Former Grizzlies forward Rade Zagorac will continue his career in Spain, having signed a contract with ACB club Real Betis, according to agent Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link). Zagorac previously appeared poised to return to his home country of Serbia for the 2017/18 season, but will head elsewhere in Europe after that deal fell through.
As international basketball reporter David Pick explains (via Twitter), Zagorac had reached a verbal agreement on a deal with KK Partizan Belgrade that would have kept him under contract with the Serbian team through 2019. However, Partizan Belgrade had been hit with a FIBA sanction that prevented them from adding new players, meaning Zagorac’s deal couldn’t be finalized.
Zagorac, 22, was the 35th overall pick in the 2016 draft, and after spending one final season overseas, he joined the Grizzlies earlier this year. However, despite signing a contract that was fully guaranteed for two seasons, the 6’9″ forward was unable to earn a spot on Memphis’ regular season roster. The club waived him along with fellow 2016 draftee Wade Baldwin at the end of the preseason.
With Zagorac headed to Spain, the Grizzlies continue to carry $950K in dead money on their 2017/18 cap for the former second-rounder, plus about $1.38MM for 2018/19. However, the club hasn’t given up on the idea of eventually trying to bring the young forward back to Memphis, as Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal noted last month.