International Notes: Baynes, Vezenkov, Taylor, Petrusev, Djurisic

Former NBA center Aron Baynes isn’t ready to end his career. He told ESPN’s Olgun Uluc he’s still shopping for an opportunity in Australia’s National Basketball League.

“My body feels good. I love playing the game,” he said. “It’s just, right now, I’m focused on my family and being there with my kids. Just being dad right now. Just enjoying not having to be anywhere at any particular time, apart from school drop off and school pickup. Right now, nothing labeled; just, body feels really good, though, I’m moving well. We’ll just see how it goes.”

Baynes, 37, played with the Brisbane Bullets last season, averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He spent nine seasons in the NBA from 2012-21, playing for the Spurs, Pistons, Celtics, Suns, and Raptors during that time.

We have more from the international basketball world:

• Sasha Vezenkov reiterated that he wanted to return to Europe because he was looking for a bigger role than he had in the NBA. “It gives you joy when you return to a familiar environment where you are loved,” he said, per Vangelis Papadimitriou of Eurohoops.net. “I prefer to be in a competitive environment, to fight for titles, and to feel important. I didn’t know if I would have an opportunity in the NBA like the one I gave myself. This is what I wanted to do, and I wanted to do it with Olympiacos. This is my home.” Vezenkov, who spent a single season in Sacramento, signed a five-year contract with Olympiacos after giving up over $6.6MM in guaranteed salary with the Raptors.
• Former NBA guard Isaiah Taylor has signed with the Dubai Basketball Club, the team tweets (hat tip to Sportando). Taylor appeared in 67 games for the Hawks in 2017/18. Taylor has played in Israel, Spain, Turkey, Lithuania and China in recent seasons.
• Crvena Zvezda’s president Nebojsa Covic confirmed that Olympiacos will not loan Filip Petrusev to his team this season, according to Eurohoops.net. He also said the team wasn’t signing Nikola Djurisic, a Hawks second-round draft pick in June who is recovering from foot surgery. “During the season, there could be departures or arrivals, which we currently don’t have planned. With that, I’m putting an end to the soap opera surrounding Petrusev and Djurisic, who is in America,” Covic said. “Petrusev is a player for Olympiacos.”