DJ Vasiljevic’s Paris Olympics Boomers bid hurt his NBA dream but Adelaide 36ers star has no regrets
DJ Vasiljevic sacrificed his NBA dream so he could get in front of Boomers coach Brian Goorjian in weeks like this. Even if it ends in a brutal Olympic snubbing, he tells JON RALPH he stands by the decision.
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DJ Vasiljevic sacrificed his NBA dream so he could get in front of Boomers coach Brian Goorjian in weeks like this.
As far as risky decisions go they don’t get bigger for the Adelaide 36ers shooting guard.
As a member of the 17-man Boomers squad which takes on China twice this week he knows he is a long shot to displace Chris Goulding as Goorjian’s go-to three-point shooter in Paris.
And yet the 27-year-old was prepared to accept those odds when the Washington Wizards abruptly pulled an offer to attend their training camp after playing for the NBA side in their Summer Camp last year.
The Sydney Kings shooter drew the ire of his team by instead returning to Australia to join the Adelaide 36ers in a bid to show he was a more versatile player than a catch-and-shoot exponent.
As the Boomers prepare to take on China on Thursday at John Cain Arena, he has no regrets.
Vasiljevic says he is exactly where he wants to be after knocking back a chance to stay in America with the Wizards’ G League team after his NBA setback.
“I went to the summer league with the Washington Wizards, had a really good summer league and they offered me a training camp. An Exhibit Ten contract. They promised me a training camp but two days before I got cut. Six AM on a Sunday morning, just a phone call,” he said.
“It was the general manager, it wasn’t long, maybe one or two minutes, ‘Hey you have been waived. Now you are in the G League squad so I will see you guys in two days’.
“Then a week later I made the decision, nope, I am leaving. You guys made the business decision. I called my agent and said I want to go back to the NBL. And that is what happened. If I get a chance in the NBA again, that’s cool, but it’s not my priority.
“I wanted to help whatever team I signed for which was Adelaide and try to prove to the boys I think I should go to the Olympics and try to help Australia win a medal.”
In a 17-man squad that will be reduced to 12 after this week’s training camp and two-game China series, the depth of NBA talent means Vasiljevic’s chances are slim.
Goulding has recovered from ankle surgery but Vasiljevic says even if he misses out the move to Adelaide has broadened his basketball horizon.
“I give full credit to Adelaide, they allowed me to play my game,” he said after his career-best NBL season was rewarded with a new three-season deal in January.
“I am not going to shoot down Sydney or anything like that. I played a great role for them. But being able to be myself and people get to see me and actually do what I can, that is what Brian Goorjian saw.
“With Sydney it’s different. Our main player was Xavier Cooks, I don’t take anything away from him because I am best friends with him. We had to help him. Catch and shoot, spread the floor for him and defend.
“But in Adelaide I am classified as one of the guys. You are the one who has to put the ball in the hole and guard their best defender. It wasn’t just catch and shoot. Being on the post, creating for different players, making moves.”
With so many mouths to feed, Vasiljevic knows he might only have a few chances to impress Goorjian. Yet he is ready and willing when his number is called.
“I know I am not going to play 30 minutes a game, it’s understandable but if you get on for two minutes or 20 minutes you give it your all,” he said.
“It is probably going to come down to me and (Goulding). We play a similar game.
“He has been to two Olympics and he’s got the experience. I am not going to knock him, he’s a great basketball player but it will be a good camp for everyone to see what we can do.
“He has got a quick release like I do, he makes some freakishly difficult shots and he’s done it for his whole life, not just one or two seasons so you try to replicate some of the stuff he does.”
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Originally published as DJ Vasiljevic’s Paris Olympics Boomers bid hurt his NBA dream but Adelaide 36ers star has no regrets
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