Early second-round prospect Aleksandar Vezenkov is expected to withdraw from this year’s draft, sources tell Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net. The 19-year-old small forward is the 32nd-best prospect this year, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him 42nd. Vezenkov, who was born in Cyrpus but plays for Bulgarian national teams, is one of 48 players from overseas who submitted their names as early entrants for this year’s draft, with the NBA having released its official list Tuesday.
Vezenkov is without an agent since letting go of Nick Lotsos, as Barkas details. He’s had talks with Arn Tellem about hiring the Wasserman Media Group, but they haven’t reached a deal, and Vezenkov’s father, an official with the Bulgarian club Lukoil, is serving as his representative in the interim, Barkas adds.
The 6’8″ Vezenkov has time to ponder a formal decision about the draft, since the deadline for him to withdraw isn’t until June 15th. He’s expected to leave the Greek team Aris BC for a lucrative deal elsewhere in Europe, with Greece’s Panathinaikos, Spain’s Barcelona and Turkey’s Anadolu Efes interested in him, according to Barkas. So, it appears that even if Vezenkov stays in the draft, there’s a decent chance he’ll wind up as a draft-and-stash prospect and remain overseas. Vezenkov wouldn’t be automatically eligible for the draft until 2017.