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International Notes: Olympic Qualifiers, Robinson, Australia, Canada, Hayes-Davis

July 4th, 2024 at 9:28pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of NBA superstars will match up this weekend in Greece as they look to keep their home countries’ Olympic hopes alive. The Greek national team, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, will take on Luka Doncic and the Slovenians in the semifinals of one of four ongoing Olympic qualifying tournaments (link via ESPN). The winner of Greece vs. Slovenia will go on to face the winner of Croatia vs. Dominican Republic for a spot in the men’s basketball Olympic tournament in Paris.

In total, four Olympic berths still remain up for grabs. The other semifinal matchups in Olympic qualifying tournaments around the globe are as follows:

  • Riga, Latvia:
    • Latvia vs. Cameroon
    • Brazil vs. Philippines
  • Valencia, Spain:
    • Spain vs. Finland
    • Bahamas vs. Lebanon
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico:
    • Puerto Rico vs. Mexico
    • Lithuania vs. Italy

While none of the other teams fighting for a spot in the Olympics has a perennial MVP candidate like Antetokounmpo or Doncic on its roster, there are many NBA players competing in the qualifying tournaments, including All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis for Lithuania and Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield, and Eric Gordon representing the Bahamas.

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

  • Former NBA lottery pick Jerome Robinson has signed with Saint-Quentin in France, the team officially announced (via Twitter). Robinson, who was drafted 13th overall in 2018, has appeared in a total of 135 NBA regular season games, including 22 with Golden State last season while on a two-way contract with the Warriors.
  • The Australian national team has set its 12-man roster for the Olympics, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN, who notes that eight active NBA players – Josh Giddey, Josh Green, Dante Exum, Jock Landale, Duop Reath, Dyson Daniels, Patty Mills, and Joe Ingles – made the cut, along with former NBA guard Matthew Dellavedova. Trail Blazers forward Matisse Thybulle is the most surprising omission, Uluc adds.
  • Team Canada hasn’t set its Olympic roster yet, but pared it down a little on Wednesday, with Oshae Brissett among the cuts. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links), Brissett – who is coming off a championship season as a Celtics reserve – asked to withdraw to focus on his NBA free agency. It looks like there are 10 NBA players who are safe bets to be on the Canadian squad, with two roster spots still up for grabs, as Lewenberg outlines in another tweet.
  • Nigel Hayes-Davis, the former NBA forward who is part of the U.S. Select Team and was rumored this spring to be drawing NBA interest, has re-upped with Fenerbahce, signing a three-year contract with the Turkish team, according to a press release.
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Knicks Sign First-Rounder Dadiet For Less Than Standard Rookie Scale Amount

July 4th, 2024 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

1:42pm: Katz provides some additional details on Dadiet’s contract, tweeting that only the first year will be at 80% of the rookie scale amount, with years two through four jumping to 120%.

All told then, Dadiet’s deal will be worth $13,012,968 (instead of $13,917,008) over four years.

12:33pm: The Knicks have finalized a buyout with Ratiopharm Ulm, Pacome Dadiet‘s team in Germany, clearing the way for them to sign their first-round pick to his rookie scale contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Interestingly, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Knicks have signed Dadiet to a contract that will be worth 80% of the standard rookie scale amount for the No. 25 pick, instead of the usual 120%. That’s the minimum allowed for a first-round pick.

As our breakdown of rookie scale salaries shows, a “maximum” rookie scale contract for Dadiet would’ve started at $2,712,120. However, 80% of his rookie scale amount will work out to a first-year salary of $1,808,080. As Katz notes, that’ll give the team about $904K in extra spending flexibility below its second-apron hard cap for 2024/25.

An NBA team is permitted to pay up to $850K to a player’s international team as part of a buyout agreement in 2024/25 without that amount counting against its cap. The NBA club would be permitted to pay more than that, but any amount above $850K would count against the player’s cap hit. For instance, a $1MM buyout for a player who will earn a $2MM salary would result in a $2,150,000 cap hit.

League sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that the Knicks, not coincidentally, paid exactly $850K to Ratiopharm Ulm, meaning Dadiet’s cap hit will be equivalent to his salary and won’t include any portion of his buyout.

This is likely an arrangement the Knicks discussed with Dadiet and his representatives before selecting him rather than springing a lower offer on him after drafting him.

The 18-year-old French wing averaged 6.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game across 18 EuroCup appearances for Ulm last season.

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Stanley Johnson Joining Turkish Club Anadolu Efes

July 3rd, 2024 at 4:09pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Former NBA forward Stanley Johnson has agreed to a contract with Anadolu Efes, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link).

As Scotto observes, the Turkish club has won two of the last four EuroLeague championships, with former NBA players like Shane Larkin, Daniel Oturu, Vincent Poirier and Ante Zizic among the key contributors across that stretch.

Johnson spent last season in the G League with the Stockton Kings after having been in the NBA for the previous eight years. In 34 G League games in 2023/24, Johnson averaged 14.4 points per game and shot 39.5% from deep. Now, he’s heading overseas for the first time in his career.

The No. 8 overall pick in 2015, Johnson spent the first three-and-a-half years of his career with the Pistons. He bounced around the league after that, going through stints with the Pelicans, Raptors, Lakers and Spurs. In 449 career games (104 starts), the 28-year-old Johnson holds career averages of 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds.

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International Notes: Hall, Claver, SGA, Murray, Almansa, FIBA Rosters

July 1st, 2024 at 6:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA big man Donta Hall could have an opportunity to return to the league, Aris Barkas of Eurohoops reports. The American big man has an opt-out clause in his contract with his current team, Monaco, and is believed to be receiving NBA interest. Hall averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.4 minutes over 38 games in EuroLeague action with Monaco last season. Hall has appeared in 22 NBA games with Detroit, Brooklyn and Orlando.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • Former NBA forward Victor Claver has announced his retirement, according to release from Valencia Basket. Claver, 35, played 18 years professionally, beginning and ending his career with Valencia, Eurohoops notes. Claver appeared in 82 games with the Trail Blazers from 2012-15. He was also a longtime member of the Spanish national team.
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray will be playing together on the Canadian national team for the first time. Murray couldn’t play the last two summers while recovering from injuries and long playoff runs. Michael Grange of Sportsnet and Eric Koreen of The Athletic examine how the two star guards will mesh together as they prepare for the Olympics. SGA doesn’t seem worried. “I drive, he shoots,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Simple as that.”
  • Izan Almansa, considered a first-round prospect in next year’s draft, has chosen to spend next season in the NBL Next Stars program with the Perth Wildcats, according to an NBL post. It’s the same path taken by this year’s No. 2 pick, Alex Sarr. Almansa, 19, participated in the NBA draft combine but decided to withdraw from this year’s draft and improve his stock for 2025. The 6’10″ big man, who hails from Spain, possesses a 7’1″ wingspan and was named MVP of the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup, 2022 FIBA U18 European Championships and 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup.
  • The rosters for the 24 participating teams in the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments have been confirmed. They can be viewed at this Eurohoops post. Those tournaments, which will determine the final four qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, tip off on Tuesday.
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More Conflicting Reports On Sasha Vezenkov’s Future

June 29th, 2024 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Sasha Vezenkov officially has a new NBA team, having been traded from the Kings to the Raptors on Friday. However, that hasn’t quieted whispers from the rumor mill about what his future holds.

Alessandro Maggi of Sportando reported earlier today that Vezenkov is expected to return to the EuroLeague, where he earned MVP honors in 2023. According to Maggi, Vezenkov is close to finalizing a four-year contract with his former team in Greece, Olympiacos.

However, Toronto-based reporter Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca disputed that claim, noting that the Raptors have Vezenkov and his guaranteed $6.66MM salary on their books for the 2024/25 season and have no plans to waive him. The expectation from the team is that he’ll be in training camp this fall, Grange adds.

This isn’t the first time this offseason that there have been conflicting reports about Vezenkov’s future. Earlier in June, an Italian reporter claimed Vezenkov was told he was no longer in Sacramento’s plans and the team would look to trade him, while Eurohoops said that Vezenkov told the Kings he wasn’t going to return for a second season and that he was undecided on whether he would stay in the NBA or return to Europe.

A follow-up report stated that Vezenkov intended to honor his contract and indicated there was “no truth” to the rumor that the forward was considering an NBA exit. His agent subsequently said on the record that staying in the NBA was the priority, though he added that Panathinaikos and Olympiacos had interest in his client.

Given all that context, it seems likely that Vezenkov will continue on his current contract if the Raptors are interested in bringing him to camp, but this could be a situation worth keeping an eye on as the offseason progresses.

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USA Basketball Announces 15-Man Select Team

June 28th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced in a press release that a 15-man Select Team will train with the U.S. Olympic squad as it prepares for the upcoming Olympics. The Select Team, which is made up mostly of younger players and some who have previous Team USA experience, will work out with the men’s national team in Las Vegas from July 6-8.

The members of the Select Team are as follows:

Perhaps the most notable name on the list is Flagg, who has committed to Duke and will begin his first college basketball season in the fall. He’s viewed as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Duren, Galloway, Murphy, Murray, and Pritchard were part of the U.S. Select Team that trained with the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible some of these players will use their Select Team experience as a springboard to represent Team USA in international competitions down the road. Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton are among the players on this year’s Olympic team that were members of a Select Team earlier in their respective careers.

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.

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Admiral Schofield Signs With French Team

June 28th, 2024 at 10:40am CST by Rory Maher

Free agent forward Admiral Schofield has signed a contract with ASVEL Basket, which competes in France’s top basketball division (LNB Elite), the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

The 42nd pick of the 2019 draft after spending four college seasons at Tennessee, Schofield has appeared in a total of 131 NBA games with the Wizards and Magic, holding modest career averages of 3.3 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 10.5 MPG.

The 27-year-old combo forward has spent the majority of the past three seasons with Orlando, primarily on two-way contracts. He made 23 appearances for the Magic in 2023/24 for a total of 84 minutes (3.7 MPG).

Schofield’s two-way eligibility expired after he completed his fourth NBA season in ’23/24, meaning he is now only eligible for standard contracts. Evidently he didn’t find any suitable NBA offers, as he’ll be heading overseas for the first time in his professional career.

ASVEL went 25-9 last regular season in the LNB Elite, good for third place. The club was eliminated in the semifinals of the playoffs by Paris Basketball.

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International Notes: Gallinari, Melli, Sabonis, Belinelli

June 24th, 2024 at 9:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Danilo Gallinari played his first game with the Italian national team since suffering an ACL tear two years ago, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. The 35-year-old forward was named MVP of the Trentino Basketball Cup after scoring 13 points in a win over Georgia, the team he was facing when he injured his knee.

“It’s a special return for me, especially after what happened two years ago, against the same team. It’s beautiful to come back on the court with these guys,” Gallinari said. “Playing next to these people it’s always a peculiar emotion. It seems like a cliché, but it’s always the same emotion as when I started with the national team at 17-18. Always the same beautiful emotions that everybody expects every summer to get back to it. Unfortunately, I had to wait two years, but it’s great.”

The injury occurred just weeks after Gallinari signed a two-year deal with the Celtics, and it changed the course of his NBA career. Instead of getting a chance to compete for a championship in Boston, Gallinari had to sit out the entire 2022/23 season. He was traded to Washington last summer and then to Detroit in January before being waived by the Pistons a month later and finishing the season with Milwaukee.

Before he tests the free agent market again, Gallinari will take part in an Olympic qualifying tournament from July 2-7 in Puerto Rico. Italy, Bahrain and the host team are in Group B, with Lithuania, Mexico and Ivory Coast making up Group A.

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • Another member of the Italian team, former NBA big man Nicolo Melli, has signed a two-year contract with Fenerbahce, according to Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops. During his previous time with Fenerbahce, Melli was part of teams that captured the 2018 Turkish League title, the 2017 President Cup and the 2019 Turkish Cup. Melli recently parted ways with Olimpia Milano in Italy, saying he wasn’t part of coach Ettore Messina‘s plans for next season. “I wasn’t thinking about leaving Milan,” Melli said. “I accept the legitimate decision by the club. I feel bad that it’s being written and said that I was the one to leave Milan.”
  • Kings center Domantas Sabonis will be part of the Lithuanian squad at the OQT in Puerto Rico, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. With Jonas Valanciunas skipping the tournament because of his upcoming free agency, Sabonis will be Lithuania’s only active NBA player.
  • Marco Belinelli has reached an agreement in principle for a new contract with Virtus Bologna at age 38, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. The veteran swingman played 13 NBA seasons before returning to Europe in 2020.
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Celtics Notes: Horford, Brissett, Holiday, Lundberg

June 23rd, 2024 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Al Horford could have gone out on top, but that’s not on his agenda. The veteran Celtics big man says he wants to keep playing next season and beyond, as he told Jared Weiss of The Athletic (video link).

“I’m coming back. That’s the plan. … I’ll start training in a couple weeks again,” he said.

Horford, 38, has one year left on his contract and will make $9.5MM next season. If all goes well, he might be seeking another contract next offseason.

“I feel good, I want to keep it going,” he said.

We have more Celtics news:

  • Oshae Brissett will reportedly decline his player option and become an unrestricted free agent. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s leaving, Brian Robb of MassLive.com writes. The Celtics still have the option to bring back Brissett on a veteran’s minimum deal or with Non-Bird rights. However, Brissett might prefer to find a bigger role in another organization. If he signs elsewhere, Jordan Walsh could move up the depth chart.
  • Mike Guevera, Jrue Holiday‘s longtime performance coach, marvels at how much time and effort Holiday puts into his workouts, “I’ve been doing this for 16 years. In my career, he’s approached the off-court stuff probably more intensely than the on-court stuff better than anybody I’ve worked with across the board in the NFL and the NBA,” Guevera told Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina.
  • Forward Gabriel Lundberg, who played four games for Phoenix in 2021/22, indicated that he turned down an offer from the Celtics, according to Thomas Picture of TV2 Sport. It apparently would have been a training camp invite, rather than a guaranteed contract. “Boston (was) very honest and transparent in their approach to me. I would have become something like the 15th man on the team and really only a training player,” he said. “So nothing with guaranteed playing time or opportunities. It doesn’t work for me anymore.” Lundberg has instead signed a two-year contract with the Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade.
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And-Ones: Italy, Melli, Biggest Need, NBA, France, Paul

June 23rd, 2024 at 10:05am CST by Rory Maher

The Italian national team has trimmed its roster down to 13 players ahead of next month’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Italy will have to cut one more player to finalize its 12-man roster.

Veteran forward Danilo Gallinari, who spent last season with Wizards, Pistons and Bucks, is the only current NBA player on Italy’s roster. The 35-year-old’s contract with Milwaukee expires at the end of June, making him an unrestricted free agent. The current 13-man roster also features former NBA players Nico Mannion and Nicolo Melli. Pistons forward Simone Fontecchio, another Italian player, will not be participating with the national team after undergoing toe surgery last month.

In order to advance to the Olympics in late July, Italy will have to win the six-team tournament, which also features Bahrain, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast, Lithuania and Mexico.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Melli, who played two seasons with New Orleans and Detroit from 2019-21, has spent most of his career with Olimpia Milano in Italy. However, the team decided to part ways with its captain, leaving his future unclear, as Eurohoops relays. “Two or three days ago, I received a 45-second phone call in which (coach) Ettore (Messina) told me the club decided to part ways with me. I repeat: it’s a legitimate choice, but I wasn’t told if the reason behind it was a technical matter or something else,” Melli said.
  • Zulfi Sheikh of Sportsnet.ca lists the biggest need for each of the NBA’s 30 teams ahead of free agency. According to Sheikh, the last-place Pistons need a wing who can space the floor, while the title-winning Celtics could use an eventual replacement for Al Horford. The 38-year-old, who is under contract through 2024/25, recently suggested he doesn’t plan to retire this summer.
  • The NBA and the LNB (France’s top basketball league) are working to finalize a development program to improve the domestic options of talented young players in France, per Théo Quintard of Le Monde (hat tip to Askounis of Eurohoops). “This program will allow a certain number of players to be supported and highlighted in order to magnify an already excellent French team,” Fabrice Jouhaud, the general director of the LNB, told Le Monde. According to Quintard, the NBA could pay the salaries of certain draft prospects to help the LNB remain competitive with other organizations, such as Australia’s NBL and the NCAA. “The clubs will also benefit from logistical and financial assistance to encourage them to trust young people,” Jouhaud said.
  • Rich Paul of Klutch Sports spoke to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer about his strategy of trying to steer draft-eligible clients to preferred destinations. Paul was candid last week about which teams he believes are interested in Bronny James.
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