Bogut hits back at DJ

Thursday, October 19, 2023

“We did our DD (due diligence) and decided to release him late Monday night. There is “nothing more to it” than that."

Photo: Adelaide 36ers Media

Sydney Kings co-owner Andrew Bogut has hit back at claims "there was more to it", following Dejan Vasiljevic's shock, sudden defection from the Kings to NBL rival the Adelaide 36ers.

Sydney released Vasiljevic from his contract to chase opportunities overseas at the end of NBL23, which saw him land with the Washington Wizards in August.

After being waived before the Wizards’ training camp, he opted to return to the NBL.

But it wasn’t with the team he’d won two championships with. Instead, Vasiljevic sort a move to Adelaide.

That drew the ire of the Kings, with CEO Chris Pongrass saying the club was “disappointed with how this has been handled and another NBL team’s role in the process”. Sydney did however opt to release his playing rights to allow him to sign with the 36ers.

Vasiljevic spoke to media after training for his new club for the first time on Wednesday, stating he was “trying to be the bigger man and walk away from it”.

He claimed, “there’s more to it than people think and I’m going to leave it at that”.

“They made me look like the villain, they made Adelaide look like the villain.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DJ Vasiljevic is officially an Adelaide 36er, and he doesn't sound too impressed with how the Sydney Kings dealt with his contract release ?<a href="https://t.co/njMxUizCsR">https://t.co/njMxUizCsR</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1714484347192193034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That drew the attention of Sydney part owner, Bogut, who responded via Twitter.

“We granted @3jvasiljevic a release after he told us he wanted to “chase his NBA dream”, not his NBL dream with another club,” Bogut said.

“We then were told last week we had to decide within a day or two if we wanted him as we still had his NBL rights.

“We did our DD (due diligence) and decided to release him late Monday night. There is “nothing more to it” than that.

“It was not a day or two decision, as if we elected to keep him we would have to waive someone on our roster.

“We wish him the best of luck and will always remember him as a @SydneyKings @NBL champion!”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We granted <a href="https://twitter.com/3jvasiljevic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@3jvasiljevic</a> a release after he told us he wanted to “chase his NBA dream” , not his NBL dream with another club.<br><br>We then were told last week we had to decide within a day or two if we wanted him as we still had his NBL rights. (He wanted to play last weekend)<br><br>We… <a href="https://t.co/fP1pgNIxag">https://t.co/fP1pgNIxag</a></p>— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewbogut/status/1714538193071284433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Vasiljevic said a return to the NBL gave him the best possible chance of staking a claim for a spot in the Australian Boomers setup.

“I think this is the right move to come back to the NBL, and with the Olympics coming up next year I want to prove that I should be in that squad,” he said.

“I’m in good shape – probably the best I’ve been for a long time.

“I think I’m right there, I just need to prove myself a little bit more and we’ll see what happens. We’ve got a couple of FIBA windows coming up and I’ll do my diligence and make sure I put my hand up always to represent the green and gold – it’s always an honour."

The 26-year-old will be a valuable addition to CJ Bruton’s roster in Adelaide, with the 36ers sitting last on the table, albeit coming off their first win of NBL24.