International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stephon Marbury Hopes For NBA Comeback

September 12th, 2017 at 11:22am CST by Arthur Hill

Despite turning 40 in February, former All-Star guard Stephon Marbury hasn’t given up on returning to the NBA, relays Chris Chavez of Sports Illustrated.

Marbury, who had his contract in Beijing terminated this spring, tweeted this morning that he is “working on the come back to the #nba.”

Marbury is one of the most successful foreign players ever in the Chinese Basketball Association, putting up huge numbers and winning three championships. The Beijing Ducks parted ways with him in April after a dispute over money and his role with the team for the next two years. His contract included an option to make him an assistant coach for the upcoming season, which Marbury didn’t want to do. In July, he announced plans to stay in the CBA with the Beikong Fly Dragons.

Despite his advanced age, Marbury remained productive in China, averaging 21.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 36 games last season. He hasn’t been in the NBA since the 2008/09 season when he played 23 games for the Celtics.

Jared Sullinger Signs With Chinese Team

September 12th, 2017 at 8:38am CST by Arthur Hill

Jared Sullinger, who was linked to the Nets in rumors this summer, has signed with the Shenzhen Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association, tweets international writer David Pick. Sullinger agreed to a two-month contract worth $300K.

It will be the first time playing overseas for the 25-year-old power forward, who was picked 21st in the 2012 draft. Sullinger spent four productive years with the Celtics, averaging 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, although there were lingering concerns about his conditioning.

He signed with the Raptors last summer, but underwent foot surgery just before the start of the season and was barely able to contribute. Sullinger managed just 11 games in Toronto and was shipped to Phoenix at the February trade deadline. He was immediately waived by the Suns.

The Nets’ interest was rumored for a couple of months after the team scouted him in The Basketball Tournament in July. Sullinger adopted a vegan diet and dropped weight in hopes of an NBA comeback. His agent, David Falk, confirmed in August that Sullinger was “exploring the opportunity” of signing in Brooklyn, but the Nets are close to an agreement with free agent big man Tyler Zeller, leaving China as the best remaining option for Sullinger.

Ryan Kelly To Play In Spain

September 12th, 2017 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 12, 8:15am: Kelly’s deal is official, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.

SEPTEMBER 7, 8:53am: Free agent power forward Ryan Kelly is poised to head overseas for the coming season, according to international basketball reporter David Pick, who tweets that Kelly has struck a deal with Spanish team Real Betis.

Kelly, 26, has spent the majority of the last four years with NBA teams, appearing in 147 games for the Lakers in his first three seasons before joining the Hawks for 16 games last season. In total, the Duke alum has averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 163 regular season contests (19.2 MPG) since being drafted 48th overall in 2013.

Kelly, whose salary for 2017/18 was non-guaranteed, was traded from Atlanta to Houston in late June when the Rockets were collecting non-guaranteed contracts. However, his salary would have become fully guaranteed if he’d remained under contract through July 7, so the Rockets waived him on that day.

Real Betis, also known as CB Sevilla, is coming off a season in which it posted a 9-23 record, so Kelly will be tasked with helping turn the club’s fortunes around in 2017/18.

And-Ones: Free Agents, Antic, Bagley, Heat

September 11th, 2017 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The addition of two-way contracts has impacted the ability of veteran free agents to find new homes this offseason, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com in his latest Morning Tip column. Gerald Green, David Lee, Anthony Morrow and Shabazz Muhammad are among the notable free agents who remain on the market and Aldridge points out that many teams are leaving their 15th roster spot open, rather than signing another player. That’s in part due to the ability of teams to sign two players to low-cost two-way deals, Aldridge continues. The increase in veteran minimum salaries under the new CBA has also depressed the free agent market, especially for teams close to or over the luxury tax threshold, Aldridge adds.

In other notable developments around the league:

Former NBA big man Pero Antic will play in Serbia for KK Crvena Zvezda during the upcoming season, according to a Sportando report. Antic, who signed a one-year contract, spent the last two seasons in Turkey with Fenerbahce. Antic played 113 games over two seasons for the Hawks, averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 17.4 MPG.
Russell Westbrook‘s ability to coexist with another star player in Paul George and Kemba Walker‘s impact on Dwight Howard in Charlotte are two of the five big NBA questions heading into training camp, according to Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders. The league’s proposal to change the draft lottery has much more to do with access to star players rather than concerns about tanking, Grizzard argues in another of the hot topics he addresses.
The potential No. 1 overall pick in the next draft, Marvin Bagley, has been officially cleared to play for Duke, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. The 6’11” power forward was reclassified into the class of 2017 last month.
Roof damage to the Heat’s AmericanAirlines Arena by Hurricane Irma was superficial, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. The team’s practice court also sustained minor damage, Winderman adds.

And-Ones: Early, Wanamaker, Munford, Bond

September 10th, 2017 at 1:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

An apparent dispute over his diet has led to Cleanthony Early being stripped of his $150K deal with AEK Athens. International writer David Pick cited “disciplinary reasons” for the Greek club terminating the contract that Early agreed to last week (Twitter link). The Knicks fan site, Posting and Toasting, part of SB Nation, fleshed out the story with a few now-deleted screen shots of messages between Early and a team official. Early is a vegan and claims he couldn’t find the food he needs close to Athens. He added that he lost seven pounds since coming to Greece and told the team to release him if there wasn’t a way to solve the problem.

There’s more basketball news from around the world:

Brad Wanamaker, who was hoping to get an offer this summer from the Pelicans or Celtics, has accepted a deal with Fenerbahce in Turkey, according to Sportando (Twitter link).
After two successful G League seasons, Xavier Munford is hoping a team will give him an invitation to training camp, writes Chris Reichert of 2 Ways and 10 Days. The 25-year-old point guard, who was part of the gold-medal-winning Team USA squad at AmeriCup, played briefly for the Grizzlies at the end of the 2015/16 season and was in training camp with the Clippers last year.
Jaylen Bond, who spent last season with the Westchester Knicks in the G League, has signed with Flexx Pistoia in Italy, Reichert relays (Twitter link).
Kevin Jones, who has spent the past three seasons overseas but was involved in a G League trade in March, is in advanced talks with Crvena Zvezda in Serbia, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Jones’ only NBA experience came in 2012/13 with the Cavaliers.

Andrew Nicholson To Play In China

September 5th, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent power forward Andrew Nicholson is headed to China, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that Nicholson has signed a deal in the $1MM range with the Guangdong Tigers. Nicholson’s agreement with Guangdong was first reported by Chuckie Maggio (Twitter link).

Nicholson, 27, was a beneficiary of the 2016 salary cap spike, having inked a four-year, $26MM contract with the Wizards during free agency last summer. After signing that deal, Nicholson endured his worst season as a pro, appearing in just 28 games for Washington and averaging 2.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 8.3 minutes per contest.

Nicholson was included as a salary dump in a deadline deal with the Nets in February, and ultimately finished the 2016/17 season with averages of 2.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG to go along with a .387 FG% in 38 games. Those numbers were all career worsts.

Earlier this offseason, Nicholson was once again included in a trade as a salary dump, making his way from the Nets to the Trail Blazers in the swap that sent Allen Crabbe to Brooklyn. However, Portland opted not to keep Nicholson on its roster, waiving him last week and stretching his remaining salary across seven years.

Nicholson will join a Guangdong squad that finished as the Chinese Basketball Association’s runner-up in 2016/17, having been led by former NBA players Carlos Boozer, Donald Sloan, and Yi Jianlian.

Central Notes: Hawes, Markkanen, Bulls, ‘The Q’

September 3rd, 2017 at 10:18am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Bucks center Spencer Hawes officially cleared waivers Saturday, tweets Keith Smith of Real GM. The veteran center was waived Thursday just before the deadline to stretch his salary, allowing Milwaukee to pay the $6MM he’s still owed in $2MM increments over the next three seasons. The 10-year veteran is now free to sign with anyone and has a little more than three weeks to find a team before training camps open. Hawes saw his playing time drop sharply after the Hornets traded him to the Bucks in February. He averaged just 9 minutes per game in Milwaukee, putting up 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds.

There’s more this morning from the Central Division:

Bulls officials aren’t concerned about an injury that rookie Lauri Markkanen suffered during Saturday’s EuroBasket tournament, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago (Twitter link). Playing for Finland, Markkanen hurt his leg on a shot at the buzzer that could have tied the game and had to be helped off the court by teammates. However, the seventh pick in this year’s draft appears to be fine and is expected to play today.
A series of offseason moves has left the Bulls without the talent to compete for a playoff spot, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE in his “30 teams in 30 days” series. Chicago signaled the start of a rebuilding project on draft day when it traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the chance to draft Markkanen. That leaves the team with two veterans in Dwyane Wade and Robin Lopez, surrounded by a lot of unproven talent. Blakely criticizes the front office for several bad deals that turned two first-round picks, four second-rounders and Taj Gibson into a group of youngsters with Cameron Payne as the “prize” addition.
A proposed $140MM renovation of Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena is a good deal for the city, claims Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. He points out that the $70MM in public financing comes mainly from admission taxes on tickets, meaning it will be paid for by people who use the arena. The deal extends the Cavaliers‘ lease from 2027 to 2034.

Amar’e Stoudemire Retires In Israel

September 3rd, 2017 at 8:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire is retiring from basketball after playing one season in Israel, relays Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.

Stoudemire, 35, made the announcement on Instagram, calling this past season “a great ride for me and my family.” He led his Hapoel Jerusalem team to the Israeli League title and the Eurocup semifinals while being named MVP of the All-Star Game.

“We enjoyed the city, its people, the holy places and of course Hapoel fans,” Stoudemire wrote. “Although I would have liked to return for another season, the team, coach and I could not find a role that I felt would allow me to meaningfully contribute in the way I have always been accustomed to play I feel it is my time now, to return to the shareholder’s position and help make this team even better.”

The experience in Israel capped off a remarkable career for Stoudemire, who entered the NBA straight out of high school and was the ninth pick of the 2002 draft. He appeared in 846 games, averaging 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per night. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in Phoenix, where he spent his first eight seasons. He also played five years in New York and one in Dallas before wrapping up his NBA career with 52 games in Miami in 2015/16.

Cleanthony Early Headed To Greece

September 2nd, 2017 at 1:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Knick Cleanthony Early has agreed to a deal with AEK Athens, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.

Early, 27, spent part of last season with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League after being waived by New York in October. He appeared in 16 games, averaging 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per night.

A second-round pick out of Wichita State in 2014, the 6’8″ small forward spent his first two NBA seasons with the Knicks. He averaged 4.3 points in 56 combined games and was in the G League for much of that time.

Early’s career suffered a setback in December of 2015 when he was shot in the right knee during a robbery.

Patricio Garino To Play In Spain

September 1st, 2017 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

After spending time with the Spurs and Magic during his first professional season, Argentinian swingman Patricio Garino will continue his career overseas. Spanish team Saski Baskonia announced today (via Twitter) that it has signed Garino to a three-year contract.

After going undrafted out of George Washington a year ago, Garino played for the Magic in Summer League last July, then joined the Spurs for training camp. The 24-year-old didn’t earn a spot on San Antonio’s regular season squad, but spent most of the year with the club’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. He averaged 11.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in Austin, with a .430 3PT%.

Late in the 2016/17 campaign, the Magic opted to take another look at Garino, signing him to a rest-of-season deal that included a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18. However, Orlando’s new management group decided not to carry Garino on the club’s camp roster this fall, waiving him a month ago.

Garino is the third NBA free agent this offseason to join Baskonia in Spain. Former Cavaliers guard Jordan McRae and ex-Lakers guard Marcelo Huertas have also signed with the club.