International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ben Moore To Play In Turkey

August 31st, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by clarkcrum

Ben Moore, who recently worked out for the Suns, will play in Istanbul this upcoming season, with Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reporting that the 24-year-old forward has signed with Galatasaray S.K. of the Turkish Basketball Super League.

Moore, who reportedly performed admirably for the USA Basketball Select Team in several scrimmages against the Team USA 2019 FIBA World Cup Squad, has spent most of his young career in the G League, averaging 12.5 PPG and 8.0 RPG in two seasons (90 games) with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2017/18) and Austin Spurs (2018/19).

Moore has also appeared in two NBA games, both with the Pacers as a rookie during the 2017/18 season. He played a total of nine minutes and posted a rebound and an assist but did not score any points.

J.R. Smith Turned Down Offer From CBA Team

August 28th, 2019 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent shooting guard J.R. Smith reportedly passed on a a contract offer from a team in the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. A source tells Carchia that Smith turned down the proposal – worth about $1.6MM – from the Jiangsu Dragons.

Smith, who will turn 34 in September, spent last season under contract with the Cavaliers. However, he only played 11 games in his fifth season with the franchise, informally parting ways with Cleveland last fall as the team tried to find a taker for his pseudo-expiring contract. The Cavs ultimately didn’t get any trade offers they liked for Smith and waived him this summer.

Assuming Carchia’s information on Jiangsu’s offer is accurate, it makes some sense that Smith would be reluctant to accept it. As a result of being released by the Cavaliers, the veteran guard will earn about $1.46MM in each of the next three years, so he’s not in immediate need of a payday. Plus, if he can catch on with an NBA team, his minimum salary stateside would be about $2.56MM.

We haven’t heard much about the potential NBA market for Smith since he met with the Bucks over a month ago. Milwaukee ultimately opted to sign another shooter, Kyle Korver, but other teams could have interest in Smith if they decide they need another outside threat this fall. He has knocked down 37.3% of 5,167 career three-point attempts.

Of course, if Smith does eventually decide to make the move to China, he’d hardly be the only NBA veteran to do so this offseason. As we detailed on Tuesday, Lance Stephenson, Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan, Jerian Grant, and Ian Clark are among the many players who have signed with CBA clubs within the last couple months. Smith has also played in China once before, having joined the Zhejiang Golden Bulls during the 2011 NBA lockout.

Jeremy Lin Signs With Beijing Ducks

August 27th, 2019 at 7:33am CST by Luke Adams

One of the top remaining NBA free agents will be heading to China for the 2019/20 season, as point guard Jeremy Lin confirmed today that he’s joining the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association (Twitter link). Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reported this morning that Lin had agreed to terms with Beijing and later tweeted that the signing was official.

Lin, who turned 31 last Friday, has spent the last nine seasons in the NBA, most notably emerging for the 2011/12 Knicks with an out-of-nowhere run dubbed as “Linsanity.”

Lin won his first championship this spring after joining the Raptors in February, though he struggled to match his usual production in a backup role in Toronto, recording 7.0 PPG and 2.2 APG in 23 regular season games (18.8 MPG) and playing sparingly in the postseason. Those averages were his worst since his rookie year and his .374 FG% would have been a career low.

His struggles with the Raptors likely limited the NBA market this summer for Lin, who expressed frustration in July about how his free agency was playing out, suggesting that he felt like “the NBA has kind of given up on me.”

Although he’ll leave the NBA for now, a strong showing in the Chinese Basketball Association could create a path for Lin’s eventual return stateside. CBA teams have been pursuing the veteran guard for much of the offseason, as his Taiwanese roots have made him a popular player overseas. We first heard earlier this month that Lin was in advanced talks with Beijing.

Former Jazz center Ekpe Udoh also signed with the Beijing Ducks this offseason.

And-Ones: Loyd, MVP Race, Bucks, Sterling

August 26th, 2019 at 3:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Jordan Loyd views his upcoming season in the EuroLeague as an opportunity to showcase his talents before returning to the NBA, Blake Murphy of The Athletic reports. Loyd played on a two-way contract with the Raptors last season and feared he’d get stuck on a similar deal if he stayed in Toronto. The Raptors waived him after he agreed to a one-year contract with Valencia Basket.

“This year, I have a one-year deal, and then try to get back to the league, man. I think it’s gonna help me, honestly,” he said. “I look at it as a year to better myself and to get back to the league. I feel like I am an NBA player, but I’m not naive enough to sit there and let great opportunities pass me by overseas.”

We have more from the basketball world:

The Most Valuable Player race for the upcoming NBA season looks wide open, according to a panel of ESPN experts. While reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is favored to win it again, former MVPs Stephen Curry and LeBron James as well as Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard are all logical candidates for the top individual award.
The Bucks’ biggest challenge will be handling the pressure of high expectations, Malika Andrews of ESPN writes. Not only will they have a target on their backs but it will be a pivotal season in terms of whether they can retain Antetokounmpo long-term. A group of ESPN writers examines the strengths and biggest question marks looming over seven contenders.
ESPN took a deep dive into the saga of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was forced to sell the team after making racially insensitive statements. Perhaps the most eye-opening revelation by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne was that the league nearly shut down during the 2014 playoffs until commissioner Adam Silver took swift and bold action. “I was all-in. Like shut down the whole season,” then-Warriors forward Andre Iguodala said. “Maybe that was too far, but as far as that game that day, you can reschedule it, you gotta sort this thing out, because there’s some deep-rooted stuff with him that had to be addressed.”

French Team To Sign Briante Weber

August 24th, 2019 at 5:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Briante Weber, who has spent time with five NBA teams, will play in France this year, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando. The 26-year-old point guard has reached an agreement with Metropolitans 92, which is based in Boulogne-Levallois.

Weber attended a pair of free agent mini-camps in June with the Raptors and Timberwolves. He began last season with Sioux Falls in the G League after being waived by the Heat in training camp, then signed with the Greek club Olympiacos in February.

Weber’s last NBA experience was a combined 18 games for the Rockets and Grizzlies during the 2017/18 season. He also had brief stops with the Heat, Warriors and Hornets.

And-Ones: LaMelo, G League Draft, Gentile, Blair

August 22nd, 2019 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

LaMelo Ball was extremely impressive during the Drew League pro-am in Los Angeles, writes Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. The younger brother of Lonzo Ball will spend the upcoming season in Australia and has a chance to be one of the top picks in the 2020 draft.

After seeing him in action, Woo states that LaMelo has a chance to be the best player in the family. He’s already 6’6″ at age 18 and is a much better scorer than Lonzo was at the same age. Woo describes LaMelo as “an excellent passer” with an effective change-of-pace move and a “quicker, cleaner release” on his shot than his brother has.

Woo also got a first-hand look at Cade Cunningham, whom he calls “best high school prospect regardless of class.” The 6’7″ point guard appears to be headed to Kentucky, North Carolina or Oklahoma State and could be the first player drafted in 2021.

The G League draft will be held October 26, tweets Adam Johnson of Two Ways and 10 Days. It’s happening later than usual because the start of the NBA season was pushed back a week to accommodate players in the FIBA World Cup. The expansion draft for the Erie BayHawks will take place next week (Twitter link). Existing teams will be permitted to protect as many as 12 players and cannot lose more than two.
Alessandro Gentile is negotiating a contract with Virtus Bologna in Italy, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The Rockets held Gentile’s draft rights for several years before waiving him last October. Carchia adds that the offer has “a lot of clauses that the player has to accept.”
Former NBA forward DeJuan Blair can’t fulfill the contract he signed with Italian team VL Pesaro earlier this month because of a doping suspension, Carchia writes. Blair failed an anti-doping test during the 2017/18 season, but wasn’t aware because FIBA sent the notification to the wrong email address. Blair was selected by the Austin Spurs in last year’s G League draft.
Quincy Miller failed a physical with KK Cibona and had his contract voided by the Croatian team, according to Carchia (Twitter link). Miller spent three seasons in the NBA and participated in a free agent mini-camp with the Timberwolves last summer.
Cleanthony Early, who played two seasons with the Knicks, has signed with Atomeromu Se in Hungary, relays Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

China Is Next Stop For Isaiah Canaan

August 22nd, 2019 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Canaan, who spent time with three teams last season, is headed to China, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The journeyman guard has signed with Shandong in the CBA.

Canaan, 28, won a roster spot with the Suns in training camp and opened the season as the team’s starting point guard. He was waived in late November after appearing in 19 games.

Canaan signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Timberwolves in January and February, but was let go after the second one expired. He joined the Bucks in late February on another 10-day deal, but was waived after six days to make room for Pau Gasol.

Overall, Canaan appeared in 30 games, averaging 6.0 points and 2.8 assists per night. He has played 235 career games for six NBA franchises, including brief stops with the Rockets, Sixers and Bulls.

World Cup Notes: Joseph, Spain, Teodosic, Rankings

August 21st, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Dana Gauruder

Is guard Cory Joseph in or out of the FIBA World Cup for Team Canada? Joseph, the most prominent NBA member remaining on the depleted Team Canada roster, was withdrawing from the competition, according to a tweet from Toronto Star reporter Doug Smith. However, Team Canada coach Nick Nurse said that report was incorrect and that Joseph would indeed join the team in China, John Casey of 7Olympics tweets.

Joseph is not currently with the team during exhibition games in Australia and Sportsnet Canada’s Michael Grange notes that Joseph would have to leave for China soon, given that the tournament begins in 10 days and he needs to adjust to the 12-hour time difference (Twitter link).

We have more World Cup news:

Spain will be a tough out in the World Cup. The final roster includes several NBA players, according to a Sportando tweet. Ricky Rubio and Marc Gasol lead the 12-man squad, which also includes Willy Hernangomez,and Rudy Fernandez.
Former Clippers guard Milos Teodosic didn’t make the final Serbian roster, according to a Sportando post. Teodosic has returned to his Italian team, Virtus Bologna, to rehab a foot injury.
The Serbian team tops the latest FIBA rankings, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Team USA is No. 2, followed by Spain, France and Greece. The Serbian team includes Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica.

International Notes: Stokes, Morris, Mourning, Senegal

August 20th, 2019 at 11:21am CST by Dana Gauruder

Power forward Jarnell Stokes has decided to remain in China for a third consecutive season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Stokes will sign a $1.9MM contract with Xinjiang. Stokes has appeared in 28 NBA games for the Grizzlies, Heat, and Nuggets. He played five games with the Trail Blazers in the Las Vegas Summer League last month and averaged 10.6 PPG and 6.4 RPG.

We have more news from around the basketball globe:

Guard Darius Morris has officially signed with Russia’s Enisey Krasnoyarsk, Carchia reports. Morris played in the G League last season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 15.2 PPG and 6.1 APG. The former Lakers and Nets guard has appeared in 132 total NBA games after being selected in the second round of the 2011 draft but the 2014/15 season was his last in the league.
Trey Mourning, son of former NBA star Alonzo Mourning, will play for Russia’s Runa Basket, Carchia adds in another post. The former Georgetown forward, who went undrafted this June, averaged 9.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in four games for the Heat in summer league action last month.
Former NBA players Hamady Ndiaye and Maurice Ndour are among the players on Senegal’s World Cup roster, according to a FIBA press release. Ndiaye, a center, was a Timberwolves’ 2010 second-round pick and appeared in 33 NBA games. Ndour, a small forward, played 32 games for the Knicks during the 2016/17 season.

Central Notes: Oladipo, Anthony, Young, Blatt

August 19th, 2019 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Victor Oladipo is sure the Pacers will make the playoffs due to the additions of Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren and Jeremy Lamb, among others, as he told J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star.

“I feel like we got some great additions. We got a chance to be really special. I feel like the league is wide open,” the Pacers’ guard said. “I was excited for the opportunity to play with (Brogdon). I know what type of player he is, the level that he plays on and has been playing on the last couple of years from Milwaukee. To have him as an addition is pretty big for us.”

Oladipo is working his way back from a quad injury and it’s uncertain whether he’ll be ready by the time the Pacers open training camp. “I’m not sure yet,” he told Mark Monteith of the team’s website.

We have more from the Central Division:

Adding free agent Carmelo Anthony to the mix never made any sense for the Pistons, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press explains in his latest mailbag. Anthony’s game is predicated on isolation plays and that doesn’t fit the Pistons’ system. He’s also spent most of his time at power forward in recent seasons and the Pistons already signed Markieff Morris, a better defender, to back up Blake Griffin. They also added another veteran forward, Michael Beasley, to compete for a roster spot, Ellis adds.
Thaddeus Young is a quality finisher and that will help boost the Bulls’ offense, according to Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago. Young shot 67.9% from inside three feet for the Pacers last season, while Chicago ranked 28th in the NBA in field goal percentage inside five feet, making just 58% of its attempts, Strotman notes. Young jumped teams on a three-year, $41MM pact early in the free agent season.
Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt is battling multiple sclerosis but plans to continue coaching, according to an Associated Press report. He’s currently the coach of the Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus. “I am a coach and my job is to lead and teach and inspire a lot of people,” Blatt wrote in the statement. “Not being as agile or active doesn’t affect my ability to do those things.”