International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs’ Messina Reportedly Interviews With Italian Team

June 10th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina was in Italy this week with his agent for an interview, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. As Carchia details in a pair of reports, Italian club Olimpia Milano is interested in bringing Messina back to Europe.

The only Italian club that currently plays in the EuroLeague, Olimpia Milano is in the market for a new head of basketball operations and may name a new head coach as well, though Simone Pianigiani still holds the HC position for now. The team has interest in Messina for the dual role, per Carchia.

A longtime head coach overseas for CKSA Moscow, Real Madrid, and other clubs, Messina joined the Spurs in 2014 as an assistant. He has received interest from multiple NBA teams as a head coaching candidate since then, interviewing with the Hornets, Bucks, and Raptors in 2018.

Messina, who coached the Italian national team between 2015 and 2017, also served as the Spurs’ interim head coach for three games during the 2018 postseason following the death of Gregg Popovich‘s wife Erin.

According to Carchia, Messina is expected to make a decision this week on whether to join Milano or remain with the Spurs.

Draft Updates: Matthews, Bol, Porter, Withdrawals

June 10th, 2019 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Michigan guard Charles Matthews suffered some bad luck with the 2019 NBA draft right around the corner, as agent Adam Pensack tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com that his client has a torn ACL. The injury occurred during a workout with the Celtics, Givony adds.

Matthews, who had been ranked as the No. 60 prospect on ESPN’s big board and was receiving second-round interest, will head to his hometown of Chicago to undergo surgery to repair the ACL. He hasn’t given up hope of being selected in next week’s draft.

“Injuries are tough, but Charles is an extremely hard worker and will be back stronger than ever,” Pensack told Givony. “He had a series of outstanding workouts lately and has helped himself. Charles will continue that momentum when he returns to action. As of now, we have interest in the second round as Charles is OK signing a two-way contract like Edmond Sumner did with the Indiana Pacers in 2017.”

Let’s round up a few more draft-related items…

Bol Bol, who is recovering from a foot fracture, will hold an invite-only workout for select teams on Wednesday, according to Jeremy Woo and Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). Bol is one of the biggest wild cards in the draft for health-related reasons, so Wednesday’s session could have a major impact on where he’s selected.
Kevin Porter Jr., a probable first-round pick, has worked out for the Nets, Spurs, and Hornets, and has sessions lined up with the Magic and Hawks, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Porter’s previously-reported upcoming workouts with the Heat and Wizards will take place on June 13 and June 17, respectively (Twitter links via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald and Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).
With Monday’s withdrawal deadline looming, several international early entrants are pulling their names out of the 2019 draft pool. According to reports from Givony and Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas (all four Twitter links), the following players are withdrawing: Nikita Mikhailovskii (Russia), Arturs Zagars (Latvia), Henri Drell (France), Tadas Sedekerskis (Lithuania), Gytis Masiulis (Lithuania), and Arnas Velicka (Lithuania).
Lithuanian early entrants Deividas Sirvydis and Matas Jogela intend to remain in the draft pool, sources tell Urbonas (Twitter link). According to Givony (all Twitter links), Sekou Doumbouya (France), Goga Bitadze (Georgia), Luka Samanic (Croatia), Adam Mokoka (France), and Marcos Louzada Silva (Brazil) will also stay in the draft.

Team USA Announces 20-Player Camp Roster For World Cup

June 10th, 2019 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has officially announced the group of 20 players that will participate in training camp this summer in advance of the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The camp will take place from August 5-9, and will be used to select the 12-man roster for this year’s World Cup in China.

The 20-man training camp roster is as follows:

Harrison Barnes (Kings)
Bradley Beal (Wizards)
Anthony Davis (Pelicans)
Andre Drummond (Pistons)
Eric Gordon (Rockets)
James Harden (Rockets)
Tobias Harris (Sixers / FA)
Kyle Kuzma (Lakers)
Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
Brook Lopez (Bucks / FA)
Kevin Love (Cavaliers)
Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
CJ McCollum (Trail Blazers)
Khris Middleton (Bucks)
Paul Millsap (Nuggets)
Donovan Mitchell (Jazz)
Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Myles Turner (Pacers)
P.J. Tucker (Rockets)
Kemba Walker (Hornets / FA)

“I am excited about getting to training camp in August and working with all of the players that have been selected to attend the USA National Team training camp in Las Vegas,” Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich said in a statement. “We’ve got an excellent cross-section of veteran USA Basketball and NBA players, as well as some exciting younger players who possess amazing versatility.

“I’m appreciative of commitment that our National Team players continue to make, and the eagerness of the new players to become involved,” Popovich continued. “Selecting a 12-man team will be extremely difficult.”

It will be an eventful summer for many of the players on the 20-man Team USA training camp roster. Besides Harris, Lopez, and Walker, who are all headed for unrestricted free agency and could be on new teams by August, players like Barnes, Middleton, and Millsap could reach the open market if their player or team options are declined. Others – including Davis, Gordon, Kuzma, Tatum, and Tucker – have been mentioned in trade rumors.

Kuzma and Mitchell are the only players on the roster who haven’t played internationally for Team USA in the past. Five player on the roster (Barnes, Davis, Harden, Love, and Lowry) have won gold medals for USA Basketball at the 2012 or 2016 Olympics, while two others (Drummond and Gordon) have taken home gold at previous World Cups.

Previous reports indicated that Zion Williamson, John Collins, and Marvin Bagley are expected to be among the players named to a 10-man select team that will scrimmage with Team USA’s 20-man roster at the training camp in August.

Four NBA Teams Will Play In Mexico

June 7th, 2019 at 1:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four NBA teams have been selected to participate in The NBA Mexico City Games 2019, the league announced today. The Mavericks, Pistons, Suns and Spurs will all play regular-season games at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico, located in Mexico City.

Dallas and Detroit will square off on December 12, with Phoenix and San Antonio meeting two days later. These will be the 29th and 30th games that Mexico will host since its partnership with the league began in 1992.

“NBA games in Mexico City are a core part of our efforts to reach and engage basketball fans throughout Mexico and Latin America,” commissioner Adam Silver said. “With a record four NBA teams visiting Mexico City next season, we expect an unprecedented level of interest and excitement around these games and our surrounding community events.”

ESPN Deportes, Televisa and NBA League Pass in Mexico will all show the games, which will be available in more than 200 countries and territories. Ticket information will be announced later. The games will be accompanied by NBA Cares community outreach projects.

“It’s an honor for the Spurs organization to be able to represent South Texas and the NBA by, once again, playing in Mexico City,” said team president R.C. Buford. “The relationship between our community and Mexico is important and impactful on many levels. We look forward to a wonderful experience and are excited to share Spurs basketball with all of our fans in Mexico.”

Wizards Interested In Signing Aaron White

June 4th, 2019 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Four years after selecting him, the Wizards may be in position to bring draft-and-stash prospect Aaron White stateside this summer, according to Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington, who hears from sources that the team has interest in signing White to an NBA contract.

White, a power forward who played his college ball at Iowa, was drafted 49th overall in 2015 by the Wizards, who have held his NBA rights since then. During his first four professional seasons, White has played in Germany, Russia, and – most recently – Lithuania, where he helped lead Zalgiris Kaunas to a EuroLeague Final Four appearance in 2018 and a EuroLeague playoff berth in 2019.

Although the Wizards are interested in bringing over White, there are potential roadblocks. For one, Washington doesn’t yet have a permanent general manager, so if someone from outside the organization is hired to run the front office, it may affect where the 26-year-old forward falls on the club’s list of priorities.

Additionally, White – who is a free agent this offseason – figures to have other options that may be more favorable when it comes to his salary and/or role. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relayed a La Gazzetta dello Sport report today indicating that the Wizards’ prospect is drawing interest from Italian club Olimpia Milano. Other European clubs may have him on their radar too.

For his part, White said during an appearance on Zalgiris TV that playing in the NBA would be a “dream,” but he wants to be “realistic in terms of what’s the most important for myself and my family” (Twitter link via Donatas Urbonas). He later tweeted that he’ll be patient in letting his free agency play out.

Ekpe Udoh Considering Return To EuroLeague

June 3rd, 2019 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Jazz center Ekpe Udoh will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and there’s no guarantee he’ll remain in the NBA. According to Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News, Udoh is drawing significant interest from a handful of EuroLeague teams.

A source tells Woodyard that Udoh has “up to four or five multi-million-dollar offers” on the table from teams in Spain, Italy, and Turkey. Woodyard adds that if Udoh is interested in playing overseas, he could look to reach an agreement within the next week.

Udoh, who began his career with the Warriors in 2010 after being selected sixth overall in that year’s draft, remained in the NBA through the 2014/15 season, then joined Turkish team Fenerbahce for two years. He won a EuroLeague title with the club in 2017 and was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP before heading back to the NBA with the Jazz.

Now that his contract with Utah is set to expire, the veteran big man could be intrigued by a return to Europe, where he’d have a more sizable role than the one he has had in the NBA. In 114 total games for the Jazz over the last two seasons, Udoh averaged 2.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 0.9 BPG in limited minutes (9.9 MPG). He’s open to staying in the NBA, depending on his role, sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

If Udoh remains in the NBA, he and his representatives will be able to talk to and meet with potential suitors beginning at the end of June. There’s nothing stopped European teams from reaching out to his camp before then, since they’re not subject to the NBA’s anti-tampering rules.

Potential Grizzlies Target May Stay In Europe

June 1st, 2019 at 5:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zalgiris Kaunas coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, who has been mentioned as a possibility for the head coaching vacancy in Memphis, didn’t sound ready to pursue the NBA after leading his team to the LKL title today in Lithuania, relays Orzaio Cauchi of Sportando.

“Now I can’t say anything. It’s so great in Kaunas, that some very incredible situation must come, that I would change it,” Jasikevicius said during the post-game celebration. “Now I feel very good in Zalgiris. I don’t need to chase anything, because Zalgiris is a top organization.”

Considered one of the EuroLeague’s top coaches, Jasikevicius has previous NBA experience as a player, spending two seasons with the Pacers and Warriors from 2005 to 2007. The 43-year-old interviewed with the Raptors last summer and turned down an offer to become an assistant after Nick Nurse was hired.

The Grizzlies, who are the NBA’s only team without a head coach, have reportedly talked to Alex Jensen, Jarron Collins, Igor Kokoskov, Nate Tibbetts, Adrian Griffin and Taylor Jenkins. The position has been open since J.B. Bickerstaff was fired April 11.

“We can talk a lot, but as I understand, now it’s the process of information gathering,” Jasikevicius said about the Memphis job. “I don’t know if it will get more serious. But I don’t want to go deeper on rumors about me and my players.”

And-Ones: NBL, Abrines, Africa, NBA Finals

May 28th, 2019 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Top 2020 draft prospect R.J. Hampton confirmed today that he’ll pass on the opportunity to play college basketball, heading overseas instead to join the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL. While it’s not the first time an elite prospect has bypassed college, just about every player who has done so in the past has had eligibility concerns — Hampton doesn’t.

In a follow-up story on Hampton’s decision, Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com (Insider link) explores the potential upsides and downsides of the youngster’s new path, and examines whether there are other candidates to follow suit.

Outside of perhaps LaMelo Ball, Givony doesn’t expect any other one-and-done candidates to head to the NBL for the 2019/20 season, but he notes that potential fallout from ongoing NCAA corruption investigations could change that. If certain programs are hit by sanctions or head coaching firings, that may cause top prospects to rethink their plans for next season, and the NBL could look to recruit those players.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Before he joined the Thunder in 2016, swingman Alex Abrines played for Barcelona for several seasons. Now, according to a report from Barcelona-based L’Esportiu Catalunya (via Sportando), the Spanish club has interest in bringing him back. Abrines parted ways with Oklahoma City this season for personal reasons, so it’s not clear if he’ll be ready to return to action – whether in the NBA or EuroLeague – for the 2019/20 campaign.
Amadou Gallo Fall, the NBA’s vice president and managing director for Africa, has been named the president of the new Basketball Africa League, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The new 12-team African league is on track to begin play in 2020.
Besides featuring a new matchup for the first time since 2014, this year’s NBA Finals will also have a significant ripple effect on the upcoming NBA offseason, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. As Reynolds observes, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Kawhi Leonard will all be free agents this summer, and it’s not inconceivable that their decisions will be affected by what happens in the series.

R.J. Hampton To Forgo College, Play In New Zealand

May 28th, 2019 at 8:03am CST by Luke Adams

Top high school recruit R.J. Hampton has elected to forgo college for the 2019/20 season and will instead join the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL, he confirmed today in an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up. Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com and Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com, both of whom have Hampton ranked as the No. 5 recruit in this year’s class, have full reports on his decision.

“My number one goal is to play in the NBA,” Hampton told ESPN. “I wanted to be an NBA player before I ever wanted to be a college player. This is about getting ready for the next level faster and more efficiently.

“Both of my parents went to college. My mom got her masters degree. Education is a big thing in our family, but this is about focusing 100 percent on basketball. You can always go back to college, but there’s only a short window as an athlete where you can play professional basketball, and I want to take advantage of that. I think that challenging yourself on a daily basis is the best way to improve.”

As Givony and Daniels note, Hampton isn’t the first top prospect to forgo college in favor of going pro immediately. However, other players who took a similar route – including Brandon Jennings, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Terrance Ferguson – had college eligibility concerns. Hampton, who had been considering scholarship offers from Kansas, Memphis, and Texas Tech, had no such issues.

Hampton tells ESPN that he was inspired to head overseas in part by watching last year’s No. 3 overall pick have significant success in Europe before being drafted.

“Luka Doncic is one of my favorite players to watch,” Hampton said. “I started following him two years before he was drafted and watched at least 10 games of his this season. Seeing how he came into the NBA and being arguably the best rookie in the NBA shows you that you don’t have to go to college to be successful. Playing professionally against men helped him get to where he is now. He’s not the fastest or most athletic guy, but he gets where he wants on the floor and reads defenses better than almost any player in the NBA.”

Hampton’s father, Rod Hampton, tells Daniels that his son also had offers from teams in Europe and Asia, including an offer exceeding $1MM from a Chinese club. However, R.J. and his family liked the fit with the Breakers, who can offer a roster spot to Hampton via the NBL’s “Next Stars” program.

“It’s an English-speaking country,” Rod said of New Zealand. “You’re going from Texas to New Zealand and they have a really good partnership with the NBA. His team plays two games against NBA teams this year.”

A 6’5″ guard, Hampton is now on track to be eligible for the 2020 draft and currently projects as a top-10 pick. In his most recent ’20 mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) had Hampton coming off the board at No. 6 overall.

NBA Cancels 2019 Global Camp For International Prospects

May 23rd, 2019 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has elected to cancel its Global Camp for 2019, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. The event, a showcase for draft-eligible prospects outside of America, had been set to take place in Monaco from May 30 to June 2.

“We have cancelled the NBA Global Camp 2019 due to logistical issues and other contributing factors that jeopardized our ability to successfully conduct the camp,” NBA executive VP of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe told ESPN in a statement. “The camp will return in the future.”

For many years, NBA teams scouted international prospects at the Adidas EuroCamp each spring, but than event was abandoned by Adidas in the wake of the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption. The NBA assumed control of the spring showcase in 2018, spinning it off into the newly-created Global Camp. However, the camp – which is essentially a draft combine for international prospects, as Givony explains – ran for just one year before running into problems in 2019.

Sources tell Givony that confusion over which venues organizers of the event had actually booked was one key reason for the event’s cancellation. The Global Camp was supposed to take place at the home arena of international club AS Monaco Basket, but the team said it had not been consulted about the availability of its arena, Givony writes.

As our list shows, this year’s group of early entrants features 59 international prospects, and Givony has heard from agents that many of those players only entered the draft pool in the hopes of being selected to participate in the Global Camp. With the event no longer taking place and the withdrawal deadline for early entrants set for June 10, that list of international prospects on the early entry list figures to dwindle significantly in the coming weeks.