And-Ones: Izzo, Thomas, Damion Lee, Saben Lee
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is not a fan of the fact that Knicks prospect James Nnaji has been granted eligibility to play for Baylor University, writes Jared Schwartz for the New York Post.
“Now we’re taking guys that were drafted in the NBA and everything?” Izzo said. “I said it to you a month and a half ago — c’mon, Magic (Johnson) and Gary (Harris), let’s go baby, let’s do it. Why not? I mean, if that’s what we’re going to, shame on the NCAA. Shame on the coaches, too. But shame on the NCAA, because coaches are gonna do what they gotta do, I guess.”
Nnaji was selected 31st overall in the 2023 NBA draft and has played overseas since then. He joined the Knicks’ Summer League team this offseason but struggled to make an impact, averaging 3.2 points in 12.9 minutes per game.
We have more from around the world of international basketball:
- Two-time All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas is considering heading overseas to continue his career, according to the Eurohoops team. “Thinking about slidin’ to the EuroLeague,” Thomas posted to Twitter. “I just want to HOOP.” The 36-year-old last appeared in the NBA in 2023/24, when he made six appearances for the Suns. Last season, he played 14 games for the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League, averaging 29.1 points and 5.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per contest.
- Former NBA wing Damion Lee is expected to part ways with Ironi Ness Ziona, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Lee played in just three games for the Israeli club, averaging 7.0 points in 22.7 minutes while shooting 29.2% from the field and 9.1% from three. Lee played 25 games for the Suns last year after missing the previous season with a knee injury.
- Saben Lee is finalizing a move from Olympiacos to Anadolu Efes, writes Stavros Barbarousis for Eurohoops. Barbarousis writes that Lee struggled to meet the Greek team’s need at point guard and that Anadolu Efes will cover his contract for the rest of the season. Lee has averaged 3.4 points and 1.4 assists during EuroLeague play so far this season.
Cameron Payne Signs With KK Partizan
Free agent point guard Cameron Payne has signed a rest-of-season contract with KK Partizan, the Serbian team announced today in a press release.
A 10-year NBA veteran who was selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2015 draft, Payne has appeared in 477 regular season games for seven teams since debuting a decade ago. In 2024/25, he suited up for the Knicks, playing in 72 games (five starts) and averaging 6.9 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per night, with a .401/.363/.907 shooting line.
Payne, 31, was in camp with the Pacers this fall, but didn’t play well in the preseason, shooting just 28.6% from the field and registering nearly as many turnovers (six) as assists (seven). He was waived when Indiana set its roster for the regular season and has been a free agent since then.
Marc Stein reported nearly two months ago that KK Partizan, a EuroLeague team based in Belgrade, was showing “serious” interest in Payne, then followed up a few days later to say that the longtime NBA point guard was continuing to seek out opportunities stateside rather than immediately committing to a team overseas.
It seems no favorable NBA opportunities emerged for Payne, who is joining a Partizan team that also reportedly engaged in discussions with free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley. Payne will become part of a roster that features several other former NBA players, including Jabari Parker, Duane Washington Jr., Isaac Bonga, Bruno Fernando, Sterling Brown, and Nick Calathes.
And-Ones: European League, Morant, FIBA Hall Of Fame, Lewis
The NBA and FIBA will begin talking to prospective teams and ownership groups in January in their next move toward forming a new European basketball league, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. The organizations issued a press release Monday morning announcing their intentions.
Along with permanent spots in the league, teams are being promised “a merit-based pathway” to qualify on an annual basis either through FIBA’s Basketball Champions League or an end-of-season qualifying tournament. The league plans to align its schedule with domestic league and national team schedules, allowing players to appear in international tournaments without conflict.
The release also promises that the NBA and FIBA will devote financial support to the development of “Europe’s basketball ecosystem.” That includes domestic leagues, club team academies and the existing programs operated by the NBA and FIBA to develop players, coaches and game officials.
“Our conversations with various stakeholders in Europe have reinforced our belief that an enormous opportunity exists around the creation of a new league on the continent,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “Together with FIBA, we look forward to engaging prospective clubs and ownership groups that share our vision for the game’s potential in Europe.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is investing in European basketball through his Catch 12 company, according to Michele Nespoli of Sportando. Morant has purchased a stake in EuroStep Ventures, a holding company that controls the Levallois Metropolitans. The French team received tremendous international exposure due to Victor Wembanyama before he entered the NBA draft.
- Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki is part of FIBA’s 2026 Hall of Fame class, which includes seven players and one coach, Eurohoops relays. Hedo Turkoglu and Wang Zhizhi are other members of the class with NBA ties, while Sue Bird was a star in the WNBA. The induction ceremony will take place April 21 in Berlin, Germany.
- Referee Eric Lewis was reinstated this week as a G League official, possibly giving him a path back to the NBA, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN. Lewis retired suddenly in 2023 after violating the NBA’s social media policy by having a Twitter burner account. The account, which was deleted, frequently responded to negative posts about Lewis and other officials. “I got chill bumps right now thinking about it,” Lewis said. “I’m excited about earning people’s trust back, getting back to the work and getting back to the game. What was always the plan when this came about was trying to get back to the NBA.”
Patrick Beverley Signs With PAOK BC
Free agent guard Patrick Beverley has finalized a rest-of-season contract agreement with PAOK BC, the Greek team officially announced in a press release. Reporting over the weekend indicated that Beverley and PAOK had reached a deal that was pending a physical.
Beverley, 37, spent 12 seasons in the NBA from 2012-24, appearing in 666 regular season games for seven teams during that time. Known for his defensive tenacity, Beverley posted career averages of 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 26.6 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .413/.371/.760.
Beverley’s NBA career ended on a sour note. During the 2024 playoffs, he repeatedly threw a basketball at Pacers fans in Indiana during the waning moments of the Bucks’ season, at one point hitting an unsuspecting female fan in the side of the head. The incident resulted in a police investigation and a four-game suspension, which Beverley would have had to serve at the start of the 2024/25 season if he had signed another NBA contract.
Instead, the veteran guard opened last season with Hapoel Tel Aviv before parting ways with the Israeli club in February following a team-imposed suspension.
Beverley was arrested in Texas last month on assault charges following a domestic incident. According to a report, Beverley – who was charged with assault of a family/household member – was accused of punching his 15-year-old sister in the eye and choking her for up to 30 seconds. He was released after posting a $40K bond and disputed the allegations.
Scotto’s Latest: Markkanen, Hornets, Murphy, Walker, Kuminga, More
Utah will send its 2026 first-round pick to Oklahoma City if it lands outside the top eight, and if the season ended today, the 10-15 Jazz would have the NBA’s 10th-worst record, making their first-rounder likely to change hands. Given that context, executives around the league are wondering if Utah’s front office will be active on the trade market in the hopes of weakening the roster in the short term and ensuring the club keeps that pick, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
However, according to Scotto, the Jazz continue to signal that they want to build around forward Lauri Markkanen, despite trade interest in the star forward. In the past, rival execs have viewed the Pistons, Spurs, and Grizzlies as potential suitors for Markkanen if he’s made available, Scotto notes.
As for Utah’s plans beyond this season, the team hopes to use its 2026 cap room to improve its roster, either via free agency or the trade market, Scotto writes. Retaining Walker Kessler still appears to be a priority too — the Jazz turned down a trade offer for Kessler from the Lakers similar to the one L.A. made for Mark Williams, sources tell HoopsHype. The Jazz could carry a cap hold of about $14.6MM for Kessler next summer before going over the cap to re-sign him at a starting salary higher than that.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- The Hornets are hoping to get an extended look at their roster with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Miles Bridges all healthy and available. Still, Scotto hears that Miller’s inconsistent availability has executives around the NBA wondering if the former No. 2 overall pick might not be as untouchable in trade discussions as he once was.
- The Warriors and Trail Blazers are among the teams who are high on Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III, but rival executives believe Golden State would prioritize making a run at Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo before giving up significant assets to land Murphy, Scotto writes. There’s also still plenty of skepticism that New Orleans would part with Murphy at all, with some execs speculating that it might take a package similar to what Memphis got for Desmond Bane.
- Following up on his previous report stating that the Pacers are among the teams with interest in Keon Ellis, Scotto notes that Indiana forward Jarace Walker came up in trade discussions with the Kings. However, Scotto cautions that it’s unclear which team brought up Walker’s name in those talks that he describes as “exploratory.”
- Checking in on Jonathan Kuminga, Scotto says the Kings continue to monitor the Warriors forward, but confirms that the Suns‘ interest level has decreased and that the Nets were never all that interested. The Pelicans have also been linked to Kuminga in the past, but it’s unclear whether they have interest now, Scotto adds.
- Partizan Belgrade, the Serbian team recently linked to Malik Beasley, has also expressed interest in free agent point guard Cameron Payne, sources tell HoopsHype. As for Beasley, he has also drawn interest from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the EuroLeague, as well as the Chinese Basketball Association teams Liaoning, Guangdong, and Shanxi, per Scotto.
Jackson Rowe Signs With Ironi Ness Ziona
Former Warriors forward Jackson Rowe has signed with Ironi Ness Ziona, the Israeli team announced today in a press release. Rowe became a free agent after being waived by Golden State earlier this month.
Rowe, who will turn 29 in January, played his college ball at Cal State Fullerton from 2016-20, then bounced around Europe and North America during his first few professional seasons. He played in France, Sweden, Canada, and Germany before catching on with the Santa Cruz Warriors – Golden State’s G League affiliate – during the 2023/24 season.
Rowe established himself as a rotation player for Santa Cruz and played well enough to earn a promotion to a two-way contract with Golden State in January 2025. The Canadian signed a two-year deal, so after appearing in six NBA games for the Warriors last season, he opened the 2025/26 season with the team too. He didn’t play at all for Golden State this fall, however, and was cut a couple weeks ago to open up a two-way slot for LJ Cryer.
Rowe had a strong season with Santa Cruz in ’24/25, appearing in 36 total games and averaging 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 33.0 minutes per contest while shooting 51.5% from the floor, including 39.1% on three-pointers. In five G League games this season, he averaged 13.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .441/.238/.714 shooting line.
Ironi Ness Ziona, which competes in Israel’s top domestic league, is off to a slow start this season at 3-6, so Rowe will look to help the team turn things around. He’ll join a handful of other former NBAers on the roster — Damion Lee, Udoka Azubuike, and Isaiah Whitehead also play for the club.
And-Ones: Undervalued Players, Calf Strains, Beverley, Morris
John Hollinger of The Athletic lists seven “undervalued” players from around the NBA who are making an outsized impact relative to their contracts. The seven players are specifically “hard-playing, unheralded guys with a little bit of extra edge to them,” as Hollinger puts it.
Raptors backup point guard Jamal Shead is the first player listed, which isn’t surprising. As Hollinger writes, Shead made an immediate impact as a rookie due to his strong defense, but his offensive improvements in year two have made him a key part of Toronto’s rotation.
While the 23-year-old’s shooting is still a “work in progress,” he is processing the game at a higher level in 2025/26.
“Just going left and making reads,” Shead said of his offseason improvement. “It’s not always about scoring, it’s about if they’re trying to push me left or right in the ball screen, can I still make the read out of that? I’m understanding the pace of the game and how to really create for my teammates. … Impacting defense is what I’m going to do regardless, but I’m impacting offense this year a lot more too.”
Suns guard Jordan Goodwin, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, and Hornets center Moussa Diabate are among the other players highlighted by Hollinger.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- In an interesting and in-depth story for Yahoo Sports, Tom Haberstroh takes a look at the increase in players missing time with calf strains this season. While there are two very famous examples (Kevin Durant and Tyrese Haliburton) of players with calf injuries later tearing their Achilles tendon, those cases have been the exception and not the rule. “The interesting thing is, historically, a calf strain is thought of as this completely separate injury from an Achilles tear,” said Dr. Scott Ellis of the Hospital of Special Surgery (HSS) in New York. “When you have somebody with an Achilles rupture, nine times out of 10 — actually, even more, 99% of the time — they don’t have anything that you could pick up structurally in an imaging exam on their Achilles.”
- Longtime NBA guard Patrick Beverley, who spent last season in Israel, has reached a contract agreement with the Greek club PAOK, reports Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops.net. According to Miloradovic, Beverley is expected to arrive in Thessaloniki — where the team is based — on Saturday evening to finalize the deal, which is pending a physical. Beverley, whose last NBA stint was with Milwaukee in 2023/24, was arrested last month in Texas and charged with assault of a family/household member. TMZ reported that Beverley was accused of punching his sister in the eye and choking her for between 20 and 30 seconds.
- Veteran NBA guard Monte Morris, who spent time with the Pacers earlier this season, officially signed with the Greek EuroLeague team Olympiacos last week. Eurohoops.net passes along some highlights from Morris’ introductory press conference.
Former Rockets Two-Way Player Kevon Harris Headed To China
The Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association and guard Kevon Harris, who was on a two-way deal with the Rockets earlier this month, have agreed to a contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
Harris was waived by Houston on Dec. 2 to make room for Tyler Smith. He didn’t play at all for Houston this season but was averaging 19.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in eight appearances for the G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Harris, 28, appeared in a total of 36 games with the Magic from 2022-24. He averaged 4.0 and 2.0 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per contest.
Harris has excelled at the G League level in recent years, earning MVP honors at the NBAGL’s Next Up Game at All-Star weekend in February. Last season, he averaged 19.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 31.1 minutes per game across 44 Tip-Off Tournament and regular season outings for the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s affiliate. He signed a two-way deal with Houston in July.
And-Ones: Marjanovic, NBA Cup, Under-25s, FAs, Collins
Former NBA center Boban Marjanovic has signed with KK Ilirija, the Slovenian team announced in a press release.
Marjanovic, 37, made his NBA debut with San Antonio in 2015 and spent nine seasons in the league, appearing in 331 total regular season games for the Spurs, Pistons, Clippers, Sixers, Mavericks, and Rockets. After playing for Houston in 2023/24, he split last season between Fenerbahce in Turkey and the Zhejiang Lions in China.
Marjanovic’s new team competes in Slovenia’s domestic league and the ABA League, but isn’t part of the EuroLeague.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- How do players and coaches around the league feel about the NBA Cup? Most of the ones who spoke to The Athletic’s staff about the tournament offered positive feedback, with Bucks head coach Doc Rivers referring to it as “a benefit” for the league, while Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch called it a “perfect shot in the arm” for the first half of the season. “I think everybody’s taking it pretty serious, with what the stakes are, what the rewards are,” said Stephon Castle, whose Spurs advanced to the semifinals. “And again, being able to play in big-time games, it just amplifies the regular season a little bit.”
- Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama took the No. 1 spot in ESPN’s list of the top 25 players under 25 years old, just ahead of Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards and Detroit guard Cade Cunningham. San Antonio, which also has Castle and Dylan Harper in the top 25, is one of four teams with three players on the list, along with the Rockets, Pistons, and Magic.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranks the top 20 free agents currently on the market, with Malik Beasley, Ben Simmons, and Tristen Newton leading the way. Newton has only played 16 total minutes in eight NBA appearances, but he’s averaging 26.3 points and 8.1 assists per game in the G League this fall.
- Former NBA center Jason Collins, whose family announced in September that he was being treated for a brain tumor, has revealed that he has Stage 4 glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. Collins, who told his story via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, said the average prognosis for his condition is just 11 to 14 months.
Monte Morris Signs With Olympiacos
December 10: Morris has officially signed with Olympiacos, the team announced in a press release.
December 9: The Greek team Olympiacos is in advanced talks with veteran NBA guard Monte Morris, according to Michalis Stefanou of Eurohoops.net.
There’s optimism from the EuroLeague club that an agreement can be reached with Morris sooner rather than later on a one-year contract. The point guard became a free agent when the Pacers waived him on Nov. 21 after he appeared in six games, averaging just 10.8 minutes per contest.
Indiana had signed Morris two weeks earlier. The Pacers originally planned to sign him to compete for a roster spot in training camp, but the deal fell through when he sustained a calf injury in late September.
The 30-year-old played 45 games (12.7 MPG) for Phoenix in 2024/25, averaging 5.2 PPG, 1.6 APG and 1.5 RPG on .426/.360/.826 shooting. He has also played for the Nuggets, Pistons and Timberwolves.
Frank Ntilikina, Saben Lee and Evan Fournier are among the former NBA players on the Olympiacos roster.