SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Serbian guard Bogdan Bogdanovic will become the highest-paid rookie in NBA history after agreeing to a three-year deal worth $36 million with the Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday.
The 24-year-old from Belgrade, who helped Serbia capture 2016 Rio Olympic silver, was this season’s Turkish League Most Valuable Player while leading Fenerbahce to its first EuroLeague title last month.
Bogdanovic — who has no relation to Croatian guard Bojan Bogdanovic of the Washington Wizards — averaged 14.6 points while hitting 43 percent from 3-point range.
The contract cannot be signed until July 6, when an NBA moratorium on free agent deals ends.
Bogdanovic was drafted by the Phoenix Suns three years ago, so his contract is not locked into the NBA rookie salary scale.
Kings general manager Vlade Divac, himself a double Olympic silver medalist for Yugoslavia, has no players still on the roster from when he took over in 2015.
Sacramento obtained the rights to Bogdanovic last year during the NBA Draft in a trade with the Phoenix, which had taken him with the 27th pick in the 2014 draft.
© Agence France-Presse
