Sasha Vezenkov fit for Kings: is he ready for NBA? / News - Basketnews.com

Last week, the Sacramento Kings traded away their second-round pick to get the rights of Sasha Vezenkov.

Aleksandr Vezenkov

Team:Olympiakos PiraeusBulgariaPosition:SF, PFAge:26Height:206 cmWeight:102 kgBirth place:Nicosia, Côte d'IvoireProfileNewsStatistics

The 26-year-old Bulgarian had a stellar season with Olympiacos Piraeus. The Reds won the domestic league in Greece and made a long-awaited comeback to the Final Four in the EuroLeague.

A 6'8 (2.06 m) forward has been steadily blossoming into a star, and his growth allowed him to make All-EuroLeague First team.

His future is yet to be known. BasketNews analyzes if he's ready for the NBA and what he could bring to the Kings.

Vezenkov obviously wouldn't be a game-changer in the NBA, but his skill set offensively matches well with what Sacramento needs at the moment.

At the trade deadline, the Kings decided to build around De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, thus badly needing as many shooters around them as they could get.

Fox is one of the fastest, shiftiest, and most explosive guards in the league. The Lithuanian is great at keeping the offense flowing, solid in pick&rolls, and amazing at finding cutting teammates.

However, both of them lack outside shooting, so the Kings can't allow themselves to have another non-shooter sharing the court with them if they want to have a productive offense.

That's where the Bulgarian's skills would step in. His game heavily relies on creation from others, and he showed that he can be extremely efficient at converting those opportunities. Vezenkov is a typical stretch forward with a quick release.

He cashed in on 37% of 3-point shots this past campaign, scoring a solid 1.34 points per catch and shoot opportunity. This was his No. 1 offensive play type, and this number would definitely be even higher if he made the transfer to the NBA.

Aleksandr Vezenkov

MIN:30.19PTS:13.66 (59.78%)REB:5.95As:1.53ST:1BL:0.24TO:0.82GM:38ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

Interestingly, the area of the court where he shot from had a big difference in the outcome. Vezenkov was insanely accurate from the corners, shooting at a whopping 65% and 59% rate from the left and right corners, respectively.

He struggled from the left wing and was average on the right one while hitting 35% of the shots from the center. It would be optimal if the Kings would use him as a corner guy, similar to how PJ Tucker was with Milwaukee and Miami.

He could benefit from DeAaron Fox's ability to collapse defenses as he did this year with Kostas Sloukas in Olympiacos.

On playmaker's drop-off passes inside, the forward patiently waited for extra passes in the corners or simply spacing the floor even after switches whenever Sloukas drove to the basket.

His efficiency from behind the 3-point line forced teams to adjust. Hard closeouts against Vezenkov were a theme, forcing the shooter to put the ball on the floor. However, that didn't create too many problems for the Bulgarian as he has a solid shot fake into a side-step move and can put the ball on the floor as a finish inside the paint.

Vezenkov isn't a huge fan of contact as he usually tries to avoid it when driving towards the rim, but he is excellent at little floater shots. The 26-year-old prefers high-arching ones rather than finishing around the rim protectors.

Credit BasketNews/Begum Unal

Also, he has often been used as the back screener in the famous Spain pick&roll that nowadays every NBA team runs. This puts pressure on the opponent's bigs communication and quick movement.

Moreover, Vezenkov loves stampeding on the catch, which means starting to run even before receiving the ball. It works perfectly for him because he's such a threat from outside, and he knows the defender's first thought on the pass is to close out to the 3-point line.

He catches the opponent off-guard with his movement without the ball to create an easy opportunity to score near the rim.

The stampede action is just a small glimpse of how Vezenkov utilizes off-ball movements. That's one of his biggest strengths, and it would be an ideal fit next to Sabonis, who loves rewarding cutting teammates. Cutting was actually the second most used play type offensively by Vezenkov, where he scored 1.35 points per possession.

It is another proof that he doesn't create almost anything with the ball in his hands but finds the best opportunities with a different skill set. The skill set that would be useful in Sacramento.

Credit Olympiacos BC

An excellent motor overall helps him to be a solid offensive rebounder too. In the EuroLeague, he averaged 1.7 of those in 27 minutes of playing time while being a below-average athlete.

He doesn't bother spending energy and crashes the glass from the 3-point line, creating second chances and converting 1.35 points per putback.

The size and athleticism in the NBA reach another level, but Vezenkov would be able to grab occasional offensive rebounds just because of his outstanding energy.

So far, we have talked about Vezenkov's offensive abilities, which would transfer quite well in the NBA and match up with what the Kings need. But how about the other side of the court?

While we can see the offense working well for short periods, it's hard to imagine a weaker defensive frontcourt pairing than Vezenkov and Sabonis. That would probably be a big hole and a big target point for any guard in the pick and rolls.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

Vezenkov was a solid defender in Europe, often having to switch on guards late in the shot clock. He is quick enough to move laterally on his feet but sometimes gives himself too much space from the attacker to react to the moves.

A shorter three-point line and great Olympiacos team defense also helped Vezenkov as he was one of the main targets for AS Monaco in their quarterfinal series this year. In the NBA, where the speed reaches another level, Vezenkov probably would have trouble keeping guards in front and rotating on closeouts.

Having said that, Sasha Vezenkov is a player worth bringing to the NBA for a season or two to see how he fits in. He matches well with the current Kings roster.

If many things he does great offensively can't outplay his defensive liabilities, he will always find a place in the EuroLeague where many teams would love such an energetic and efficient stretch forward.

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