By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Vasilije Micic changed his NBA representation by hiring Wasserman, however, he is still represented in Europe by Beobasket and his longtime agent Misko Raznatovic.
“I haven’t changed my agent. Since 2010, my agent has been Misko Raznatovic, and it stays like that. My decision is that I will be represented by Mr. Jason Ranne in the NBA,” said Micic himself in a statement obtained by the Lithuanian portal “Basketnews“.
This is a key detail for Micic’s European future, even if his current contract expires in the summer of 2024 and he is not expected to leave Istanbul anytime soon unless the NBA calls.
It has to be noted that Beobasket collaborates with Excel Sports Management. Micic is now an exception to this norm and it’s obvious that his decision is connected with his potential NBA move.
Micic’s NBA rights belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder and despite him being a back-to-back EuroLeague champion and arguably the best guard outside the NBA, he hasn’t made the jump to the US yet.
Undecided Oklahoma City
The question which surrounds the player of course is if Micic will finally leave Europe for the NBA.
Back in September, Thunder general manager Sam Presti revealed summer talks with the back-to-back Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion and back-to-back Final Four MVP.
“He’s really taken off since the time in which we acquired his rights,” he mentioned referring to the trade in 2020 sending Micic’s rights to the Thunder, “All I can tell you is I thought we were pretty close at one time. He is on a contract, and he’s committed over there. But I wouldn’t rule anything out. It’s probably a year-to-year thing.”
However, Micic’s side was pushing for a trade. The Serb guard didn’t want to be part of a rebuilding process with the Oklahoma City Thunder and there was reported interest for him from Denver, Milwaukee, Chicago, and San Antonio, especially after the Dejounte Murray trade to Atlanta, while the Thunder were keeping his rights.
The reports about Denver were more than interesting, because of the presence of Serb megastar Nikola Jokic on the team. The two of them played together in the Serbian national team in the recent Eurobasket.
Contract with Efes until 2024
Meanwhile, Micic had signed a three-year contract extension with the EuroLeague back-to-back champions Anadolu Efes with expires in the summer of 2024.
The contract includes NBA out clauses, which can be used this summer. However, that was also the case also last summer and a solid offer from the NBA never come for him.