site.btaFirst Bulgarian in NBA Glushkov to Second One Vezenkov: "Think Twice before you Quit"

Bulgarian caretaker Youth and Sports Minister Georgi Glushkov advised Aleksandar 'Sasha' Vezenkov to think twice before opting to leave the US and Canada's National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Minister's comments come amidst media speculation that the Bulgarian player will be back to Olympiacos of Athens after just a year-long stint over the ocean if his current team, Toronto Raptors, gives the green light.

"I think I'm the only one who can understand him," said Glushkov who, as part of Phoenix Suns in the 1985/56 season, was the first East European in NBA before Sacramento Kings contracted Sasha for three years in the summer of 2023.

"He found himself in gruelling conditions but, in order to earn his position, he had to be given a real chance. The coach should have fielded him for 20 games and should have left him in action for over 20 minutes. I'm sure that if he got that chance he would have achieved things thrilling his fandom," the Sports Minister pointed out.

"Instead, he got so few minutes that he was unable to show his real capabilities and his very presence in NBA proved a disappointment. I don't know whether he is firmly decided [to rejoin Olympiacos] but, with the benefit of hindsight, I would advise him against it: NBA is a different planet and young people in Bulgaria are fascinated with it. I think that if he really returns to Greece, he would be sorry because he had not used his full capacity. Just like him, I had a two-year contract and should have performed it, but there was nobody to advise me then," Glushkov admitted.

Throughout the last season, Vezenkov played in 42 games for Phoenix but stayed in action for 20 or more minutes in just four of them.

Eurohoops.net reported, quoting its own sources, that Olympiacos and Vezenkov had agreed in principle on "a rich multi-year contract". SDNA specified that the contract with the Piraeus team was for four plus one seasons and the pay, EUR 3.5 million per annum. MSN reported that Olympiacos will increase its budget to EUR 18.5 million per season in order to afford Vezenkov's salary.