By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
From players established in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague switching teams and potential NBA adventurers to the VTB United League.
The incoming connection is EuroLeague teams emerging as hopeful suitors for VTB free agents, who in many cases are EuroLeague-level material, and some of them, including, for example, Nikola Milutinov, may end up having a bigger value in the market compared to players who spent last season in the EuroLeague.
Euroleague Basketball decided to withdraw the participation of teams located in Russia upon the country’s invasion of Ukraine resulting in the ongoing war, late in the 2021-22 season.
The 2022-23 season was the first entire campaign without Russian clubs with plenty of quality players staying away from the European spotlight. That’s why most of the non-Russian players who sign in to the VTB are now free agents or have very manageable opt-out clauses on their contracts.
The talent pool is impressive, that’s why we need also to mention four players who didn’t make the cut, Okaro White of Lokomotiv Kuban, Casper Ware of CSKA Moscow, plus Avtodor’s Malik Newman, and Zenit’s Trent Frazier who joined the league mid-season but also proved that they are ready for the highest level.
Nikola Milutinov
Season stats: 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists (43 games with CSKA)
The MVP of the league and already a target of many EuroLeague teams, including Olympiacos doesn’t need a special introduction.
With CSKA already announcing that the Serb center is leaving Moscow, Milutinov is destined to return to the EuroLeague and he is already considered one of the top big men of the competition, no matter where he will ultimately play next season.
Thomas Heurtel
Season stats: 13.0 points, 8.1 assists, 2.2 rebounds (43 games with Zenit)
Similar to Milutinov, this is a more than established player in the EuroLeague. He was named best newcomer in the VTB League, he had one of the best, if not the best, seasons of his career and the market is starving for point guards.
He has a contract with Zenit St. Petersburg for next year, but it includes an opt-out clause. Considering the rise of Monaco and the will of ASVEL to not lose more ground to their competitors from the same domestic league, the fact that he is French already creates extra value for him for those two clubs in the EuroLeague market.
Alexey Shved
Season stats: 16.6 points, 7.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds (32 games with CSKA)
Even Shved’s contract included an opt-out clause and that tells you all that you need to know about how easy this summer will be for VTB League players to leave Russia.
The Russian sharp-shooter is a known commodity and he clearly belongs to the EuroLeague elite. So moving back to the EuroLeague for a non-Russian club can be an option for him if he finds the right situation.
Nenad Dimitrijevic
Season stats: 12.8 points, 5.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds (47 games with UNICS)
The best player in the VTB playoffs just yesterday become officially a free agent from Valencia, which had a contract with him, and he is poised to make the jump to the EuroLeague.
Point guards are becoming a rare commodity in Europe and he has all the tools to make it. It will be a huge surprise if he doesn’t end up in the EuroLeague after his huge performance in the VTB Finals with UNICS taking the trophy.