Sacramento Kings player tells team he wants out
Dec 7, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; A view of the Sacramento Kings logo and basketball before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Kings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Sacramento Kings have an unhappy player on their hands.
According to a report Saturday by Mihalis Stefanou of EuroHoops, Kings forward Sasha Vezenkov has informed the team that he wants to leave. A return to Europe or a move to another team in the NBA are possibilities on the table for Vezenkov, Stefanou adds.
Vezenkov, 28, is a versatile forward who played professionally in Europe for over a decade, including winning EuroLeague MVP in 2023 with Greece’s Olympiacos and winning three total Greek League MVP awards with both Olympiacos and Aris B.C. Vezenkov also has five career domestic league championships in both Greece and Spain combined.
But after making the leap to the NBA by signing with the Kings last summer, Vezenkov experienced far less success. In a mere 12.2 minutes a night over 42 total appearances off the bench this season, Vezenkov managed just 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He almost never found himself closing games and was essentially out of the rotation by the end of the year as Trey Lyles picked up more backup forward minutes for Sacramento instead.
The problem for Vezenkov is that he signed a three-year, $20 million deal with the Kings last offseason, so he is still under contract for two more years. But if the Kings, who recently got positive news on a different front, grant him his wish to be cut loose, Vezenkov should get a chance to thrive again.
