Nemanja Bjelica felt like an afterthought last season, mostly because... well, because he mostly was.
Averaging 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on 45/32/73 shooting splits and 55% True Shooting is grounds for one’s stock to precipitously fall. Bjelica’s closing moments with the Sacramento Kings left a bitter taste; he played a mere 26 games with them, sidelined with a back injury but also falling out of favor with Kings head coach Luke Walton, resulting in him being completely removed from the rotation — even when healthy.
A trade-deadline deal sent Bjelica to the Miami Heat, and while his shooting metrics improved — in 11 regular-season games for the Heat, he shot 37% on threes — his impact on the Heat proved to be minimal, averaging approximately 14 minutes per game on 44/37/56 shooting splits.