Mario Hezonja Reportedly Signing 1-year, $2.8 Million Deal With Cavaliers, Returning To Nba For First Time Since 2020

After playing overseas each of the past six seasons, the last four of which he spent with Real Madrid, Mario Hezonja is returning to the NBA for the first time since 2020, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reported Sunday that the EuroLeague star has agreed to a one-year, $2.8 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Hezonja, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 draft, last played in the league with the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2019-20 season.

Now 31, Hezonja is reportedly set to join a Cleveland squad that reached the Eastern Conference finals this year. The Golden State Warriors also showed “strong interest” in the 6-foot-8 Croatian forward this offseason, per Charania.

The Orlando Magic selected Hezonja with the fifth pick 11 years ago. His brief stay in Orlando didn’t pan out the way the Magic hoped. Of his three seasons with the team, his best came in 2017-18, when he averaged 9.6 points and 22.1 minutes while starting 30 games and appearing in 75 overall. The Magic, though, won only 25 games during that campaign, and, in its infancy, they declined their fourth-year option on Hezonja’s rookie contract.

As a result, Hezonja became an unrestricted free agent the following offseason. He wound up signing with the New York Knicks on a one-year contract. During his lone season with the Knicks, he posted 8.8 points per game but shot a career-low 27.6% from long range. That said, he flashed his potential with the Knicks, making a game-winning block against the Los Angeles Lakers, rejecting LeBron James; recording a triple-double versus the Houston Rockets and piling up 30 points in a win over the Wizards.

Hezonja played the COVID-19-affected 2019-20 season with the Trail Blazers, who ended up trading him to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal that delivered Portland Enes Kanter Freedom the subsequent fall. It wasn’t long before the Grizzlies waived Hezonja, however.

Hezonja, once a teenage swingman for FC Barcelona, then resumed his international career. He joined Panathinaikos in Greece for the 2020-21 season and UNICS Kazan in Russia for the 2021-22 season. Most recently, Hezonja’s lent his services to Real Madrid. This past season, he put up 17.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest, notably shooting at a 36.6% 3-point clip across 28 games.

He’s a decorated European player who was initially expected to leave his mark on the NBA. Now he’s reportedly getting another crack at the league, this time after a six-season absence.