International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Korkmaz, Aprons, Mexico City, Gambling Cases

October 31st, 2025 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA wing Furkan Korkmaz has a new team in Europe, having signed with Tofas in his home country of Turkey, according to an announcement from the team. Korkmaz’s deal with Tofas is for the rest of the 2025/26 season and reportedly includes a EuroLeague buyout clause, per Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops (Twitter link).

Korkmaz, the 26th overall pick in the 2016 draft, arrived stateside a year later and spend seven seasons in the NBA from 2017-24, all with the Sixers. He averaged 6.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game across 328 NBA regular season outings, making 35.6% of his three-point tries.

Korkmaz was dealt from Philadelphia to Indiana at the 2024 trade deadline and was waived shortly thereafter by the Pacers. The 28-year-old has been out of the NBA since then, having spent last season with AS Monaco and Bahcesehir Koleji overseas.

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How do players around the NBA feel about the tax-apron rules in the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement? Joe Vardon of The Athletic spoke to a number of them to get a sense of that, noting that several had concerns about the apron rules are impacting non-stars. “A few years ago, the days of calling the ‘middle class’ or middle guys in the league are getting quote-unquote overpaid, that was nice for a long time for a lot of these guys trying to make way for themselves,” Bucks center Myles Turner said. “But now you’re starting to see it’s either you’re getting max, big-ass contracts or you’re getting minimum. And it really is affecting a lot of guys within the league.”
Mexican-American forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. would love to see the NBA expand to Mexico City, he tells Grant Afseth of RG.org. Jaquez called it a “great experience” to get to play in the city with the Heat last season. “I definitely think it’d be a great location if the league wants to expand,” he said. “It’s a beautiful city with a lot to do down there. I think it only makes sense — there’s already a team in Canada, so to have one down in Mexico would be great.”
Multiple Congressional committees have sought briefings from NBA commissioner Adam Silver in the wake of Heat guard Terry Rozier, Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former player and coach Damon Jones being arrested in a pair of illegal gambling cases. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation both sent letters to Silver and the league requesting information. In another story for The Athletic, Vardon provides details on what those committees want to know and why Silver probably won’t be called to testify in person at Capitol Hill — at least not anytime soon.
Discussions are ongoing between the NBA and its partner sportsbooks about which bets might be most susceptible to manipulation, reports David Purdum of ESPN. As Purdum outlines, FanDuel and DraftKings agreed before the season not to offer bettors the ability to wager on missed free throws, fouls, and turnovers.

Alex Len Signs With Real Madrid

October 30th, 2025 at 4:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

October 30: Real Madrid has officially announced the signing of Len.

October 28: Longtime NBA big man Alex Len has agreed to a multiyear deal with Real Madrid, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Len has an NBA opt-out clause for next season as part of his new agreement with the Spanish club, Scotto adds (Twitter link).

Len was waived 10 days ago by the Knicks after he signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract.

Last season, Len appeared in 36 games with the Kings and 10 more with the Lakers. The veteran center signed with the Lakers as a free agent after Sacramento traded him in February to the Wizards, who quickly waived him. He averaged a modest 1.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game during those 46 appearances in 2024/25 and became a free agent after the season.

Len, the fifth pick of the 2013 draft, has averaged 6.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG over the course of his 12-year career with the Suns, Hawks, Kings, Raptors, Wizards, and Lakers.

And-Ones: Payne, Fernando, Free Agents, Breakout Candidates

October 28th, 2025 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

After being waived by the Pacers earlier this month, veteran point guard Cameron Payne reportedly received strong interest from KK Partizan, a EuroLeague-team based in Belgrade, Serbia. However, according to veteran NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link), Payne has opted to forgo overseas opportunities for now and will remain stateside in order to seek out his next NBA opportunity.

A 10-year NBA veteran who has earned regular playing time in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and New York in recent years, Payne appeared in 72 games for the Knicks last season, averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 assists in 15.1 minutes per night while shooting 40.1% from the floor, including 36.3% from beyond the three-point line.

Payne received a training camp invitation from Indiana this fall but didn’t make a strong case in the preseason for a regular season roster spot, shooting just 28.6% from the field and registering nearly as many turnovers (six) as assists (seven).

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While Payne apparently won’t be headed to Belgrade, another NBA veteran is set to join KK Partizan. As Javier Molero of Eurohoops relays, big man Bruno Fernando is signing with the Serbian club to fortify its frontcourt. Fernando, whose last stop was Real Madrid, made 220 regular season appearances in the NBA for four teams from 2019-25. He played in 17 games last season for the Raptors, but has been out of the league since being waived by Toronto in January.
Even though the 2025/26 season is now underway, there are still several notable players who finished last season on NBA rosters and remain unsigned. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranks the top 10 players who fit that bill, with Malik Beasley, Ben Simmons, and Precious Achiuwa topping his list.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN identifies his top five breakout candidates for the 2025/26 season, including Celtics wing Payton Pritchard, Pistons center Jalen Duren, and Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard.

And-Ones: Payne, Key, Raman, Breakout Players

October 25th, 2025 at 7:51pm CST by Rory Maher

EuroLeague team Partizan Belgrade has expressed “serious” interest in free agent point guard Cameron Payne, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (via Twitter).

As Stein notes, the Serbian club is looking for a backcourt replacement in the wake of a serious ankle injury to former NBA guard Carlik Jones, who will reportedly miss three months of action.

Payne has spent most of the past 10 seasons in the NBA after being selected 14th overall in 2015. He appeared in 72 regular season games with the Knicks in 2024/25, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.8 APG in 15.1 MPG.

The 31-year-old went unsigned for nearly the entire offseason prior to catching on with Indiana on October 9. However, Payne didn’t play well during the preseason, and the Pacers decided to waive him before ’25/26 began even though they had (and still have) several backcourt injuries.

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

Four-year NBA veteran Braxton Key, who spent all of training camp and the preseason with Memphis before being cut last week, has officially signed a rest-of-season deal with Valencia Basket, the Spanish team announced in a press release (hat tip to Eurohoops). The 28-year-old forward was named G League Defensive Player of the Year last season and finished out ’24/25 on a standard contract with Golden State.
Sonia Raman, who was an assistant coach with the Grizzlies from 2020-24 prior to spending last season as an assistant with the WNBA’s New York Liberty, has agreed to a multiyear contract to become the Seattle Storm’s new head coach, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The Storm also compete in the WNBA.
John Hollinger of The Athletic lists 12 players he believes are primed for breakout seasons, including younger stars like Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Lakers guard Luka Doncic, as well as more under-the-radar players such as Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili and Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. A pair of young Wizards wings — Cam Whitmore and Kyshawn George — are also breakout candidates, according to Hollinger.

David Duke Jr. Signs With Perth Wildcats

October 23rd, 2025 at 7:34pm CST by Rory Maher

After previously reporting that David Duke Jr. was in advanced negotiations with the Perth Wilcats, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc now hears from multiple sources that the free agent guard has officially signed a contract to join the Australian team for the remainder of the 2025/26 season (Twitter link).

The Wildcats, who compete in Australia’s National Basketball League, have been in the market for a replacement for Mason Jones, another former NBA guard whom the team parted ways with last week after he got off to a slow start.

Duke has spent parts of each of the past four seasons in the NBA, playing a total of 55 regular season games with the Nets and Spurs, mostly on two-way contracts. He holds career averages of 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .417/.262/.767.

The 26-year-old combo guard was on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal with Phoenix for training camp and the 2025 preseason, but was released last Friday.

While Duke’s NBA role has been pretty modest to this point in his career, he has been more productive at the G League level, including averaging 20-plus points per game during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. In 42 contests (31.6 MPG) with the Austin Spurs last season, the Providence, Rhode Island native averaged 16.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.6 SPG on .410/.306/.719 shooting.

Duke is the third veteran NBA guard to head overseas on Thursday, joining Spencer Dinwiddie (Bayern Munich) and Jared Butler (Crvena Zvezda).

And-Ones: D. Duke, Silver, NBPA, Incentives, Stein

October 23rd, 2025 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League are in advanced talks on a potential deal for free agent combo guard David Duke Jr., according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN, who reports that a contract for Duke would cover the rest of the 2025/26 season.

The Wildcats have been in the market for a replacement for Mason Jones, another former NBA guard whom the team parted ways with last week after he got off to a slow start.

Duke, who was in camp with the Suns until being cut last week, has appeared in NBA games in each of the past four seasons. In 55 total outings for Brooklyn and San Antonio from 2021-25, he has averaged 4.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 11.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .417/.262/.767.

The 26-year-old has been more productive in the G League, averaging 16.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 42 games for the Austin Spurs last season after putting up more than 20 PPG in each of the two previous years.

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Devon Henderson and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic pass along some of the most interesting comments made by NBA commissioner Adam Silver during his media rounds prior to the start of the 2025/26 season, including his latest remarks on potential expansion and the All-Star format. Most notably, given today’s big news, Silver told Chris Mannix of SI.com this week that the league continues to talk to betting companies about potentially reducing the range of prop bets available to gamblers.
The National Basketball Players Association issued the following statement in the wake of the arrests of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones on Thursday (Twitter link): “The integrity of the game is paramount to NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, and both are hindered when player popularity is misused to gain attention. We will ensure our members are protected and afforded their due process rights through this process.”
The disappearance of incentives and bonuses in NBA contracts has had an impact on rookie scale extensions, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. As Hollinger explains, including likely and/or unlikely incentives in a deal used to be an effective way to bridge the gap between the contract a player was seeking and the one his team was willing to pay. However, because they count against the aprons, teams have essentially stopped handing them out — not a single veteran contract signed this offseason included incentives. In Hollinger’s view, players like Tari Eason, Bennedict Mathurin, and Mark Williams would have been more likely to work out deals under the previous CBA, when those bonuses were more common.
Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein has joined Amazon Prime Video’s NBA coverage for the 2025/26 season, reports Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. According to Glasspiegel, Stein won’t have an on-air role — he’ll be working behind the scenes and will be responsible for making sure that facts and figures are “journalistically sound” before they’re used by the studio team or game announcers. Amazon previously hired Chris Haynes as its league insider and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic to report feature stories.

Jared Butler Signs With Crvena Zvezda

October 23rd, 2025 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent point guard Jared Butler has signed with Crvena Zvezda, the team announced on Thursday (via Twitter). The club, which is based in Belgrade, Serbia, competes in the EuroLeague as well as the ABA League.

Butler, 25, has been in the NBA for each of the past four seasons, appearing in 148 regular season games during that time. He earned his most prominent role with the Wizards and Sixers in 2024/25, appearing in 60 total games for the two teams and averaging 9.0 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per night, with a .448/.355/.824 shooting line.

After signing a non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Suns in July, Butler made a strong case for a spot on Phoenix’s regular season roster this fall. He averaged 15.5 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 20.9 minutes per game over the course of four preseason outings, including an impressive a 35-point, nine-assist performance last Tuesday.

However, the Suns, operating slightly above the luxury tax line, opted not to carry a 15th man into the season and cut Butler last week. He became a free agent after clearing waivers and immediately drew interest from a handful of European teams, including KK Partizan, Olympiacos, and Crvena Zvezda.

According to a report from Konstantinos Melayes of Sport24 (hat tip to BasketNews.com), the Serbian club promised Butler a starting role and significant minutes.

Spencer Dinwiddie Signs With Bayern Munich

October 23rd, 2025 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

After having been linked to multiple EuroLeague teams, including Olympiacos, free agent point guard Spencer Dinwiddie has officially signed with Bayern Munich, the German club announced in a press release. The deal doesn’t include an NBA out clause, according to the team.

An 11-year NBA veteran, Dinwiddie signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Charlotte in July. Although the deal was fully guaranteed, the 32-year-old became the victim of a preseason roster crunch for the Hornets, who waived him last Thursday in order to set their regular season roster.

Dinwiddie spent last season in Dallas and played a more significant role than expected due to the Luka Doncic trade and a series of injuries affecting guards like Kyrie Irving and Dante Exum. He was one of the only Mavericks players who made it through the season without dealing with any major health issues.

In 79 games (30 starts), Dinwiddie averaged 11.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .416/.334/.802.

Dinwiddie’s new team competes in both the EuroLeague and Germany’s top league (Basketball Bundesliga). Bayern just missed the EuroLeague playoffs last year after finishing with a 19-15 record, losing to Real Madrid in the play-in tournament for the final spot. However, the club is a powerhouse in the German league, having won each of the past two domestic titles. Dinwiddie will look to help make it three in a row for Bayern in 2025/26.

International Notes: Dinwiddie, Butler, Cancar, Samanic, More

October 22nd, 2025 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of point guards who were waived by NBA teams within the past week are drawing interest from clubs in Europe, according to league insider Marc Stein (Twitter links), who reports that both Spencer Dinwiddie and Jared Butler have suitors overseas.

While Stein doesn’t specifically identify any of the teams in the mix for Dinwiddie, he says Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes is not among that group. As for Butler, Stein suggests the Serbian team Crvena Zvezda has emerged as the frontrunner, echoing reporting from Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops. KK Partizan and Olympiacos are also among the teams linked to Butler, who is considered likely to end up with Crvena Zvezda.

Dinwiddie and Butler are among the most notable players who were part of the final wave of preseason cuts around the NBA. Dinwiddie was waived by the Hornets last Thursday despite having signed a guaranteed one-year contract with the team earlier in the offseason. Butler was released by the Suns a day later despite a strong preseason that included a 35-point, nine-assist performance last Tuesday.

Here’s more from around the international basketball world:

Former Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar and Olimpia Milano have parted ways, the team confirmed in a statement (story via BasketNews.com). Cancar signed with the Italian club as a free agent this summer, but has dealt with a knee issue in recent weeks, which may have played a part in his release.
Another former NBA forward is leaving his team in Europe, as Spanish club Baskonia and former first-round pick Luka Samanic are going their separate ways, writes Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops. The expectation is that Samanic, the 19th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, will return to Cibona, his home team in Zagreb, Croatia. He had a brief stint with Cibona last season as well.
While they’re losing Samanic, Baskonia has officially signed guard Kobi Simmons to a two-month contract, the EuroLeague team announced in a press release. Simmons, who made 42 NBA appearances for four teams between 2017-24, will add depth to an injury-plagued Baskonia backcourt.
Former Sixers and Grizzlies shooting guard Dakota Mathias is headed to Australia, having agreed to a deal with the Brisbane Bullets, reports Olgun Uluc of ESPN (Twitter link). Mathias signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Indiana in 2024 but hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since 2022.
Free agent guard David Duke Jr., who has appeared in NBA games in each of the past four seasons with Brooklyn and San Antonio, is drawing interest from teams in Australia’s National Basketball League, according to Uluc (Twitter link). Duke was waived last week by the Suns and seems likely to open the season with Phoenix’s G League affiliate unless he finds a situation overseas that he likes more.

And-Ones: International Players, NBA Europe, Taxpayers, More

October 21st, 2025 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Highlighting some of the storylines and potential milestones to watch as the 2025/26 NBA season gets underway, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press observes that the league is setting a series of records related to international players this fall.

According to Reynolds, there are a record 135 players born outside of the U.S. on the league’s 30 opening night rosters. Of those 135 players, 71 are from Europe, which also represents a new high watermark. In total, 43 non-U.S. countries are represented on NBA rosters, tying a league record, Reynolds writes, and each team has at least one international players on its roster.

The rising level of talent from Europe and elsewhere around the world is one reason why the NBA has been moving forward on plans to launch a new professional league based in Europe. According to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told reporters this week that the goal is to get NBA Europe off the ground within the next couple years. Tatum also specifically identified seven countries the league is eyeing for permanent franchises in that league.

“In phase one, our plan is Spain, U.K., France, Italy, Germany, maybe Turkey, and maybe Greece,” Tatum said. “But there will be some open spots in the ecosystem, so in the early phase, (others) will be able to qualify.”

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Fourteen of the NBA’s 30 teams will open the season as projected taxpayers, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), though he acknowledges that number will certainly change in the coming months. The Raptors (over the luxury tax line by just $772K), Nuggets ($402K), and Suns ($274K) are among the prime candidates to duck out of tax territory by February’s trade deadline.
Keith Smith of Spotrac also takes look at teams’ cap situations around the NBA, identifying where every club is operating relative to the aprons, tax line, and salary cap.
In an extensive preview of the 2025/26 season, a panel of ESPN writers ranked all 30 teams entering the year, from the Thunder at No. 1 to the Wizards at No. 30.
Within the past year, several NBA stars have taken on general manager or assistant GM roles with their alma maters, including Stephen Curry at Davidson, Trae Young at Oklahoma, and Damian Lillard at Weber State. Lindsay Schenll of The Athletic explores that trend, noting that the titles are mostly ceremonial but that those stars are willing to help fundraise, recruit, or do whatever else the program might ask of them. “I may not talk to every recruit, but if there is a high-level recruit, you best believe I’m gonna talk to the kid,” Young said. “If there’s a kid I feel like we’re not going after hard enough, I might bring it to their attention. … I’m not gonna overstep. But there’s definitely opinions I’m gonna mention.”
Sovereign wealth funds based in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere in the Middle East have become increasingly involved in the NBA as investors in recent years. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explores how this partnership between the league and those investors came about and where it’s headed in the future.