Before they reached an agreement to sign the free agent forward Jonathan Cuminga, Timberwolves explored the possibility of trying to recruit forward Sasha Vezenkov in the state, according to league sources Mark Stein of The Stein Line (Link to substack).
Vezenkov, 31, signed a contract with the Kings in 2023 after being named Euroleague MVP with Olympiakos. Still, he played a modest role in Sacramento, averaging 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game over 42 games, shooting .440/.375/.800.
After being traded from the Kings to the Raptors in the 2024 offseason, Vezenkov surrendered a fully guaranteed salary of $6.7 million to get out of his NBA contract and return to Greece, where he resumed playing for Olympiakos.
The veteran forward continued to develop abroad. Last season, he won the championship title and another EuroLeague MVP award, and was first team AllEuroLeague for the fourth team. While he isn’t completely closing the door on a return to the NBA, it doesn’t seem like Vezenkov is making it a priority.
“It’s hard now because my family is here…my life is here,” Vezenkov told Stein. “We won a lot of things with Olympiakos. But in my life, I know it’s better to never say never.”
“Sometimes I think it was an unfair chance (in 2023/24 with the Kings) on both sides … not on my part, not on Sacramento. But I don’t regret it all. It was a great experience. Maybe I wish I had done it earlier in my career at a younger age. But I take the experience with me forever. The NBA … these are the greatest players in the world. I’m a lot of things. learned I improved my vision of the game Sometimes even a bad experience helps.
According to Stein, the Timberwolves never offered Vezenkov a formal contract this offseason. It’s unclear if that’s because he said he wasn’t interested, or if the Wolves viewed him as a backup option in case they can’t land Cummings.
Of course, it’s worth noting that Vezenkov is reportedly under contract with Olympiacos until 2028/29, so working out a buyout deal could be difficult even if was mutual interest between both parties.
With the signing of Kuminga, Minnesota has 14 players on standard contracts, with enough cap space to sign a 15th man to a minimum-salary contract.