Possibly another Jayhawk into the NBA!
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I love this! Hopefully the big guy can make the jump and have success!
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Surprised Kaun is making the move. He’s made a nice career for himself in Russia and the NBA can’t really match the money he’s currently making in Russia. Good for him, though.
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I had the same thought. He seemed to be doing really well in Russia, his homeland, and making good money.
It would be pretty cool to see him be an important piece to a championship run… again!
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I’m not surprised. Kaun wants to be stateside and he’s already made a boatload of money. This is about his future and I think he wants “NBA” on his resume.
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@drgnslayr Kaun’s wife is American and they have been living in the USA during the off season for a few years.
They flew in from Russia for the 2012 title game. I think they want a shorter flight in 2016
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@justanotherfan Sasha Kaun and his wife live in Denver (where she’s from) and spend time in Lawrence every offseason. That is one of the biggest reasons why Kaun wanted to move over to the NBA.
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All good players want to test themselves at the highest level and Sasha is not the exception. He is now 30 years old and if he is going to jump to the NBA…the time is now. His wife is American and having lived here I am sure that is a consideration.
There is talk that the Nets are also interested in signing him but they would have to set up a trade with Cleveland first. Th e Cavs would like to sign him for the minimum (~$650K) plus the $1.2M exception they have left, which adds up to about $1.85M which is less than the $2.9M he made last season in Russia. Cleveland is pretty strapped for money since they are way into the luxury tax territory and they still have players left to sign. I am sure that Blatt, who coached Sasha on the Russian National team, would like him in Cleveland, but if he is to get close to what he was making in Russia, chances are that he would have to play for a team other than the Cavs.
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I know that his wife is American. I just supposed that he would play overseas for the rest of his career, then retire and move to the states. He’s going to take a significant paycut (over a million bucks) to play in the U.S. That just seems like a lot, particularly when he can put that away pretty comfortably.
I figured if he wanted to come stateside for a couple of years he would have done that a few years ago, then used NBA on his resume to command more money overseas.
I’m happy for him and look forward to seeing him in the NBA. I just didn’t really expect it because he’s been so successful overseas.
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@justanotherfan Kaun doesnt care about the money.
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Yes, he does; everybody cares about money. Money is what is holding negotiations now, regardless of what they say for public consumption, this why the talks about trading him to the Nets are heating up. Cleveland has not much money left and they still need to sign several players while the Nets have money available.
Sasha knows that with one good season in the NBA, his stock can go high and he could potentially command a much bigger salary. If “part-time” Varejao can make $10M, Thompson $7M and Mosgov $5M, a proven Kaun should command at least $4M-$5M.
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@JayHawkFanToo I’m thinking he wants his lil girl to grow up here. I’d imagine his wife has sacrificed a lil. Sasha’s a good guy. I saw him and Fam at the Canadian game at the sprint center, you too. He looked really good!
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Sasha makes enough that the can (and probably does) live in the States during the off season. He has 3-5 years left in his career and he wants to prove himself in the top League in the world and if he is going to make the jump, the time is now, I believe that he really wants to play here, but as a “somewhat” proven commodity, he can compromise on the salary some with the hope of a bigger future contract, but I would think he does not want to give it away either.
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Live in Russia half the year or in the US all of the year? Easy choice!
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Even though Sasha might make a smaller salary in the NBA, he will still garner endorsement money. That could easily make up the difference.
