Free agent wing Svi Mykhailiuk, whose guaranteed minimum-salary contract was waived by Toronto a couple of weeks ago, is prioritizing an NBA return over European opportunities, according to Christos Tsaltas of Greek outlet SDNA (translation via Google Translate).
The No. 47 overall pick of the 2018 draft, Mykhailiuk has bounced around a bit during his four-year NBA tenure, having played for the Lakers, Pistons, Thunder and Raptors. He had a down season in 2021/22 and didn’t receive much playing time for the Raptors, which is why they waived him, but he’s got good size at 6’7″ and 205 pounds, is only 25 years old, and is a career 35.3% three-point shooter — a decent mark.
Mykhailiuk just finished suiting up for Ukraine’s national team at EuroBasket, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 steals on .400/.341/.842 shooting in six games (29.2 minutes). Ukraine was eliminated by Poland in the round of 16, with Mykhailiuk saying afterward that he hoped the team gave the war-torn nation a welcome distraction despite the loss.
According to Tsaltas, Mykhailiuk’s top priority as a free agent is finding another NBA team. Mykhailiuk has spent many years stateside, having played four years of college at Kansas prior to his NBA career. If he’s unable to find a roster spot, Mykhailiuk hasn’t ruled out a G League stint with the goal of returning to the NBA, Tsaltas writes. Mykhailiuk scored 40 points on .478/.438/1.000 shooting in his lone G League game last season with the Raptors 905.
Mykhailiuk is drawing interest from European clubs, but is focused on the NBA and isn’t expected to consider a return to Europe until he exhausts all NBA possibilities, Tsaltas adds. In 220 career games (40 starts, 17.0 minutes), Mykhailiuk holds averages of 6.6 points and 1.8 rebounds on .398/.353/.785 shooting.
He’s been good with decent playing time but hasn’t yet found it on a consistent basis… Pretty sure he showed that promise in his season with the Lakers – I remember a good few highlights.
No he hasn’t
His best season came when he played for the Pistons in his 2nd NBA season where he shot 40% from the 3 point area on 5 attempts per game. Maybe he just needs consistent minutes/role?
Does he play league average defense is the question? Good size, adequate 3 pt % if he plays good defense
He doesn’t, unfortunately.
510 players in the NBA 60 new with the draft. You get forgotten. His D is not good enough for him to stick. He may get a cup of Joe this year if he kills Gleague but he is Europe bound!!
Good size, can shoot 3, a little bit on D, decent player for every team, and still young. He deserves a chance.
I watched him on the Raptors all of last season – he’s not worth a roster spot on most teams.