Thunder Rookie Vasilije Micic Suffers Shoulder Injury

OKC Thunder rookie Vasilije Micic is dealing with a shoulder injury ahead of his first NBA season.

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie guard Vasilije Micic has finally made his switch from overseas basketball to the NBA. For that reason, he planned to sit out of FIBA World Cup play with Serbia and prepare for his first NBA season. 

Serbia's basketball head coach Svetislav Pesic spoke on Micic's absence in FIBA's play this year. 

"As for Micic, we had lengthy discussions, and he requested to skip this year," Pesic said. "After a long season, dealing with injuries and signing with Oklahoma, he was unfortunate to sustain a shoulder injury during his stay there, and now he's in the process of recovery."

According to Pesic, Micic suffered an injury in Oklahoma City. While injuries are unfortunate, it's hard to imagine the injury will keep Micic out for any substantial time. 

A big reason Micic didn't go overseas for FIBA, as mentioned, was to stay in Oklahoma City and prepare for the NBA season. Recovering from his shoulder injury will be that much easier because of that. 

As seen in Chet Holmgren's recovery process, the Thunder will manage Micic's injury well and he will still be well immersed into the team on day one.

Micic, 29-years-old, will provide a solid presence on the bench unit. He's going to be able to help the team develop while playing right into the team's system.

Coming to the NBA, the Thunder could be just the team Micic needs to make the transition. He comes at a time when the Thunder have seemingly turned the corner and have another layer of expectations as a team. Micic will be able to contribute to winning and have a record of that early on in his NBA career.

All in all, a small shoulder injury ahead of the season won't mean much, and it's not the reason Micic isn't playing in FIBA. He'll be able to gear up and be ready ahead of the season. 

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.