Reports indicate Vukcevic will remain overseas for one more year.
According to the latest reporting from Bojan Brezovac from Mozzart Sport, Tristan Vukcevic will play with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade for the 2023-2024 season. The Wizards selected Vukcevic with the 42nd pick in the 2023 NBA Draft but apparently don’t feel they have room for him on the roster or cannot give him enough minutes to help his development.
Last season, Vukcevic saw less than 15 minutes per game for Partizan in Adriatic league play and even less in EuroLeague games. Partizan is routinely one of the top teams in international competition and will be stacked again this upcoming season. They recently announced the addition of former NBA guard PJ Dozier.
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There was some reporting earlier in the summer that Partizan would loan Vukcevic to Peristeri, a Greek team where his father, Dusan, is an assistant coach. That appears to have fallen through, which means minutes could be hard to come by for Vukcevic this season.
If that’s the case, it’s worth wondering if the Wizards would have been better off bringing him over this year even if he spent most of the season with the Capital City Go-Go. The advantage to letting him stay overseas to continue to develop is that they aren’t paying him this season. The two sides won’t agree to terms on his rookie deal until he officially comes over. The Wizards can evaluate his progress for another season before deciding how heavily they want to invest in their second-round pick.