International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Rubio, Williams, Porzingis, Bertans, Parity

June 3rd, 2024 at 9:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After retiring from the NBA in January, Ricky Rubio signed with Barcelona in February on a one-year contract. The longtime NBA point guard is uncertain about his basketball future after his Spanish team lost to Real Madrid in the Liga ACB semifinals, Eurohoops.net relays. Rubio said he’ll need a few weeks to clear his head and decide what he wants to do next.

“These months, I’ve felt strange; I’ve wanted to change some things,” Rubio said. “Coming in the middle of the season is not easy, my way of being, more reserved and not feeling 100%. I don’t think I’ve been everything I expected, but I didn’t have any expectations either, but it’s clear that the balance is not good.”

We have more from around the basketball world:

Trevion Williams is reportedly in advanced talks with Barcelona, according to Sportando’s Alessandro Maggi. There is already a “pre-agreement” in place, pending the final decision on the hiring of the new coach. Williams, who played collegiately at Purdue, was waived by the Warriors during their 2022 training camp. He played for a German team this past season.
Latvia’s national team has unveiled its preliminary 24-man roster for the Olympic qualifying tournament, according to Eurohoops.net. Kristaps Porzingis heads the list of players, which also includes another NBA notable, Davis Bertans. Porzingis stated on social media last week that he was looking forward to playing with his national team this summer.
Parity has become the new norm for the NBA, The Athletic’s John Hollinger writes. The championship continues to change hands every year and lower seeds have a legitimate chance to make a deep run. Hollinger concludes that if a contender is good enough to get to the second round, anything can happen.

International Notes: Caboclo, Brown, Nunn, Pre-Draft Camp

June 2nd, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Bruno Caboclo‘s future with KK Partizan could be in jeopardy after he recently left the team without permission to travel to Orlando, according to BasketNews.

The Serbian club announced sanctions on Caboclo for “setting a precedent” for his teammates, although the details weren’t released. Partizan will start a best-of-three playoff series with Crvena Zvezda on Monday.

The team said Caboclo “allegedly” traveled to Florida as part of his duties with the Brazilian national team, but a report from Mozzart Sport states that he was attending a child custody hearing. Caboclo reportedly asked for permission to attend the hearing nearly two weeks ago, but the request was denied because it conflicted with preparing for the playoffs.

The announcement from Partizan notes that the team has an option to keep Caboclo under contract, but no decision has been made. The 28-year-old forward has been playing overseas since his last NBA appearance during the 2020/21 season.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Former NBA point guard Lorenzo Brown has no intention of leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv, BasketNews adds in a separate story. Brown holds a Spanish passport that enables him to play for Spain’s national team, and there were rumors that he might consider signing with Real Madrid. “I have no idea what is happening and where these rumors come from. I read a lot, like all of you, but I fully intend to stay at Maccabi. I’m very comfortable here,” he said. “I think this is the best place I’ve ever played. I’m looking forward to the next season to start a new journey together with my teammates.”
Kendrick Nunn led Panathinaikos to the EuroLeague title, but he may not have joined the Greek team without an assist from NBA veteran Goran Dragic, Eurohoops relays. In an interview with Meridian Sport, Panathinaikos sporting director Sani Becirovic talked about the role Dragic played in recruiting Nunn. “Goran Dragic helped me a lot there. At the time, Kendrick was training with Zoran Dragic in Miami, so Goran allowed me to explain everything to him,” Becirovic said. “… It still wasn’t easy getting an important NBA player to leave Disneyland. That was the hardest.”
A few NBA players and a collection of assistant coaches are attending a pre-draft camp for international prospects in Treviso this weekend, according to Eurohoops. James Harden, Nikola Jovic, Vasilije Micic and Ivica Zubac made an appearance and signed autographs at adidas EuroCamp.

And-Ones: Wiggins, Canada, Magnay, Draft History

May 31st, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2024 Olympics just a month-and-a-half away, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins offered no clarity during a conference call on Thursday about whether he’ll be part of the Canadian national team competing in Paris, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca relays.

“They had a great summer last year when they had qualified for the Olympics, all those guys did their thing and really put on [a show] for the country, and I’d be honored to play for our country,” Wiggins said. “We’ll see what happens, you know, you guys just stay tuned and, you know, we’ll see what the road brings.”

Wiggins has represented his country in past international tournaments, including the 2020 Olympic qualifiers. He also competed in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship, leading the team in scoring and helping Canada claim a bronze medal.

However, he wasn’t part of the Canadian squad that won bronze at the 2023 World Cup last summer and didn’t make the three-year commitment to the program in 2022 that many of his fellow countrymen did, so it would probably require some buy-in from the core to have him “parachute in” for the Olympics, Grange observes.

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

Australian center Will Magnay, who won a National Basketball League title with the Tasmania JackJumpers earlier this year, is exploring NBA opportunities this offseason, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN (YouTube link). Magnay has a workout lined up with the Hawks and will also audition for four other NBA teams, Uluc reports. Magnay spent most of the 2020/21 season on a two-way contract with New Orleans, but appeared in just one NBA game that season.
The recent history of top-20 picks who are 22 years old or older isn’t great, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, who takes a deep dive into the players who have met that criteria since 2008. As Vorkunov points out, a number of players who are 22 or older look like potential top-20 picks in the 2024 draft, which will make it a fascinating case study on how much age still matters to teams picking in that range.
Meanwhile, Howard Beck of The Ringer examines the history of No. 1 overall picks, noting that the only two No. 1 picks since 1993 who have led their teams to titles (as the best player on the roster) are Tim Duncan and LeBron James. As Beck acknowledges, a few other No. 1 picks have won titles as co-stars (Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Wiggins) or role players (Glenn Robinson, Andrew Bogut, Dwight Howard). “I think actually the no. 1 pick in the NBA mostly has a perception problem,” Sixers president Daryl Morey told Beck, “because there have been so many iconic players selected no. 1. And the fanfare around them is so large when they’re coming into the league that people remember that.”

Usman Garuba: I Haven’t Made Decision On Future

May 30th, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Dana Gauruder

Usman Garuba, who played for the Warriors this season, refuted a report that he’s already decided to return to Europe. Garuba posted on social media (hat tip to Sportando) that he’s still mulling his future plans.

“I don’t usually write here but this time I have to do it,” Garuba stated on Twitter. “I understand every journalist/insider and their work they do but they got to have respect for the players and teams instead of providing false news without knowing anything that’s going on. My future is not decide yet so stop spreading fake news. We keep working. Thanks.”

A Eurohoops report indicated that Garuba was poised to rejoin Real Madrid on a multiyear contract.

Garuba played for the Real Madrid organization from 2017-21. He was drafted in the first round by the Rockets in 2021 but has only seen modest playing time in his NBA career.

The 22-year-old power forward was traded twice during the 2023 offseason, then was waived by the Thunder. He signed a two-way deal with the Warriors in September and spent most of the season in the G League. He was promoted to the 15-man roster just before the start of the postseason but Golden State was eliminated during the play-in tournament.

Garuba, touted as a strong defender, barely played for the Warriors. In six games and just 18 minutes, he totaled three points, seven rebounds and three blocks this year. Across his three seasons in the NBA, Garuba holds averages of 2.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 104 games (three starts).

This season with Santa Cruz in the G League, he averaged 12.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks in 35 regular season and Showcase Cup games.

International Notes: Fournier, Lithuania, Canada, Nunn, Hayes-Davis

May 28th, 2024 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Pistons considered extremely unlikely to exercise their $19MM team option on Evan Fournier for the 2024/25 season, the French swingman is on track to become a free agent this summer. There has been some speculation that Fournier could return to Europe, where he began his professional career and where he could play a far more significant role than he has the past couple seasons.

It doesn’t sound like that’s Fournier’s Plan A, however. According to Dimitri Kucharczyk of BasketUSA (hat tip to RealGM), while Fournier’s representatives didn’t specifically address rumors linking him to French team ASVEL and Greek club Olympiacos, they indicated that the 31-year-old wants to continue playing in the NBA.

Before being traded to Detroit in February, Fournier had barely seen the court for over a year in New York, having been removed from the team’s rotation during the first half of the 2022/23 season. He saw regular playing time off the bench with the Pistons – 18.7 minutes per night across 29 appearances – but shot just 37.3% from the field and 27.0% from beyond the arc, well below his NBA career averages of 44.1% and 37.4%. That will hurt his stock as he seeks his next contract.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

As Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops details, Lithuania’s preliminary roster for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament is headlined by a pair of NBA big men in Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas. However, there are some notable absences too, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, who points out (via Twitter) that former NBA forward Ignas Brazdeikis and projected NBA lottery pick Matas Buzelis aren’t in the mix this summer.
It has been a good spring for Canadian guards, with Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker among those who won playoff series. The latest gift for the Canadians’ Olympic medal aspirations, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, is guard Andrew Nembhard, who played some of the best basketball of his career to keep the Pacers competitive vs. Boston following Tyrese Haliburton‘s hamstring injury. Nembhard is a near-lock to be on Canada’s Olympic roster this summer, says Grange.
Greek team Panathinaikos won this year’s EuroLeague title, with former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn scoring 21 points in 24 minutes in the championship game. Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops takes a closer look at Nunn’s memorable year and considers whether the guard is more likely to continue on with Panathinaikos or exercise the NBA out in his contract to return stateside.
Former NBA forward Xavier Cooks, who spent the 2023/24 season in Japan after being waived by the Wizards in October, is returning to his home country of Australia, having signed a three-year contract with the Sydney Kings, per a press release.
Could a return to the NBA be in the cards for forward Nigel Hayes-Davis? The former Wisconsin standout, who appeared in nine NBA games back in 2017/18, is rumored to be seeking a return, with the Cavaliers among the teams who may have interest, tweets Soritis Vetakis of LiveSports and SDNA. Hayes-Davis has spent the last two seasons with Fenerbahce in Turkey and earned a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team this spring.

Usman Garuba Expected To Sign With Real Madrid

May 26th, 2024 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Usman Garuba, who finished the season with the Warriors, is returning to Europe to join Real Madrid on a multiyear contract, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net.

Garuba played for the Real Madrid organization from 2017-21. He was drafted in the first round by the Rockets in 2021 but has only seen modest playing time in his NBA career.

The 22-year-old power forward was traded twice during the 2023 offseason, then was waived by the Thunder. He signed a two-way deal with the Warriors in September and spent most of the season in the G League. He was promoted to the 15-man roster just before the start of the postseason but Golden State was eliminated during the play-in tournament.

Garuba, touted as a strong defender, barely played for the Warriors. In six games and just 18 minutes, he totaled three points, seven rebounds and three blocks this year. Across his three seasons in the NBA, Garuba holds averages of 2.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 104 games (three starts).

This season with Santa Cruz in the G League, he averaged 12.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks in 35 regular season and Showcase Cup games.

Real Madrid is expected to lose another former NBA big man, Vincent Poirier, whose contract is expiring.

And-Ones: Fan Favorites, Media Deal, Bacon, Shooting Guards

May 26th, 2024 at 3:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The votes have been tallied for league appreciators’ “Fan Favorites” for the 2023/24 season, per NBA.com. Fans voted for various categories via the NBA App, NBA.com and the @NBA handle on social media.

All-Star Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards won Block, Dunk and Photo of the Year honors, while Bulls swingman DeMar DeRozan won Assist of the Year, All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was honored with the Style of the Year accolade, and Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving was praised for possessing the Handle of the Year.

There’s more from around the wider basketball world:

NBA players stand to reap major financial benefits from the league’s lucrative impending batch of media rights deals, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. As Vorkunov notes, based on the terms reported, the agreement is set to pay the league $6.9 billion annually, which is about two-and-a-half times what the league is earning under its present TV deal. Suddenly, a $100MM maximum annual player salary is in play, and could possibly happen as soon as 2032/33.
Following a prolific season with Shanghai Dongfang in Chinese Basketball Association, former journeyman NBA guard Dwayne Bacon has agreed to a deal with Puerto Rican team Leones de Ponce, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Bacon spent four years in the NBA, last playing for the Magic in 2020/21.
Keith Smith of Spotrac unpacks the top free agent shooting guards set to hit the market this summer in a new tiered ranking system. He lists seven starting-caliber wings, 17 rotation-level players, and 25 other players with upside at the position.

Pacific Notes: LeBron, Paul, Lakers, Beal Trade, Kamagate

May 26th, 2024 at 2:39pm CST by Rory Maher

Lakers superstar LeBron James holds a $51.4MM player option for ’24/25. If he declines the option, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Appearing on TNT Sports’ altcast on truTV (Twitter video link), James’ agent Rich Paul stated that his client was a free agent this summer. When Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT pointed out what Paul said and followed up by asking if James plans to decline the option, Paul attempted to walk back the comment.

“Chris, you know I don’t do my business over the airwaves, man,” Paul said. “ … I don’t know what he’s gonna do. We’re gonna do what we do every year. We’re gonna evaluate the situation and we’re gonna make the best decision.”

If James does opt out, it would come as no surprise. The oldest player in the league remained incredibly productive, extending his own NBA record by making his 20th consecutive All-NBA team in 2023/24. The 39-year-old also had an excellent playoff series despite losing to the defending-champion Nuggets in five games, averaging 27.8 PPG, 8.8 APG, 6.8 RPG, 2.4 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .566/.385/.739 shooting in 40.8 MPG.

For what it’s worth, a recent report stated there’s been no indication James plans to leave L.A. even if he does decline the option. Becoming a free agent would give him the option of negotiating a no-trade clause on a new deal with the Lakers.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

In a fresh piece, Keith Smith of Spotrac previews the Lakers‘ offseason. After finishing with a 47-35 record and snagging the West’s No. 7 seed thanks to a play-in game victory, Los Angeles fell in five games to the Nuggets. The club quickly responded by firing head coach Darvin Ham after just two seasons. In addition to finding a replacement for Ham, the team will await the decisions of starters D’Angelo Russell and James with regard to their player options for 2024/25.
Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports lists five reasons why it’s too early to label the Suns‘ Bradley Beal trade a mistake. The capped-out club finished as the sixth seed in the West this season and was swept out of the first round of the playoffs. Beal, a three-time All-Star, appeared in just 53 regular season contests this season, averaging 18.2 PPG on .513/.430/.813 shooting splits, along with 5.0 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 0.5 BPG.
French center Ismael Kamagate, whose NBA rights are controlled by the Clippers, will stay on loan with Tortona in 2024/25, according to Sportando.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this report.

And-Ones: Nunn, Hield, Harris, Westbrook, Wagner, Brazil Roster

May 19th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn signed a two-year contract extension with Panathinaikos in Greece earlier this month, but he’s not ruling out an NBA return, he told Vangelis Papadimitriou of Eurohoops.net. The contract includes NBA out clauses, under specific conditions.

“I’ll be honored to go back. You never know,” he said.

In the meantime, he hopes to bring multiple EuroLeague titles to his current team. Nunn was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team in his first season with the club.

“To play here with one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Playing at a high level. With great guys in the locker room that I enjoy playing with and bonding. It wasn’t hard. I love Panathinaikos and Greece,” he said.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Which impending free agents hurt their stock during the postseason? HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina identifies four players — Buddy Hield, Tobias Harris, Russell Westbrook and Moritz Wagner — who fall in that category. Westbrook has the ability to exercise a player option for next season, while Wagner’s deal includes a team option.
Brazil has announced a roster of 17 players for its Olympic qualifier tournament in Riga, Latvia. The roster will eventually be pared to 12 players. Gui Santos, who played 23 games with the Warriors as a rookie this season, made the list. Raul Neto, Cristiano Felicio, Didi Louzada and Bruno Caboclo are among former NBA players who are also on the preliminary roster, Sportando relays.
In case you missed it, Taylor Jenkins, Willie Green and Chauncey Billups top the list of coaches on the hot seat next season.

And-Ones: Potential Coaching Changes, Wembanyama, France, Draft Odds

May 19th, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Head coaches Taylor Jenkins, Willie Green and Chauncey Billups could all be in danger of losing their jobs next season, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who discussed the topic with league personnel at the draft combine. Hollinger cites a belief that the Grizzlies, Pelicans and Trail Blazers will consider coaching changes if they get off to slow starts.

Jenkins has been mostly successful during his time in Memphis, finishing second in the 2022 Coach of the Year race, but he’s coming off a 27-win season as the Grizzlies were overwhelmed by injuries. Hollinger notes that the organization fired most of his staff prior to the combine, which could be a sign of trouble.

Green posted 49 wins this season, but New Orleans wasn’t competitive while being swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Oklahoma City. There’s been more scrutiny on Green’s offensive philosophies and player usage, especially at center, Hollinger adds.

Billups seems most likely to be replaced as he’s entering the final year of his contract and is reporting to a general manager who didn’t hire him. Portland also made changes involving its assistant coaches, and Hollinger states that Billups seemed to be trying to position himself for the Suns job before they hired Mike Budenholzer. Everyone that Hollinger spoke with expects Billups to be replaced by next offseason.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

In addition to trying to win a gold medal for France, Victor Wembanyama hopes to use the 2024 Olympics as a learning experience, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “I am here to learn from some of the best players in the history of the national team,” Wembanyama said. “I am not here to explain anything to players with five, six or seven international campaigns under their belts. For sure, I will have responsibilities, but they will be realistic. I will have as many as necessary.”
Alexandre Sarr, who hopes to follow Wembanyama as the second French player to be drafted No. 1 overall, is part of a wave of NBA talent from the nation, Hollinger writes in a separate story. Zaccharie Risacher will also get consideration as the top pick, as four players from France may be taken in the first round. Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly both went in the lottery last year, and Hollinger notes that Nolan Traore is likely to be selected early in 2025. “I think we got so much talent, it’s exciting,” French native Rudy Gobert said. “You go (back) 20 years ago, we had a few guys like (Tony Parker) and Boris Diaw and (Nicolas) Batum, and now you look and there’s so much talent every year coming in. Credit the French clubs and the French federation for being able to develop some of this talent and allowing them to play to their abilities.”
HoopsHype has released its annual draft predictor, charting the most likely players to be selected by each team. The list starts with Sarr, who is considered to have an 87.9% chance to be drafted by Atlanta.