International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

John Jenkins To Play In China

January 6th, 2020 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA guard John Jenkins will continue his professional career in China, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who hears from a source that Jenkins has reached an agreement with the Jiangsu Dragons.

Jenkins, who will turn 29 in March, was the 23rd overall pick in the 2012 draft and has played for five NBA teams since then, logging a total of 171 regular season games. Most recently, he appeared in 22 games for the Knicks last season, averaging 5.2 PPG with a .357 3PT%. However, New York declined its team option on Jenkins for 2019/20.

While Jenkins’ strong G League play last season ultimately earned him an NBA contract, he opted not to return to the NBAGL this season, instead waiting for an international opportunity. He’ll join a Jiangsu roster that also includes former NBA guards Antonio Blakeney and Jonathan Gibson.

This will be Jenkins’ first stint in the Chinese Basketball Association, but he does have some overseas experience. The former Vanderbilt standout played for San Pablo Burgos in Spain during the 2017/18 season.

James Nunnally Signs With Fenerbahce

January 3rd, 2020 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

Former Timberwolves and Rockets forward James Nunnally has officially completed a deal with Turkish team Fenerbahce, the club announced today in a press release.

Nunnally had previously been playing for the Shanghai Sharks, but the Chinese club released him from his contract. In 12 games in the Chinese Basketball Association this season, the 29-year-old averaged 22.3 PPG and 5.5 RPG while making 50.0% of his three-point attempts.

A former UC Santa Barbara standout, Nunnally has spent most of his professional career overseas, but has logged a total of 28 NBA games in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Houston. He started the 2018/19 season with the Wolves before being waived at the salary guarantee deadline; he later signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets, but hasn’t played in the NBA since then.

The move to Turkey represents a reunion for Nunnally, who played for Fenerbahce from 2016-18 and and won a EuroLeague title with the organization in 2017.

And-Ones: I. Taylor, Wiseman, Draft, World Peace

December 30th, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Isaiah Taylor was one of the Raptors’ final cuts this fall, having been waived just two days before the regular season began in order to create room on the roster for the team to retain Malcolm Miller. Now, Taylor is headed to the G League, where he has joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets‘ NBAGL affiliate, a source tells JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

Taylor, who received a $50K guarantee from Toronto on his training camp deal, has logged 71 regular season NBA games. Most of those came in 2017/18, when he appeared in 67 contests with the Hawks, but the other four occurred in 2016/17 with the Rockets. Taylor has previously signed multiple NBA contracts with Houston and has spent time with the Vipers, so he’ll be re-entering a familiar environment as he looks to play his way back to the NBA.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

James Wiseman, a candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, has officially left the University of Memphis and signed with Excel Sports for representation, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). Woj notes that the seven-footer met with several agents before deciding on Excel.
Speaking of the 2020 draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently shared some of the draft-related tidbits he heard of this month’s G League Showcase. According to Vecenie, draft evaluators are split over who should be the top pick — Anthony Edwards was mentioned most, but Wiseman and LaMelo Ball also have backers.
According to a report out of Puerto Rico relayed by Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, Puerto Rico’s new Mets de Guaynabo expansion team was interested in Metta World Peace as its head coach, but the former NBA forward declined an offer.

Stanton Kidd Signs With Australian Team

December 20th, 2019 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

Former Jazz forward Stanton Kidd has signed with Melbourne United, the team announced on Friday (Twitter link). The club is part of Australia’s National Basketball League.

Kidd, who finished his college career at Colorado State in 2015, has mostly played international ball since then, spending time with teams in Belgium, Germany, and Turkey. The 27-year-old made his NBA debut this fall after signing a partially guaranteed contract with the Jazz in the offseason, appearing in a total of 15 minutes across four games for Utah.

When Utah signed Juwan Morgan last month, Kidd was the odd man out and was placed on waivers to open up a roster spot. He had been a free agent since then, but is now on track to finish the 2019/20 season in Melbourne.

Malachi Richardson Leaves Israel, Will Play In Italy

December 16th, 2019 at 8:17am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 16: Italian club Vanoli Cremona has officially signed Richardson (Twitter link).

DECEMBER 14: Former Raptors and Kings guard Malachi Richardson has left his Israeli team and is close to signing with Vanoli Cremona in the Italian league, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports.

Richardson was averaging 11.2 PPG with Hapoel Holon before he departed the Middle East. Vanoli Cremona is part of the LBA, Italy’s top league. He’s expected to replace an injured player on the Italian club’s roster.

Richardson signed with Hapoel Holon in August. The former Syracuse standout appeared in 22 games with Toronto last season before he was traded to the Sixers in February, who subsequently waived him. He signed a G League contract with the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ affiliate, in March.

In 70 career NBA games, Richardson has averaged 2.8 PPG in 8.9 MPG.

Dante Cunningham Signs With Chinese Team

December 13th, 2019 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 13: Cunningham has signed with China’s Fujian Sturgeons, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays.

DECEMBER 2: Free agent forward Dante Cunningham is working on a deal with a team in China, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s unclear which club in the Chinese Basketball Association is pursuing Cunningham.

Cunningham, 32, has spent the last decade in the NBA since being selected 33rd overall in the 2009 draft by Portland. The former Villanova standout has bounced around the league since then, suiting up for a total of seven teams and logging 715 regular season games, plus another 21 playoff contests.

Although he has played both forward spots, Cunningham is seemingly best utilized as a stretch four, having added a three-point shot to his game in recent years. In his last three NBA seasons, he knocked down 38.4% of his outside attempts.

While Cunningham was briefly linked to the Nets in September, there otherwise hasn’t been much chatter surrounding him since his contract with the Spurs expired in the spring. If he does end up playing in the CBA, the season will end before the NBA’s does, giving him the opportunity to potentially return stateside down the stretch if he looks good overseas.

And-Ones: E. Okafor, Trade Season, 2020 Draft, Cacok

December 12th, 2019 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Former No. 2 overall pick Emeka Okafor made an NBA comeback during the 2017/18 season, appearing in 26 regular season contests for the Pelicans after being out of the league for nearly five years. Although Okafor made 19 starts for a New Orleans team that ultimately made it to the Western Conference Semifinals, the veteran big man hasn’t appeared in the NBA since then.

Still, that doesn’t mean Okafor is giving up on his professional career. As Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays, the former UConn star has found a new home in South Korea, where he has already appeared in a pair of games for Mobis Phoebus. At age 37, Okafor may not return to the NBA again, but he’s averaging a double-double so far in the KBL, with 11.5 PPG and 10.5 RPG.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) shares his comprehensive and invaluable trade guide for 2019/20, while John Hollinger of The Athletic provides five reasons why the ’19/20 trade season may turn out to be a dud.
Within his article, Hollinger makes a case for why the Warriors may push hard to get out of luxury-tax territory before the end of the season, noting that doing so would allow the team to avoid repeater penalties in 2020/21. It won’t be easy for Golden State to sneak below the tax line, but if the team is willing to discuss a Kevon Looney trade, that could open up one path, Hollinger observes.
Jeremy Woo of SI.com and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic have published their first big boards for the 2020 NBA draft. Georgia freshman guard Anthony Edwards tops both lists, but they diverge from there, with LaMelo Ball coming in at No. 2 in Woo’s rankings, while Vecenie has UNC’s Cole Anthony at No. 2.
Devontae Cacok‘s new two-way contract with the Lakers is a two-year agreement, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Cacok is one of six two-way players who is in the first year of a two-year deal.

Projected Lottery Pick R.J. Hampton Out With Hip Injury

December 12th, 2019 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

Just days after we heard that LaMelo Ball would be sidelined into the new year due to a foot injury, the other top prospect playing in Australia’s National Basketball League has been ruled out until 2020 with an injury of his own. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, New Zealand Breakers point guard R.J. Hampton will miss approximately four weeks due to a hip flexor injury.

Hampton, who opted to play in the NBL rather than spend a year at college leading up to the 2020 draft, has had an up-and-down year for the Breakers. In 12 games (22.1 MPG), the 18-year-old has averaged 9.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a .430/.324/.654 shooting line.

Despite his modest NBL production, Hampton is still considered a likely lottery pick for the 2020 draft. Givony, who notes that the youngster is currently ranked seventh on ESPN’s big board, has lauded Hampton’s versatile offensive game and his potential to become an explosive combo guard.

As Givony details, NBA scouts and decision-makers had been making plans to scout Hampton and Bell in the coming weeks, particularly with their teams set to face each other on December 22. It sounds like those plans will have to be postponed — both players are expected to get healthy and rejoin their teams before the NBL regular season ends in mid-February.

And-Ones: Kyrie, Yabusele, 2019 Rookie Class

December 10th, 2019 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for the Nets‘ Wednesday’s contest vs. Charlotte, which will be the 13th game he has missed this season. As a result, he can no longer play in 70 games in 2019/20, which means he’ll miss out on a $125K bonus in his contract, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter).

Irving’s contract with the Nets includes eight separate bonuses worth $125K, which could be worth up to $1MM in total. The other seven are still in play, but some of those incentives are tied to games-played totals as well.

For instance, the Nets’ point guard can earn $125K for committing fewer than 2.4 turnovers per game and another $125K for attempting at least 4.6 free throws per game. But he also must play at least 60 regular season games to receive those bonuses. We have the full details here.

As we wait to see when Irving will be able to return, here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former Celtics first-rounder Guerschon Yabusele was recently fined 10,000 yuan ($1,421) by the Chinese Basketball Association for not paying sufficient attention during the pregame playing of the Chinese anthem, per an Associated Press report. Yabusele, a member of the Nanjing Monkey Kings, had his head bowed rather than directing his gaze toward the flag. The fine reflects China’s sensitivity over respect for national images, the AP report notes.
John Hollinger of The Athletic takes a closer look at the 2019 lottery class and makes a case that the results from the group thus far have been pretty ugly. In a follow-up article, Hollinger identifies some of the silver linings from this year’s rookie class, including a player who went undrafted: Raptors guard Terence Davis.
In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks breaks down every NBA contract, sorting them by expiring deals, multiyear pacts, and deals that can’t currently be traded.

Miles Plumlee Expected To Sign With Chinese Team

December 10th, 2019 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

After parting ways with Kenneth Faried, the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions have reportedly agreed to sign another veteran NBA big man. A source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando that the Chinese club is adding free agent center Miles Plumlee.

The 26th overall pick in the 2012 draft, Plumlee has appeared in 346 total regular season NBA games for the Pacers, Suns, Bucks, Hornets, and Hawks, averaging 4.9 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 16.4 minutes per contest over the course of his career.

Plumlee, who was entering the final season of the four-year, $50MM deal he signed in 2016, was traded from Atlanta to Memphis over the summer, but didn’t make the Grizzlies’ regular season roster. The 31-year-old was waived along with Ivan Rabb at the end of the preseason, as the Grizzlies ate the remaining $12.4MM on his contract. He has been a free agent since then.

Mason is one of three Plumlee brothers with NBA experience, but he and Marshall Plumlee are out of the league for now, leaving Nuggets backup center Mason Plumlee as the only one of the brothers currently on an NBA roster.