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Snake Alert!
According to Shams Charania of the Vertical, Nemanja Bjelica and the Sacramento Kings are planning to begin discussions on a deal.
Forward Nemanja Bjelica and the Kings plan to begin discussing potential deal, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Bjelica represents a shooter on the wing/frontcourt, and a long-term fit makes sense.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 18, 2018
Only July 5th, it was reported that Bjelica and the Sixers had agreed to a deal that would see Bjelica lend his services to Philly for the ‘18-’19 season on the room mid-level exception (one-year, $4.4 million). Before the deal was made official though, news came out that Bjelica would actually be returning to the Euroleague (where his career first took off, winning a Euroleague MVP in 2015) instead of joining the Sixers, as Bjelica was upset with the lack of years and dollars he’d been offered in the NBA this offseason. The Euroleague, it was suspected, provided Bjeli longterm stability, versus a one-year deal in the NBA. While it felt a bit like Bjeli backed out on his word, it was understandable and at least he was ditching the Sixers for another league entirely, not a rival team. Well, now it seems Bjelica may actually be working toward remaining in the NBA and joining the Kings. (However, there has been no offer made from the Kings as of yet.)
From David Pick (@IAmDPick), an NBA reporter with Euroleague inside info:
I'm told Nemanja Bjelica felt devalued at $4.4M with PHI. Fenerbahce decided not to overload roster, CSKA have no interest at this time, SAC Kings can throw him more cash than his Sixers deal. This is a financial decision.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) July 18, 2018
Look, I’m not going to hate on anyone that’s chasing the money. Bjelica is choosing to devalue his word, his trustworthiness. And he’s doing it to get paid. It’s a financial move and he’s got every right to do that, I get it. But Sixers fans also have every right to criticize the guy. He made an agreement, and he backed out of that agreement. It’s hard to respect someone who acts that way, even if you understand why they would.
To summarize: Bjeli chasing the dollars? Fine! Sixers fans booing him relentlessly next time he steps foot in the Wells Fargo Center, or hitting the Twitter machine to bash him for being a spineless ass? Warranted!