The Sacramento Kings are eyeing new moves to add strength from the upcoming 2023-2024 season.
According to 『Eurohoops』, Sacramento is interested in Olympiacos’ Sasha Besenkov (forward, 206cm, 102kg).
Bezen Cope is showing her best form in the Euroleague this season. In addition to Bezenkov, Mike James (AS Monaco), Janan Musa (Real Madrid), and Vasily Michić (Anadolu Efes) are being discussed, but Bezenkov is being mentioned as a strong candidate.
In fact, it was confirmed that Sacramento coach Jay Triano visited Europe to see him in person. 『Eurohoops』 also revealed an interview with coach Triano. After looking at Bezenkov, Coach Triano said, “He is the best player in the Euroleague and will show good activity in the NBA.” He went on to add, “He will have a chance too.”
In addition, coach Triano highly appreciated Bezenkov’s technical perfection. He said, “He is a great teammate and scatters the pass well,” and said메이저사이트, “I can attack with concise movements without much dribbling. He was praised as a clever player with both size and passing sense.” Lastly, coach Triano said, “The decision-making power is also great. It was quite impressive,” he praised Bezenkov.
He is averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1 steal so far in this Euroleague. Last season, they won the Euroleague first team and the Greek league title early on. He was named the regular season MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and Finals MVP in the Greek League. That’s not all. Last season, he showed outstanding skills, such as taking first place in average score, popularity award, and skill development award.
Since he is in his mid-to-late 20s, it is questionable whether he will be able to advance to the NBA, but if he comes over after this season, he will be competitive enough. Sacramento has Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Pax, so it is expected that they will push for a contract if they can be of some help from the forward position. It is worth evaluating as a power to replace or support Harrison Barnes.
The Cypress native made his connections with the NBA through the 2017 draft. The Brooklyn Nets drafted Besenkov with the 27th overall pick in the second round. Later, his nomination rights went to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the time of the James Harden (Philadelphia) trade. Sacramento sent the 2022 second-round pick (Isiah Mobley) last summer and got Besenkov’s pick.
Bezenkov is from Cyprus, but also holds Bulgarian and Greek citizenship. Although he was born in Cyprus, he plays for the Bulgarian national team due to his Bulgarian ancestry. He led Bulgaria to the finals for the first time in a long time at Euro Basket 2022. Thanks to Bezenkov’s performance, Bulgaria stepped on the stage for the first time in a long time since 2011. Bezenkov ranked first in rebounding average in the last tournament.