International Notes: Exum, Leaf, Motiejunas, Edwards

It doesn’t appear an NBA return is in the cards this offseason for former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum. According to a report from Dorde Matic of MozzartSport.com (hat tip to Eurohoops.net), Exum is on track to sign a contract with KK Partizan, a EuroLeague team based in Belgrade, Serbia.

Exum, 26, battled injuries during his NBA career and was limited to just 245 regular season appearances across seven years (2014-21) in Utah and Cleveland. He spent last season in Barcelona after being cut by the Rockets last fall.

Exum indicated in March that he was open to an NBA return but also wouldn’t mind continuing his career in Europe. It appears that’s the plan for the time being.

Here are a few more updates from around the international basketball world:

• Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link) hears that former UCLA standout T.J. Leaf will join the Beijing Ducks for the 2022/23 campaign after finishing last season with the Guangzhou Loong Lions. A previous report indicated that Leaf, the No. 18 overall pick in 2017, was on track to join Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, but a deal between the two sides was never officially completed. The veteran forward appeared in 146 games for Indiana and Portland from 2017-21.
• Former NBA forward Donatas Motiejunas, a first-round pick in 2011, is finalizing a new two-year contract with AS Monaco after spending the 2021/22 season with the club, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The 31-year-old appeared in a total of 251 NBA games for Houston, New Orleans, and San Antonio from 2012-19.
• Vince Edwards, a 2018 second-round pick who spent the ’21/22 season with the Iowa Wolves in the G League, has signed with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, the French team announced in a press release. The 26-year-old forward appeared in just two games at the NBA level, but he has played in the NBAGL extensively since going pro four years ago. This will be his first stint in Europe.