There was a brief moment of fleeting hope when it seemed like the Nuggets might bring in Nikola Jokic’s long-time teammate on the Serbian National Team, Vasilije Micic, for some backup point guard duties and vibes. Unfortunately for the vibes, it now seems that Micic’s days in the NBA are over as he’s weighing options between EuroLeague teams.
Micic has been traded multiple times already this offseason and was ultimately bought out by the Bucks. He became a free agent and would have filled a need in Denver, offering backcourt depth and ball-handling, while also getting to play with his countryman, Jokic, on a team contending for a title.
But instead, Micic immediately received interest from several teams overseas, and he is now rumored to be leaning towards a deal to land with Real Madrid. At 31 years old, Micic likely has something left in the tank, but it sounds like we’ve seen the last of him in the NBA.
Micic already a EuroLeague legend
Despite never having a major breakthrough in the NBA, Micic is already a legend in Europe. He led the Turkish club, Anadolu Efes, to back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022, winning Final 4 MVP each time and also taking home the league’s MVP Award in 2021.
Micic was drafted by the 76ers all the way back in 2014, but most gave up on the idea that he’d ever come to the NBA. He finally made the journey after his rights had been traded to the Thunder, debuting for OKC in 2023.
By that point, Micic was buried on a deep, young Thunder squad and failed to crack the rotation. He was traded to the Hornets at the 2024 deadline as part of the Gordon Hayward trade. Micic put up some nice numbers and helped guide an extremely immature Hornets team, starting 21 games down the stretch, putting up 10.8 points and 6.4 assists a game.
Micic never got real chance in NBA
But the Hornets wanted to go in a different direction and lean even more into their young players and rebuild. They dealt Micic at the 2025 deadline to the Suns in a deal for Jusuf Nurkic, but he wasn’t in their plans at all and barely played over the final months of the season.
After the season, the Suns dumped him back to the Hornets in the Mark Williams trade. Then the Hornets dumped him to the Bucks in the Pat Connaughton trade. That’s where Micic ended up being bought out, essentially ending his brief NBA career.
It’s a shame that Micic never got a real shot in the league; he’s a wizard with the ball and has amazing court vision and feel for the game. He could have carved out a career leading an offense, and playing with his buddy Jokic would surely have led to some sweet offensive magic.
Alas, it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever get to see it on this side of the world, and the Nuggets must keep searching for backup point guard depth.