By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Phoenix Suns are expected to decline a team option on the contract of Vasilije Micic.
Following the completion of the trade sending Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, a complicated salary-cap situation may force the franchise to let go of the 31-year-old Serbian point guard, as detailed by Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports on Sunday.
In the blockbuster trade, the Suns are set to acquire Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, alongside the tenth pick of the 2025 NBA Draft presented by State Farm and five second-round selections. Making room for more contracts is likely to extend to relinquishing a team option worth 8.1 million dollars, and Micic becoming an unrestricted free agent.
The situation is expected to become clearer with further insight on the 2025-26 squad of the Suns following the upcoming draft, set to be held on Wednesday and Thursday in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The deadline to decline the option is on Sunday.
Several Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs, including defending champion Fenerbahce Beko, are monitoring developments, seeking a possible opportunity to pick up Micic for the next edition of Europe’s premier club continental competition.
Since being traded to the Suns in February, the two-time EuroLeague champion with Anadolu Efes, the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four in 2021 and 2022, and MVP of the 2020-21 season, was limited to five appearances with 0.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, he previously logged 96 NBA games with the Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder.