The Philadelphia 76ers make Nikola Vucevic the 16th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. However, this year he will be playing for a team called KK Buducnost Podgorica in his native Montenegro. With the NBA lockout preventing rookies from signing or training with their new teams, Vucevic was faced with the possibility of not playing basketball competitively at all this year. So he became the second rookie of the 2011 class to sign overseas.
For Vucevic, who hails form Europe in the first place, it will likely be an easier transition. If the NBA does ever get it’s act to together and agree to a new CBA, Vucevic does have an out clause in his contract that will allow him to leave when the NBA resumes.
If/when that does happen, Vucevic will already be in playing shape and have gained some experience playing competitively overseas. It may not be top level experience that gets him ready to face NBA competition, but if he actually does play it’s probably better than just spending the offseaon in a gym stateside.