Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got something to say but nothing comes out when they move their lips, just a bunch of gibberish, and motherfuckers act like they forgot about DRR. The 2014 Draft has added some new names to the Draft Rights Retained list but we can't forget the holdovers from previous drafts. Since the Kevin Love to Cleveland trade is the main headline in the Association today, we'll focus on somebody that his former team, Minnesota, has stashed overseas. That man is Valencia forward Bojan Dubljevic.
Drafted by Minnesota with the second to last pick in last year's draft, Dubljevic had no intentions of coming stateside as he signed an extension with his club Valencia Basket in Spain. The contract has a one million euros buyout clause but that number drops to a mere 200,000 euros next summer. For the interim, the Montenegrin international serves as one of the more potent marksman in the Liga ACB. He has shot over 51% from the field the past two seasons as well as 44% from beyond the three point arc. He started off his playing career in his native Montenegro for KK Lovćen at 18 but it wasn't until he moved to a higher rated club in Montenegro that his talents really began to blossom. Even then nobody could have foreseen what he would become for one of the Spanish giants.
Dubljevic has been exceptional for Valencia since coming over from KK Budućnost Podgorica. He was twice named EuroCup (the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League) Rising Star of the Year in 2012 & 2014. He made second team All-Tournament on both occasions as well. Valencia made the semi-finals in 2012 and won the Cup in 2014. At only 22, Dubljevic's responsibilities to club and country are only going to grow. That what makes him different from the majority of the players that will be profiled here at Draft Rights Retained.
There is a good chance that within two years Bojan Dubljevic will be plying his trade in the NBA. He has a skill set suited for the game and has shown he could hang with formidable competition. Being a second round pick with an affordable buy out means he would fit in perfectly with a team clearly heading towards a youth movement. A team of Ricky Rubio, Andrew Wiggins, Dubljevic, Anthony Bennett, and Nikola Pekovic could shake up the hierarchy in the Western Conference. It is a thought that seems to have sent Bojan into a Daniel Bryan-esque "Yes!" frenzy.
Thanks for reading the fourteenth edition of Draft Rights Retained right here on Bleeding Your Colors! I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to bringing you more wacky stories of players who the NBA has long since forgotten, but not their draft rights. Stay locked for a new profile until the list is exhausted. For more of me, check out my Twitter @TREVORutley. For less of me, find a local construction team that will bury your computer in concrete.
Image Credits: Bojan for Montenegro (fiba.com), Bojan YES (defensacentral.com)