The Phoenix Suns will quietly tie off another failed trade experiment.
The Phoenix Suns face an offseason full of twists, turns, and unanswered questions. With a new general manager and a fresh face on the sidelines as head coach, trying to predict what this roster will look like come October is an exercise in futility. Believe me. I’ve tried.
But not everything is a mystery. One move that always felt inevitable was the fate of Vasilije Micic.
He arrived in Phoenix as part of the trade that sent a (justifiably) frustrated Jusuf Nurkic to Charlotte. In return, the Suns received Cody Martin and Micic, a player whose résumé is long, accomplished, and, frankly, better than most people realize. The 52nd pick in the 2014 NBA Draft (and seriously, what’s with the Suns and the number 52?), Micic boasts two EuroLeague titles, a EuroLeague MVP award, and recently represented Serbia in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Yet in Phoenix, his NBA journey never took flight. Twenty-one minutes played. Zero points scored. A whisper in a season full of noise.
So it comes as no surprise that the 31-year-old guard is reportedly headed back to where his game has always been celebrated: the EuroLeague. He’s expected to join reigning EuroLeague champion Fenerbahçe, returning to Istanbul where the lights may not shine as bright as the NBA, but where his star still does.
ÚLTIMA HORA: El Fenerbahçe está cerca de cerrar la vuelta de Vasilije Micić desde la #NBA a la #Euroleague.
Euroleague Champion Fenerbahçe is close to a deal with Vasilije Micić for his #NBA comeback.
— Chema de Lucas (@chemadelucas) June 6, 2025
Vasilije Micic carries a team option for the 2025–26 season worth $8.1 million, but given the financial corner the Suns have backed themselves into, declining that option is an easy call. This has been the expectation since he arrived in February.
His departure quietly ties off another loose end from the Deandre Ayton trade that went down in September 2023. You remember that one: Ayton and Toumani Camara sent to Portland in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson.
It didn’t age well.
Keon Johnson was waived. Nassir Little was waived and stretched, leaving a $3.1 million cap hit on the books through 2029–30. Nurkic has since been rerouted for Cody Martin and Micic. And while Grayson Allen remains, the final tally on the Ayton deal looks grim.
The Suns essentially flipped a former No. 1 overall pick and a second-team All-Defensive rookie for a shooter, a cap hit, and Cody Martin, who will likely be waived this summer. That’s a loss. A big one.
As for Micic? Thank you for those 21 minutes. You now join the exclusive, if not infamous, club of Suns players who logged court time but never scored a single point. Say hello to Cezary Trybański, Seth Curry, M.J. Walker, Dwayne Jones, George King, Eric Moreland, Courtney Sims, and Gani Lawal.
A short stay. A quiet exit. A name added to a footnote in Sun’s history.
What do Vasa Micic, Cezary Trybanski, Seth Curry, M.J. Walker, Dwayne Jones, George King, Eric Moreland, Courtney Sims, and Gani Lawal all have in common?
They all logged minutes for the Phoenix Suns, but never scored a point. pic.twitter.com/fBid7Jnwkc
— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) June 7, 2025
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