International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Age Limit, Summer League, Hibbert, Toupane

July 17th, 2018 at 9:14pm CST by clarkcrum

As we’ve relayed previously, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced during an NBA Board of Governors meetings in Las Vegas last week that the NBA is ready to make changes to its age limit, thereby potentially allowing high school seniors the opportunity to jump straight to the NBA once again.

However, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, teams have been told privately by league officials not to expect a change to the age limit until the 2022 NBA Draft at the earliest.

Assuming the 2022 NBA Draft allows high school players to jump directly to the NBA, players entering their freshman year of high school this fall will be the first ones to benefit from this potential rule change.

As for any trades that could be affected by this, no team has as yet traded an unprotected 2022 first-rounder, and the only one that could potentially change hands at this point was sent by the Mavericks to the Hawks in order to move up in this year’s draft and select Luka Doncic.

It will be interesting to see whether teams will be wary of trading draft picks in 2022 and beyond before a final ruling is made on this issue.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

In a Q&A piece for ESPN, several different writers spoke about who they believed to be the standouts and disappointments from this year’s NBA Summer League. Wendell Carter, Kevin Knox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Deandre Ayton were among the rookies recognized, while John Collins and Josh Hart were two players who were mentioned as probably too good to have even played in this year’s summer league.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, former NBA player Roy Hibbert says that he is done playing professional basketball, explaining that “It’s just time to move on.” Hibbert, 31, was named an All-Star as recently as 2014, but saw his impact dwindle over his last few years in the league as he got older and the game got smaller and quicker.
French forward Axel Toupane, who appeared in 25 total NBA regular season games in 2016 and 2017, has signed with EuroLeague club Olympiacos B.C. after helping lead Zalgiris Kaunas to the EuroLeague Final Four last season, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

And-Ones: Billups, LeBron, Free Agency, Budinger

July 16th, 2018 at 8:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups wants to run an NBA team in the near future, according to an Associated Press report. Billups turned down the Cavaliers’ GM job last summer, saying then it would tough to rebuild the team if LeBron James bolted. Rumors flew this summer that he’d be a candidate for a Pistons’ front-office post but he wasn’t seriously considered. “My desire is to one day run a team, be in a front office and try to build a champion,” Billups said. “I know that I will and I know I’m going to do a good job. When that opportunity presents itself, and it’s a good opportunity, I’ll be ready to go.”

In other news from around the league and overseas:

LeBron James will skip next week’s USA Basketball minicamp, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. It will be the first official session for USA Basketball with the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich as the head coach.
Dwyane Wade could be a bargain for the Heat or another team still shopping for a free agent guard, according to another AP story. Wade could probably be signed in the $5MM range. Vince Carter, Michael Beasley and restricted free agent Marcus Smart are three other veteran free agents who could offer value at a bargain rate, the story adds.
Former NBA forward Chase Budinger is pursuing a career in volleyball, Drew Ruiz of HoopsHype reports. Budinger is chasing an Olympic dream and has become a partner with two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal on the AVP Beach Volleyball circuit. “That’s been a goal of mine since I was in high school, to be on an Olympic team and playing for the USA,” Budinger told Ruiz. Budinger’s NBA career ended after he played 17 games for the Suns in the second half of the 20015/16 season.
Former NBA guard Mike James has signed a lucrative offer sheet with Italy’s Olimpia Milano through the 2021 season, international expert David Pick tweets. James started 10 games for the Suns last season and appeared in 32 games overall, averaging 10.4 PPG and. 3.8 APG. After getting waived, he played four games with the Pelicans before getting waived again. He then had a second stint with Greece’s Panathinaikos Athens and won a championship.

James Michael McAdoo Will Play In Italy

July 15th, 2018 at 12:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

James Michael McAdoo, who won two NBA titles with the Warriors and played briefly for the Sixers last season, has signed with Fiat Torino in Italy, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando.

McAdoo signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia in August, but was waived in mid-January. He appeared in just three NBA games and played 18 total minutes. He finished the season with the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League.

Undrafted out of North Carolina, McAdoo signed a 10-day contract with the Warriors in January of 2015 as they were on their way to the first of four straight Finals appearances. He spent much of his time with Golden State in the G League, but got into 52 games during the 2016/17 season.

Georgios Papagiannis May Return To Europe

July 15th, 2018 at 8:22am CST by Arthur Hill

After two unproductive NBA seasons, Georgios Papagiannis is considering a return to the EuroLeague, according to Aharale Weisberg of Walla, an Israeli news site.

Papagiannis is still under contract with the Trail Blazers, but his $1,544,951 salary for next season doesn’t become guaranteed until July 19. He appeared in just one game for Portland after signing with the team in March.

The 21-year-old center was the 13th pick by the Kings in the 2016 draft, but was never able to establish himself in Sacramento. Papagiannis spent most of his time in the G League before being released in February. He appeared in 38 total games for the Kings, averaging 4.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG per night.

If Papagiannis does return to Europe, his former team, Panathinaikos is among the front-runners to sign him, along with Olympiacos.

Pelicans’ Draft Pick Tony Carr Headed To Italy

July 13th, 2018 at 9:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pelicans second-round pick Tony Carr has agreed to a deal with Italy’s Fiat Torino, William Guillory of the New Orleans Times-Picayune relays. The news was first reported by Sportando.

Carr has been playing for the Pelicans’ summer-league team. He’ll be coached by longtime NBA and college coach Larry Brown, who took the job with the Italian club last month.

Brown is notoriously tough on point guards, so Carr will get plenty of guidance on how to be a floor leader for a professional team. He’s struggled in summer-league play, averaging 7.0 PPG and 3.8 APG.

The Pelicans will retain his rights and be able to sign him next summer, Guillory notes.

The 6’5” Penn State product, the 51st overall pick, averaged 19.6 PPG, 5.0 APG and 4.9 RPG as a sophomore last season before declaring for the draft.

New Orleans has three other point guards on the roster, Jrue Holiday, Elfrid Payton and Frank Jackson.

European Teams Interested In Luke Babbitt

July 12th, 2018 at 6:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran forward Luke Babbitt is drawing interest from several EuroLeague teams, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv are among the clubs that have checked on Babbitt, Cauchi adds.

Babbitt, 29, started this season with the Hawks before being traded to the Heat at the February deadline. He appeared in 50 total games and averaged 5.2 PPG, but his numbers declined after coming to Miami, where he averaged just 11.2 minutes per night. He was used for just three total minutes in the playoffs.

The 16th pick in the 2010 draft, Babbitt has spent his entire career in the NBA except for a brief overseas excursion during the 2013/14 season. He signed with Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, but left after a few months.

Atlantic Notes: Bjorkgren, Lima, Bonga, Shamet

July 9th, 2018 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nate Bjorkgren will join Nick Nurse’s coaching staff with the Raptors, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. This confirms a previous Wolstat report that Bjorkgren, who worked on Nurse’s Iowa staff in the G League, could get an assistant coaching job. Bjorkgren was an advance scout with the Raptors last season after being let go when the Suns fired Earl Watson.

In other news from around the Atlantic Division:

Power forward/center Augusto Lima is hopeful of signing a contract with the Raptors after having his rights renounced by Real Madrid, international expert David Pick tweets. The Brazilian-born Lima, 26, has been playing in the Euroleague since 2009 and went undrafted in 2013. He averaged 6.4 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 14 games with Liga ACB last season.
The Sixers will receive $1.5MM from the Lakers to complete the Isaac Bonga deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Lakers have a 45-day window from July 6 to get that done, Pincus adds. Philadelphia also received the Bulls’ second-round pick in the deal for the 39th pick of this year’s draft. The Sixers are paying $110K to the Nuggets as part of the Wilson Chandler trade, Pincus adds in another tweet. Denver generated a $12.8MM trade exception from the deal.
First-round pick Landry Shamet will not play in the Sixers’ remaining summer-league games due to a sprained right ankle, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. X-rays were negative and the 6’5” Shamet, the 26th overall pick out of Wichita State, will be reevaluated in approximately three weeks, Pompey adds.

European Teams Interested In Shane Larkin

July 8th, 2018 at 9:50am CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics point guard Shane Larkin has several offers waiting if he decides to return to Europe, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.

Cauchi cites a report out of Spain that Baskonia, where Larkin played two seasons ago, is interested in a reunion. The team is trying to make its roster as strong as possible in preparation for the 2019 EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria, Spain. Anadolu Efes in Turkey and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel would also like to add Larkin, according to Cauchi.

The 25-year-old is an unrestricted free agent after signing a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Celtics last summer. He appeared in 54 games and posted a 4.3/1.7/1.8 line. He put up similar numbers in the playoffs before being sidelined by a sprained left shoulder in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

A first-round pick by the Hawks in 2013, Larkin never suited up for Atlanta but spent one season each with the Mavericks, Knicks and Nets. His best season came in 2015/16 when he averaged 7.3 points in 78 games for Brooklyn.

FA Rumors: LaVine, Parker, Jefferson, Beasley

July 6th, 2018 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Bulls and Zach LaVine aren’t necessarily close to a deal, the team has had communication with LaVine and his representatives, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. According to Johnson, the Bulls assured LaVine that speculation they wanted to do a $14MM-per-year deal wasn’t accurate, and have “proactively” negotiated in good faith with his camp on a deal that could be in the range of $18MM annually.

That seems like a very reasonable number for LaVine, particularly since only two other teams can currently offer a deal worth anything close to that, and neither of those teams seems to be pushing hard for the Bulls guard. As Johnson details, the Bulls don’t want to let LaVine get away and aren’t eager to have him play on his qualifying offer, so it seems like there’s a good chance the two sides will eventually get something done.

Here are a few more free agent notes and rumors from around the NBA:

The market for Bucks RFA Jabari Parker hasn’t materialized like he hoped, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports, noting that there may be some league-wide concern about Parker’s attitude and health.
After being waived by the Pacers, Al Jefferson is considering playing overseas for the 2018/19 season, Indiana president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said today (Twitter link via Tony East of 8 Points, 9 Seconds).
Michael Beasley hasn’t heard from the Knicks since free agency began, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Beasley, who is drawing interest from a couple teams, is “disappointed” in the lack of interest from the Knicks, but understands that they’re “going young.”
Longtime NBA forward Dorell Wright is finalizing an agreement to sign with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick.

Free Agent Notes: Bucks, Parker, Anderson, Bjelica

July 5th, 2018 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

When they agreed to sign Ersan Ilyasova to a three-year, $21MM contract early in free agency, the Bucks committed to hard-capping themselves for the 2018/19 league year. Teams that acquire a player via sign-and-trade or use more than $5.337MM of the mid-level exception will have a hard cap of $129.817MM this year, and Milwaukee will have to take one of those paths to add Ilyasova.

In hard-capping themselves, the Bucks essentially drew a line in their negotiations with Jabari Parker, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes during an appearance on Adrian Wojnarowski’s Woj Pod. As Marks explains, with that hard cap in place, the Bucks likely won’t be able to offer Parker more than about $15-17MM, which essentially caps the negotiations between the two sides at that point.

Marks observes that the situation is similar to what the Pistons did last year with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Detroit also had a hard cap after using most of its MLE, and could only go up to a certain point for Caldwell-Pope, who reportedly turned down an offer worth a total of $80MM-ish and ended up settling for a one-year, $18MM deal with the Lakers. If Parker can’t find a lucrative offer sheet with another team, he’ll have to be wary of ending up in a similar spot, so it will be interesting to see whether he can work out a multiyear deal with the Bucks or if he’ll consider signing his one-year qualifying offer.

Here are a few more free agent notes and rumors:

The Spurs want to retain restricted free agent Kyle Anderson and intend to work on a deal for him, Wojnarowski said in his podcast.
Nemanja Bjelica had six total offers that were all somewhat comparable to the one he agreed to with the Sixers, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. According to Wolfson, head coach Brett Brown and the opportunity to make a deep playoff run were factors in Bjelica’s choice.
While there were rumblings that Greek forward Kostas Papanikolaou was mulling an NBA return, he’ll remain with Olympiacos. The team officially announced a new deal for Papanikolaou today (hat tip to Sportando).