Center Ante Zizic has agreed to a buyout with the Croatian club Cibona Zagreb that will allow him to join the NBA in 2016/17, agent Misko Raznatovic of BeoBasket relays (Twitter link). The 19-year-old, 6’11” Zizic is considered a first-round talent. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks him No. 26, and he’s No. 22 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Big Board. The center had been debating whether to go the draft-and-stash route or withdraw from the draft, according to international journalist David Pick, but Pick tells Hoops Rumors that Zizic doesn’t intend to pull out.
Here’s more from around the NBA and abroad:
- Croatian big man Ivica Zubac wants to join the NBA immediately if he is drafted this June, as he told Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. “I have decided to enter NBA draft this year, and if I get drafted, I would like to go to the NBA right away. [The] NBA has always been my dream. I can’t wait to play there and prove myself on the biggest basketball stage in the world,” Zubac told Cauchi. The analysts are split on Zubac, with Givony pegging him 25th while Ford has him all the way down at 71st.
- Former Providence point guard Kris Dunn‘s combination of elite athleticism, ability to get to the rim, passing ability and defensive upside should land him highly among lottery selections, Derek Bodner of DraftExpress opines in his scouting report of the player. Dunn is ranked No. 5 overall by Givony, while Ford lists him seventh. You can check out our profile of Dunn here and here.
- Former NBA player Joel Freeland, who signed a two-year deal with the Russian club CSKA Moscow this past summer, will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, and the team isn’t likely to re-sign him, Pick reports (via Twitter). Freeland averaged 3.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in Euroleague play this season.