Vasilije Micic Could Be About To Become A 29-Year-Old NBA Rookie

Having added four new rookies at the most recent draft to what was already – by quite some distance – the youngest team in the NBA at an average of 23.2 years old, the Oklahoma City Thunder are an extremely young team.

They stand only to get younger, too. Despite using three picks this past draft and trading three other firsts to get one more (subsequently used on Ousmane Dieng, another teenager), the Thunder still have a massive 19 draft picks or swaps owed to them by other teams over the next six years, plus all but two of their own. That, plus plenty of spending flexibility going forward and several bright young talents already in place, gives them all the cards in the deck that one could ever want.

Even then, though, there may still be another ace in their hole. Or at least, a jack of diamonds.

As one of their many asset acquisition trades, the Thunder acquired Al Horford from the Philadelphia 76ers back in December 2020, and he came with goodies attached. One was a protected 2025 first-round draft pick, yet to be conveyed; another was the draft rights to Theo Maledon, a young point guard who has now played 116 games for the team, albeit with spotty results.

The other was the draft rights to another EuroLeague guard, this one being Serbian playmaker Vasilije Micic, whom the 76ers had drafted very late in the second round six years previously. And whereas the outstanding draft rights to players from many season past are usually archaic relics serving no purpose, often attached only to long-retired players, this is quite the opposite with Micic, who is at the apex of his career.

Micic is signed with Turkish giants Anadolu Efes, who also compete in the EuroLeague. The EuroLeague is the highest-standard of the four intra-continental European club competitions, and, by any reckoning, it is the highest-standard professional men’s basketball league outside of the NBA. And Micic is the best player on the best team in it.

Led by Micic, Anadolu Efes have won the EuroLeague in each of the last two years; on both occasions, Micic was the Finals MVP, as well as being the overall MVP in 2020/21. He led both the Finals and the regular season in scoring last season, something made doubly impressive by the fact that his passing game is his best attribute.

A 6’5″ point guard, Micic is an on-ball wizard. His handle may not be the flashiest and his first step may not be the fastest, but neither of those things prevent him from getting to where he wants with the ball, no matter the type of defense and defenders thrown at him. He is a half-court dynamo who keeps coming at you.

Forever operating in the pick-and-roll, Micic makes excellent decisions in tight spaces, whether it be driving to score, driving to dish, or utilising his own mid-range game and step-back. At the NBA level, his defense (quite good in the man to man but less tested in more switch-heavy schemes) and outside shooting (decent but not stand-out) would not chime with a team looking for a three-and-D type, yet as a creative presence from the bench, Micic has plenty to offer.

Every year since being drafted, Micic has gotten better, and he now enters the prime of his career as an NBA rotation-calibre player. Micic is on the record as saying that he wants to come to the NBA, and on the other side of 30, the window will quickly close; the time, then, is likely now, when he is at the height of his considerable powers.

As above, the Thunder are already so replete with prospects worth having and draft picks worth acquiring that they likely do not have a spot for the established Micic. At age 28, he is on a different timeline to the team that owns his rights. To others teams, however, he could be desirable and available. By virtue of being a second-round pick from eight years ago, Micic is not bound by any rigid salary requirements and is thus free to negotiate any deal with his rights-owning team that he pleases; already on a substantial contract with Efes, it would take more than the NBA minimum salary to entice him over, but any teams with cap room or mid-level exception money outstanding can consider themselves suitors if they so choose. Micic wants to be an NBA player, and he is plenty good enough to be one.

If another team can strike a deal with Micic and Anadolu, those draft rights therefore may have some value, moreso than they were thought to have eight years ago. Once again, Oklahoma City might find themselves trading draft picks for draft picks, but once again, they hold the good ones.