By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes officially announced that reigning EuroLeague and Final Four MVP Vasilije Micic signed a three-year contract extension with the club.
The contract includes NBA out clauses for each of the next two summers.
There was optimism on Efes that they would convince Micic to remain on the team, as Eurohoops had reported. The Turkish side made their star player a highly tempting offer of a lucrative deal to persuade him to stay and skip, for now at least, his first-time trip to the NBA.
After pushing Efes towards the first-ever EuroLeague championship in the history of the club and finishing the season with a parade of individual achievements, it would make sense for 27-year-old free agent Micic to take his career to the next level and finally make the NBA jump. The Oklahoma City Thunder had acquired the Serbian guard’s rights by the Philadelphia 76ers in December while it was reported that the Chicago Bulls could be interested in trading for him.
At this point in Micic’s career, it was of vital importance to him to not just land on an NBA team and appear on its roster but also know that he will be getting a sufficient amount of playing time and have a substantial role on the floor.
Ultimately, Micic decided to not take the NBA route and instead remain with Efes where – after rising to EuroLeague superstardom – he’ll now become one of the best-paid players in Europe.