Sasha Vezenkov might not be part of Sacramento Kings rotation at season start / News - Basketnews.com

Despite scoring 12 points in his preseason debut with the Sacramento Kings, Sasha Vezenkov's spot in the team's main rotation is by no means guaranteed, head coach Mike Brown stressed.

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Sacramento KingsrookieSasha Vezenkov came in to bolster the NBA side with his elite shooting. Vezenkov, a three-time Greek League MVP with Olympiacos, was signed to a three-year, $20 million contract in July, a year after the Kings acquired his draft rights in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But only a couple of days after he made his preseason debut, scoring 12 points in almost as many minutes of play against the Toronto Raptors, Mike Brown made it clear that the EuroLeague MVP will first need to crack the Kings rotation.

"He's still learning the ropes," Brown told reporters during the team's media day.

"The one thing I did like was that he didn't hesitate. We don't want him hesitating at all. If he feels he's open at any time, let that thing fly. It's important for us to get him to understand that if he doesn't get the rebound, he should get to the corner to flat the defense."

On that same day, Vezenkov pointed out that his coach's philosophy and game mentality start from defense.

"Everyone, including me, has to be very solid on the defensive side. Physicality will be our defensive identity. Offensively, he knows what I can do and is trying to use it, so I think everything will be fine."

However, Brown's latest comments don't seem to support Vezenkov's optimism at all. In fact, the Kings play-caller would like to see more from his player on the rear end of the floor -- and that's probably the main reason why the former Olympiacos Piraeus forward might not be allocated a rotation role at the beginning of the season.

"He played well for us offensively against Toronto," Brown argued."He's getting better. We're just looking at different combinations. We may throw in Sasha with the second five and [Chris] Duarte with the third. The only thing that may not happen is I don't think I'll mess with the starting five," the specialist said referring to his lineups.

"But the second and third five can change at any time. Sasha showed some of his versatility on the offensive end that people would expect to see this year."

Asked whether he anticipates that Vezenkov will be in his rotation at the start of the season so as to get acclimated, Brown responded:

"That's a great question. I don't know if he will be or not. He'll just have to keep fighting. He's getting better with every opportunity that he gets, whether it's in practice, in shootaround, or during the game."

Answering a more specific question about Vezenkov's defense and how his adjustment to the NBA speed and athleticism is progressing, Brown became more straightforward.

"His defense against Toronto was at best okay," he admitted. "He gave up middle a couple of times, and we're no middle team. He's got to keep the ball on the sideline," he added.

"Then, he's got to make sure he continues to understand the league. So, he's got to watch as much film as he can on guys that he may match up against, so that he picks up on their tendencies sooner rather than later."

Vezenkov, 28, received ringing endorsements from the team's two biggest stars when the Kings reconvened for media day Monday.

All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis said Vezenkov is probably the best shooter on the team. All-NBA point guard De'Aaron Fox went even further, calling Vezenkov one of the best shooters on earth.

"Man, he shoots the (heck) out of the ball," Fox said. "It's crazy. One of our shooting drills, I think it's like 150 shots, and I think he missed seven. We want him to be comfortable and we want him to know he has a green light to shoot the ball.

He's one of the best shooters in the world. That's why you're here. We want you to shoot the ball. If you think it’s a bad shot, it might not actually be a bad shot, but once he gets it going, man, it's like the net is not even moving. It's crazy watching him shoot the ball," Fox pointed out.

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