The Sixers‘ potential signing of Furkan Aldemir to a four-year deal was first reported back on November 24th. But since then, there have been numerous issues with getting the agreement finalized. Aldemir’s Turkish club was initially reluctant to let him out of his contract, and once that hurdle was taken care of, Aldemir was then said to be awaiting his FIBA letter of clearance which would allow him to sign with an NBA team. It’s been almost two weeks since there has been any movement on bringing Aldemir to Philly, and Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News tweets that it still doesn’t look like the signing will be completed anytime soon, if at all.
Here’s more from the East:
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens gave an update on James Young, who injured his shoulder during a D-League game earlier this week, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reports (Twitter link). Stevens said that Young has a “little bit of muscular damage” in his right shoulder, and will rehab the injury in an attempt to avoid surgery. Young is currently listed as being out indefinitely.
- The Bulls have announced in a press release that rookie forward Doug McDermott will have arthroscopic surgery on Saturday to repair damage to his right knee and will be out indefinitely. Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com was the first to report this news (Twitter link). In 17 appearances this season McDermott is averaging 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game.
- The sale of the Hawks is moving more swiftly than before, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt notes. There has been little chatter regarding the sale since late October, when it was still unclear just what percentage of the team would be on the market.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.