Serbian forward Rade Zagorac didn’t join the Grizzlies right away when the team used the 35th overall pick in the 2016 draft to select him. However, agent Misko Raznatovic believes it’s very likely that his client will head to Memphis in the summer of 2017 to join his NBA team. Raznatovic said as much during a conversation with Sasa Ozmo of SportKlub.rs (translation via Sportando).
“It is almost certain that Rade Zagorac will sign with the Grizzlies next year,” Raznatovic said. “In the NBA it is called [a] ‘verbal commitment’ – unlike in Europe, where verbal agreements don’t mean much, in the USA they stick to what was agreed in regard to plan of development of a certain player. That is the main reason why Zagorac stayed in Mega, so that he could go to the NBA next season.”
Zagorac, whose rights were acquired by the Grizzlies in a draft-night trade that also sent No. 31 pick Deyonta Davis to Memphis, has been the leading scorer for KK Mega Leks in Serbia this season. In 14 ABA League games, he has averaged 15.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.8 APG.
Shortly after he was selected by the Grizzlies this summer, Zagorac told Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal that he felt like the “best solution” for his development was to play one more season in Europe before heading to the NBA in 2017, so he and his agent have been eyeing that possibility for some time. If Memphis does add Zagorac next year, the team will have to use cap room or an exception to sign him, since he’s not subject to the rookie scale.