Despite the Sacramento Kings long-standing interest in signing 2023 EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos co-owner Giorgos Aggelopoulos appears set on keeping the star forward in Greece, per Eurohoops.

“Right now this is a night of celebrations,” Aggelopoulos says. “Let’s not worry. Let’s not look at the next day. It is a given that both players belong to Olympiacos. They must stay at Olympiacos. We want them and we will do everything.”

Vezenkov signed a contract extension with Olympiacos in early January that will keep him under contract through the 2024-25 season. However, the Olympiacos — with star point guard Kostas Sloukas and team captain Kostas Papanikolaou now free agents — face financial hurdles in keeping Vezenkov.

To that point, Vezenkov has an NBA opt-out clause in his contract worth over $1 million euros that the Kings appear ready to pay.

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Vezenkov, who would be 28-years-old at the start of the 2023-24 season, was the 57th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of FC Barcelona.

The Nets would then trade his draft rights to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021. Cleveland kept his draft rights until last June, when they traded them to Sacramento in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

One of the most decorated players on the international circuit, the 6-foot-9 Vezenkov averaged 17.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game (70 games) for the Olympiacos in 2022-23, shooting 55.3 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from 3-point range. With international players finding increasing success in the NBA, there may not be a better time for the Kings to add a clearly talented frontcourt piece to their roster.

Their primary obstacle appears to be the Olympiacos understandable reluctance to give him up.