vezenkov’s salary will increase from 900,000 Euros ($973,562) this season to 1.5 million Euros ($1.62 million) next season and nearly 2 million Euros ($2.2 million) in 2024-25, according to Sport24.gr.

Olympiacos also made sure to insure itself against the possibility of Vezenkov leaving for the NBA, including a substantial buyout clause in the new contract.

How does buyout work?

NBA teams wishing to sign an international player are permitted to pay a buyout to the player’s international team, freeing the player up to sign an NBA contract. Vezenkov’s contract with Olympiacos includes an NBA buyout clause of $1 million to $1.5 million, according to BasketNews.com.

Under the collective bargaining agreement, the Kings can pay up to $825,000 of the buyout without counting it against their salary cap. The remaining amount must come out of the player’s salary, so that figure counts against the team’s cap space. That could amount to as much as $675,000 for Sacramento.

How much will Kings pay?

The Kings can use a portion of their $12.2 million mid-level exception to sign Vezenkov for up to four years with 5% annual raises. They could also choose to use their biannual exception, which is valued at $4.3 million next season, but they could only sign him for two years. Under that scenario, the Kings would not procure Bird rights to Vezenkov, but they would hold Early Bird rights if he spends two full seasons in Sacramento.

What’s the difference? With Early Bird rights, the largest contract extension the Kings could offer Vezenkov without using cap space would be a four-year deal worth 175% of his previous salary, or 105% of the league’s average salary, whichever is greater. With Bird rights, they could eventually re-sign him to a max extension for up to five years. In this case, Early Bird rights would probably suffice.

The Kings were believed to have offered Vezenkov a $1.5 million portion of their MLE last summer. There has been some indication from European basketball insiders that, based on that figure, Vezenkov’s camp wasn’t convinced he would have a key role as an important part of Sacramento’s plans.

Any offer this summer would likely start in the $3 million to $4 million range.