By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The Oklahoma City Thunder announced that they acquired Vasilije Micic’s NBA rights in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers that also landed them French guard Theo Maledon. Vincent Poirier was among the players that went to the Sixers as part of the deal.
Per Thunder:
The Oklahoma City Thunder has acquired center Al Horford, the draft rights to guard Théo Maledon (selected 34th overall), the draft rights to guard Vasilije Micić (originally selected 52nd overall by Philadelphia in the 2014 NBA Draft) and a 2025 first-round draft pick from Philadelphia in exchange for guards Terrance Ferguson and Danny Green and center Vincent Poirier, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
Horford (6-9, 240) has appeared in 853 career NBA games (843 starts) with Atlanta, Boston and Philadelphia and averaged 13.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.18 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game. Last season with Philadelphia, Horford appeared in 67 games (61 starts) and averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30.2 minutes per contest. The five-time All-Star has averaged double-digit scoring in each of his 13 seasons, making him one of seven NBA players to do so in that timeframe.
With 124 postseason games under his belt, Horford’s teams have qualified for the playoffs in each of his 13 NBA seasons dating back to 2008. The Dominican Republic native has represented his home country in international competition dating back to 2008, earning a gold medal (2012 Centrobasket) and two bronze medals (2011 FIBA AmeriCup and 2008 Centrobasket).
Maledon (6-5, 180) spent the 2019-20 season with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, in France’s top league, Pro A, appearing in 46 games (23 starts) and averaging 7.3 points, 2.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per contest, shooting 42.1 percent from the field. In his three years with ASVEL, the French native earned an All-Star Game selection and was given the Rising Star Award for the 2018-19 season as the league’s top young player.
Micić (6-5, 203) has spent 10 professional seasons with KK Mega Bemax of the Basketball League of Serbia and Liga ABA, the German BBL’s Bayern Munich, KK Crvena Zvezda of Liga ABA, Tofas SC of the Turkish BSL, Zalgiris of the Lithuanian LKL and most recently the Turkish BSL’s Anadolu Efes, appearing in 409 career games (229 starts) and averaging 10.3 points, 4.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.16 steals per game.
In three seasons with Oklahoma City, Ferguson has appeared in 191 career games (124 starts), recording averages of 4.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per contest while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from three-point range.
Green has appeared in 688 career games (612 starts), averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.01 steals in 25.4 minutes per game, shooting 40.0 percent from three-point range. The North Carolina product was originally acquired from the Lakers on Nov. 18.
Poirier appeared in 22 games during his rookie season with Boston, registering averages of 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 5.9 minutes per contest, shooting 47.2 percent from the floor. The French native was originally acquired from Boston on Nov. 19.