Fading: Sasha Vezenkov
When news broke that the reigning EuroLeague MVP would be joining the Kings, fans were excited. After all, who wouldn’t want a sharp-shooting forward to stretch the floor?
So far, it hasn’t been going too well, however. Vezenkov is struggling to guard faster players and he can’t get his threes to fall. His first two games were fine—he shot 40 and 50 percent from behind the arc. Since then, he’s only made two of thirteen attempts.
This seems to be a theme with most of the Kings’ shooters, but if Vezenkov can’t make shots, it’s tough to have him play. Thus, he didn’t play at all against the Blazers. Kessler Edwards played instead. He didn’t score, but at least he defended well.
Once Trey Lyles returns from his calf strain, he will be taking most backup four and even some backup five minutes, making it difficult for Vezenkov to crack the rotation.
Just because he is struggling early in his NBA career, doesn’t mean that he will never find success in the league. Right now, his stock is fading, however, and will continue to do so if Mike Brown keeps him on the bench in the future.