"I haven’t heard from anyone": Vasiljevic on Adelaide exit

Former Adelaide 36ers captain DJ Vasiljevic has pulled no punches around his departure from the club following their Game 5 Championship Series loss, saying he was blindsided by the decision.

“I was really shocked, lucky no one was around … I wanted to kill someone,” he told SEN SA.

The 29-year-old said he is still waiting for an explanation as to why he was told to find a new home for next season.

“I felt shocked and a bit upset by it all,” he said.

“You give everything to the city and the fans, and you give something to the organisation so much and they go behind your back and do something like that, it is pretty disappointing.”

Vasiljevic spent the past three seasons with Adelaide, averaging almost 20 points per game in his first campaign and helping lead the club to within seconds of a championship in NBL26.

But barely two weeks after the season concluded, the 36ers announced they'd mutually parted ways with the star.

“I got a phone call from my agent saying hey Adelaide wants to release you and doesn’t want you for the final year,” he said.

“It was maybe 10 days after the finals … around April 15.”

Although the move was described as a ‘mutual release’, Vasiljevic was asked whose decision it ultimately was.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from anyone,” he continued.

“I know Matt Weston has tried to catch up, but we have had to reschedule a few times … but nothing from the CEO, nothing from the owner.”

Vasiljevic has since signed a one-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers, where he will join Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Sam Mennenga for the NBL27 season.

While focused on the next chapter of his career, he said he still wants clarity on why his time in Adelaide came to an end.

“I just wanted to know the reason behind it. Obviously, I was the captain of the club, they brought me in when they were dead last in the league at the time and I wanted to help change the culture, which I thought we did,” he added.

“Again, we were two seconds away from winning a championship and they decide to go different ways … but it’s part of the business.”