When the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Vasilije Micic’s rights in December, the guard seemed like a puzzling throw-in piece to orchestrate Al Horford’s offloading from Philly.
As the NBA season progressed, however, Micic’s overseas success became a focal point of Thunder fans. With his EuroLeague contract expiring this summer, there was a real hope in Bricktown Micic would navigate his way into the NBA.
That hope is now out of the window.
As first reported by Eurohoops writer Antonis Stroggylakis, Micic has opted to pass on making the leap to NBA play, instead rejoining Anadolu Efes on a three-year contract.
Contract details have yet to be released, though the deal is reportedly one of the largest hauls in EuroLeague history.
For Micic, this move comes after months of back-and-forth rumors across both NBA and EuroLeague lines. Micic, age 27, entered the offseason as one of Europe’s hottest commodities completing his season with as the EuroLeague MVP, ending the year with averages of 16.1 points and 5.0 assists in 33 appearances.
Micic’s interest around the NBA has been well documented, even outside of Oklahoma City. After Philadelphia originally selected Micic 52nd in the 2014 Draft, Sam Presti’s original intrigue to corral his rights helped rekindle his fire. As of recently, even more sparks have arose as in the last month, reports circulated of the Chicago Bulls showing signs in the Serbian guard by means of a trade.
If Micic ever decided to make the jump into the NBA circuit, Oklahoma City will have full control to sign or trade his rights away to another franchise.
Micic’s detour from the NBA ranks can range from next offseason to the summer of 2024 as his contract includes NBA out clauses for the following two summers.