Sasha Vujacic, a Slovenian professional basketball player, will return to Los Angeles under a 10-day contract with the Clippers.
Vujacic played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2004 to 2010.
In an interview on Monday prior to suffering a painful 115-116 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Clippers coach Doc Rivers was noncommittal regarding Vujacic: “Just adding another player … no deep thinking to it. He’s another shooter … we’ll see what he’s got.”
Vujacic is part of a recent spate of short-term signings by the Clippers as they seek to mitigate the loss of point guard Chris Paul, who has sat out 16 games with a shoulder injury.
“[Vujacic] had a good workout with us about three to four weeks ago,” Rivers said. “We felt like getting another guard … we’ve got a lot of our guards banged up right now.”
Where has Vujacic been since he left the Lakers in 2010?
He went to the New Jersey Nets in December of that year as part of a three-team trade also involving the Houston Rockets. At the time Nets General Manager Billy King called Vujacic a “a veteran NBA player who will add depth to our backcourt rotation.”
Vujacic saw success with the Nets, tying his career high of 22 points in January 2011 and following up with a new career high – 25 points – the following month when the Nets defeated the New Orleans Hornets.
In July 2011, Vujacic returned to Europe when he signed a one-year deal with Anadolu Efes, a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. In June 2012, it was announced that Vujacic would play one more season with the team.
He was joined in Turkey by Jordan Farmar whose time with both the Lakers and the Nets overlapped Vujacic’s. Farmar took advantage of the post-season opt-out clause in his Anadolu Efes contract to return to Los Angeles. In July 2013 he signed for a season with the Lakers.
It remains to be seen if Vujacic’s 10-day contract will turn into something more permanent. In the meantime, fans have mixed feelings about the deal:
My boy #sashavujacic is back! I LOVE him! #clippernation
— Bea n Christian (@pilapil30) February 4, 2014
The Machine is Back! #sashavujacic #sashathemachine Valla rahatladim sonunda!
— Sila (@slaeryigit) February 3, 2014
Sasha Vujacic was playing in a Turkish league and avg 10 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist per game… So the #Clippers sign him? Wtf
— NBA RETWEET (@RTNBA) February 3, 2014
Good to see Sasha Vujacic back in the NBA. Just not with the Clippers. Ha!
— Kobe Bryant Fans™ (@Team_KB24) February 3, 2014
Sasha Vujacic just signed with the Clippers, proving that if you were ever even looked at by the Lakers, the Clips have a deal for you.
— Thad Ochocinco (@ThadOchocinco) February 2, 2014
Image via Wikimedia Commons