Philadelphia 76ers first-round pick Nikola Vucevic close to signing a contract overseas: NBA Update
Former superstar of University of Southern California Trojans, Nikola Vucevic, who was picked by his favourite team Philadelphia 76ers in this years’ draft, could become the first NBA first-rounder to sign an agreement and play with the international league.
Several NBA players are seeking employment overseas with no clue of when the National Basketball Association will get back to business. However the first-round draft picks showed no interest in making a shift and instead, they decided to go back to school and work on their degrees. Until the dynamic centre Nikola became the highlight of the news bulletin which suggested that the NBA rookie is close to signing a professional contract with a team of his home country Montenegro.
Shifting his talent somewhere else is the only option for Nikola at the moment to keep the wheels running during the lockout.
The 20 year old Nikola Vucevic was very emotional on the draft night and wiped out his tears when his name was called by the team he always wanted to play for. After becoming a part of the Sixers officially, Vucevic expressed how much it means to him.
“The Sixers were definitely my favorite team coming into the draft. I wanted to get picked by them. I really liked coach [Doug] Collins, the rest of the staff, and the players I met. It was by far the greatest moment of my life. It was something that I dreamed about since I was little. The combine in Chicago gave me a great idea about where I was. I saw that I was better than some of the guys ranked in front of me.” Nikola said.
However after a few days, the young star faced the ugliest turmoil of NBA, a lockout without making a debut. As a result, Nikola is compelled to play overseas until the lockout ends and preferred his home country as the destination.
The agreement with Montenegro will have the out-clause option, enabling the NBA rookie to join Philadelphia 76ers when the league gets back to business. With everything lined-up between both the parties, the holdup is because of the insurance issue. However, according to the sources, the matter will be resolved with the start of the next week and Nikola will receive a green signal to play in his home country.
The insurance concern has been a major problem for the first-round draft picks that might be a reason of their less consideration to play overseas. Being on the rookie scale salaries, it’s hard to determine the insurance value of the first-rounder players.
Another big reason first-rounders are showing less interest in playing overseas might be their desire to play the first professional game with their new team. Whatever the case may be, Nikola’s shift in Montenegro will make him the first NBA first-round draft pick to play overseas.
Tags: