Timberwolves Checked In On Sasha Vezenkov

Before they reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, the Timberwolves explored the possibility of trying to recruit forward Sasha Vezenkov back stateside, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Vezenkov, 31, signed with the Kings in 2023 on the heels of being named the EuroLeague’s MVP with Olympiacos. However, he played a modest role in Sacramento, averaging 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game over the course of 42 appearances, with a shooting line of .440/.375/.800.

After being traded from the Kings to the Raptors during the 2024 offseason, Vezenkov gave up a fully guaranteed $6.7MM salary in order to get out of his NBA contract and return to Greece, where he has resumed playing for Olympiacos.

The veteran forward has continued to thrive overseas. He won a championship and another MVP award in the EuroLeague this past season, as well as making the All-EuroLeague first team for a fourth team. While he’s not entirely closing the door on an NBA return, it doesn’t sound like Vezenkov is making that a priority.

“It’s tough now because here is my family … here is my life,” Vezenkov told Stein. “With Olympiacos we won a lot of stuff. But in my life, I know it’s better to never say never.

“Sometimes I think it was not a fair chance (in 2023/24 with the Kings) from both sides … neither from my side and neither from Sacramento. But I don’t regret it all. It was a great experience. Maybe I regret I didn’t do it earlier in my career at a younger age. But the experience I take with me forever. The NBA … it’s the greatest players in the world. I learned a lot. I improved my game. I improved my whole vision of the game. Sometimes, even a bad experience helps.”

According to Stein, the Timberwolves never actually made Vezenkov a formal contract offer this offseason. It’s unclear if that’s because he conveyed he wasn’t interested or if the Wolves viewed him as a fallback option in the event they couldn’t land Kuminga.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Vezenkov is reportedly under contract with Olympiacos through 2028/29, so working out a buyout agreement may have been tricky even if there was mutual interest between the two sides.

After signing Kuminga, Minnesota is carrying 14 players on standard contracts, with enough room under its hard cap to sign a 15th man to a minimum-salary contract.