International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Greek Team Considers Signing Dalano Banton

September 20th, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Greek team Olympiacos is eyeing free agent guard Dalano Banton, according to Sotiris Vetakis of SDNA.gr (hat tip to Sportando).

Banton appeared in 67 games with the Trail Blazers last season, including seven starts. The 6’8″ guard/forward averaged 8.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 16.7 minutes per game. He also had stints with Toronto and Boston after being drafted in the second round by the Raptors in 2021.

However, Banton has received a cool reception in the free agent market this offseason. Marc Stein recently reported that the 25-year-old has received interest from numerous teams overseas but continues to seek an NBA opportunity. He has auditioned for multiple NBA teams, including the Warriors and Pacers, but hasn’t been able to secure an offer he likes.

Overall, Banton has made 216 NBA appearances, averaging 6.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 14.5 minutes per game. His subpar perimeter shooting (30.4 percent on threes) is a key reason why he’s struggled to secure another contract.

And-Ones: Inside The NBA, Rubio, Raduljica, Bleijenbergh

September 20th, 2025 at 10:28am CST by Rory Maher

“Inside the NBA” will look a little different this season — it will air on ESPN instead of TNT and won’t be on as often. However, the show’s format will largely remain unchanged, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus tells Richard Deitsch of The Athletic.

“(Fans are) going to get the show they love in a way that’s very similar to the way it’s always been,” Magnus said. “It’s still produced in Atlanta by the very same people that produced it for Turner. It’s in their building. Other than a logo on the set, it’s going to appear the same, and that’s exactly what we want.”

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

Former NBA point guard Ricky Rubio broke a Spanish league record during the 2005/06 season when he made his professional debut at age 14. In hindsight, he thinks it was a mistake to start his pro career at such a young age, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays. “It almost seems like exploitation,” Rubio said in a recent interview with Jijantes FC (Twitch link). “If you have the necessary quality at 13, you’ll probably be able to play at 16 or 17, too, or at 18. … There should be professionals, who already exist, to see at what stage to start playing. There will always be debate, ‘This guy is more mature at 16 and another at 18. Yes, but a rule must be set, behind studies with people who understand the whole issue a little better. … I think debuting in a professional team, where you enter a very dangerous world because you’re open to so many things, should be regulated.”
After a long basketball career, Serbian big man Miroslav Raduljica has decided to switch to football (soccer) for the 2025/26 season (Instagram link). According to Askounis of Eurohoops, Raduljica’s full salary with Zeleznicar Pancevo will go to charity. The 7’0″ center, who played parts of two seasons in the NBA with the Bucks and Timberwolves, has spent the past two years in Greece with Maroussi B.C.
Former G League forward Vrenz Bleijenbergh is now a free agent after mutually agreeing to part ways with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of Australia’s National Basketball League (press release via the team). Bleijenbergh, who is from Belgium, had a solid showing in Turkey last season with Merkezefendi, averaging 12.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.1 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .466/.398/.791 shooting in 28 contests (30.4 MPG).

Talen Horton-Tucker Signs Two-Year Deal With Fenerbahce

September 20th, 2025 at 9:05am CST by Rory Maher

Free agent guard/forward Talen Horton-Tucker has officially signed a two-year deal with Fenerbahce, according to a press release from the Turkish team.

Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews reported at the beginning of September that Horton-Tucker had reached a tentative agreement with the reigning EuroLeague champion but was still hoping to sign an NBA contract. Marc Stein later clarified that Horton-Tucker had a 21-day window to find a new NBA opportunity.

Evidently Horton-Tucker was unable to find the type of NBA deal he was seeking, as he will now be heading overseas for the first time in his career.

The 46th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Horton-Tucker has spent the past six years in the NBA, most recently suiting up for his hometown Bulls. In 305 regular season games, he holds career averages of 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 19.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .427/.299/.771.

Horton-Tucker won a championship as a rookie with Los Angeles in 2020 and was a Laker for three years prior to being traded to Utah in the 2022 offseason. He spent the next two years with the Jazz, but was unable to find a guaranteed contract as an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason.

The Chicago native signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal with the Bulls last September and wound up making the team’s regular season roster — he was the only player on an Exhibit 10 contract last fall to have that deal become a standard non-guaranteed pact.

Horton-Tucker, who said it was a “dream come true” to open the 2024/25 season with Chicago, not only made the roster but eventually had his salary guaranteed when the Bulls decided to keep him around past the January deadline to waive non-guaranteed contracts.

Horton-Tucker appeared in 58 games last season for the Bulls, averaging 6.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 1.4 APG in 12.5 MPG. His shooting line was .457/.336/.735.

Fenerbahce’s roster features several other former NBA players, including Wade Baldwin IV, Khem Birch, Nicolo Melli and Brandon Boston Jr.

Jordan Loyd Signs With Anadolu Efes

September 19th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Jordan Loyd has a deal in place from Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes, reports Aris Barkas for Eurohoops. The deal necessitated a buyout from AS Monaco, the team with which he played for the last three seasons.

Loyd, who appeared in 12 games for the Raptors in the 2018/19 season and averaged 2.4 points in 4.6 minutes per game, averaged 10.7 PPG for Monaco during last year’s EuroLeague play.

The 6’4″ guard rose once again to prominence this summer as a key contributor on the Polish national team that went to the EuroBasket quarterfinals. He averaged 22.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 42.2% from three, and was named to the tournament’s All-Star Second Team.

It was previously reported that Real Madrid had made a strong push for Loyd’s services, but his Liga ACB rights are held by Valencia.

As a member of Anadolu Efes, Loyd will join former NBA players Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois, PJ Dozier, Cole Swider, Kai Jones, Georgios Papagiannis, and Vincent Poirier.

International Notes: KD, Boston, Cousins, NBA, UK

September 19th, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Rory Maher

New Rockets forward Kevin Durant became the first men’s basketball player to win four Olympic gold medals last year in Paris. Earlier this week, Durant was asked about the possibility of suiting up for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, as Law Murray of The Athletic relays (Twitter video link).

“Yeah, if I’m still me,” Durant said. “I don’t want the gift of the veteran, like, ‘come sit on the end of the bench and get your fifth (gold medal).'”

The 15-time All-Star also said he’s given some thought to becoming a coach after his playing days are over.

“Some days I would (like to coach), some days I wouldn’t,” Durant said. “It’s tough dealing with personalities. … But we’ll see.”

Here are a few more international items of interest:

In an interview with Bilal Baran Yardımcı of Eurohoops, four-year NBA veteran Brandon Boston Jr. said talking to former teammate CJ McCollum and McCollum’s older brother, new teammate Errick McCollum, helped convince him to sign with Fenerbahce this offseason. The Turkish team is the reigning EuroLeague champion. “Just having those conversations with those guys really helped me a lot with my decision,” Boston said.
Former NBA center DeMarcus Cousins is returning to Mongolia for the 2025/26 season, having re-signed with the Selenge Bodons, he announced on social media (Facebook link; hat tip to HoopsHype). “I’m excited to announce that I will be returning to the Bodons! Can’t wait to get back to Mongolia and finish what we started and try to bring home a championship!” Cousins wrote. The four-time All-Star, whose last NBA stint came with Denver during the 2021/22 campaign, has played overseas for several teams during the past few years.
The NBA and the UK government are investing £5MM apiece to elevate one of the UK’s “fastest-growing sports,” according to Basketball England (hat tip to BasketNews). “Basketball is booming in Britain – and this investment will help take it to the next level, opening up the game to thousands more people right across the country,” UK prime minister Keir Starmer said as part of a larger statement. The NBA is hosting regular season games in London in 2026 and in Manchester in 2027 and is working to create a league in Europe that could launch as early as 2027 and may feature teams in both of those cities.

Lauri Markkanen Endorses New All-Star Format

September 19th, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen believes adding an international team will help spice up the NBA’s All-Star Game, writes Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.

The new format was revealed earlier this month. It will split the All-Stars into three eight-man squads, one of which will be entirely composed of international players. The teams will compete in a round-robin format to crown a winner.

“There’s always pride when you’re representing your country, or in this case the world, and I think it’s going to be a fun format and hopefully I can be a part of it,” Markkanen said.

Markkanen made an All-Star appearance in 2023 during his first season in Utah, but injuries have prevented him from returning. He appeared in just 55 and 47 games the past two years.

However, at age 28 he still appears to be part of the future as the team transitions to a younger roster. A report in July indicated that the Jazz don’t have any plans to trade Markkanen, who still has four years and nearly $196MM left on his contract.

He seemed to be back in top form while leading Finland to the semifinals at EuroBasket. He averaged 26.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in six games while earning second-team all-tournament honors.

Asked to pick the roster for Team World at All-Star weekend, Markkanen selected Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as his starting five. He admits there will be some tough decisions beyond that and hopes he will be in the mix with players such as Franz Wagner, Alperen Sengun, Domantas Sabonis and Karl-Anthony Towns.

“There are no bad options there. I think it’s a list of really good players, and it’s going to come down to team success and how players perform in each and every year,” Markkanen said. “And so I think the format is going to be fun to compete against the USA teams, and we’ll see who makes the team.”

Trevelin Queen Expected To Join Guangdong Southern Tigers

September 17th, 2025 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA veteran Trevelin Queen is reportedly expected to head overseas to continue his playing career with the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

Skerletic’s report cites Chinese journalist Zhang Duo (Twitter link), who in turn credited the Chinese outlet Zhibo8 Sports. Zhibo8’s team page for Guangdong lists Queen as part of the roster.

A longtime G League standout who won both the regular season and Finals MVP awards in 2022, Queen made a career-high 31 NBA appearances last season while on a two-way contract with the Magic. He averaged 4.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 steal in 13.9 minutes per game, though he struggled to score efficiently, making just 38.1% of his shots from the floor, including 28.6% of his three-pointers.

Queen became an unrestricted free agent earlier this summer after Orlando opted not to tender him a qualifying offer. He now has four years of NBA service, making him ineligible to sign another two-way contract.

Prior to playing for Orlando from 2023-25, Queen also had stints with the Rockets and Pacers.

Assuming he officially lands with Guangdong, Queen will become the second player who was on a two-way deal last season to sign with the CBA club within the past month. Former Net Yongxi “Jacky” Cui joined the team near the end of August.

NBA Europe Could Launch As Early As 2027

September 17th, 2025 at 8:30am CST by Dana Gauruder

The new European basketball league backed by the NBA could begin play as early as 2027, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno and Tim Reynolds.

NBA and FIBA are working together to launch NBA Europe.

Speaking at a conference hosted by Front Office Sports, Silver called a 2027 start “ambitious, no doubt about it,” but did not rule out that possibility. Existing arenas across Europe could be used when the initial launch occurs until more modern infrastructure is built up.

“I don’t think I’d want to go much longer than ’28,” Silver said. “The opportunity is now to do something like this.”

Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum met this summer with United Kingdom prime minister Keir Starmer, among other government officials, along with various possible stakeholders regarding the new venture. Those meetings convinced Silver that NBA Europe would be successful.

“I would say I’m enthusiastic about it,” Silver said.

Early plans call for the new league to have 16 teams, though that number could change. Existing European clubs like Real Madrid, Fenerbahce Istanbul and Barcelona are likely to figure into the NBA’s plans for the new league, according to the AP.

A new British league that intends to launch in 2027 indicated in a recent press statement that it expects the NBA’s European league to begin at the same time, with franchises in London and Manchester, as Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net relays.

“Basketball’s probably the fastest-growing sport in the world right now, and it’s a huge No. 2 sport in Europe behind soccer, so I think there’s a real opportunity,” Silver added.

Mamadi Diakite Joins Baskonia On Two-Year Deal

September 15th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 15: Diakite’s agent at Dedicated Performance Sports, Derrick Powell, has confirmed the deal to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

AUGUST 18: Former NBA big man Mamadi Diakite has signed a two-year contract with Baskonia, according to Eurohoops.

Diakite, 28, was in training camp with the Suns last fall, but was waived before the start of the season. He played for Phoenix’s G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, averaging 12.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 27 regular season games.

Diakite began his NBA career with Milwaukee, signing a two-way deal in 2020 after going undrafted out of Virginia. He also had brief stays with Oklahoma City, Cleveland, San Antonio and New York.

He got into 55 total games with five teams and holds career averages of 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per night.

Located in Spain, Baskonia competes in both Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. The team’s other players with NBA ties include Markus Howard, Trent Forrest, Hamidou Diallo, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Rodions Kurucs and Luka Samanic.

Stein’s Latest: Banton, Love, Warriors, NBA Europe, Bonga

September 15th, 2025 at 5:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Dalano Banton has received interest from teams overseas but continues to seek an NBA opportunity after spending the past season-and-a-half in Portland, Marc Stein writes for The Stein Line (Substack link).

According to Stein, Banton has recently auditioned for multiple NBA teams, including the Warriors and Pacers, though Indiana decided to pass on him.

Banton, who was traded from the Celtics to the Trail Blazers at the 2024 deadline, has since appeared in 97 games for Portland, averaging 10.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 20.6 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .399/.319/.751. He has been an unrestricted free agent since his contract expired on June 30.

Here’s more from Stein:

The Jazz and Kevin Love have yet to engage in serious discussions about a buyout, per Stein. While it’s “widely known” that Love would like to play for a team closer to contention, it doesn’t sound as if he has a post-buyout spot lined up yet, Stein explains, so there has been no urgency to get out of his contract with Utah.
Stein reiterates that the expectation around the NBA is that veteran free agents Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II will sign with the Warriors once Jonathan Kuminga‘s situation is resolved. According to Stein, the latest round of negotiations between the Warriors and Kuminga has “sparked some fresh optimism” that both he and those other vets will be signed prior to the team’s media day on September 29.
After FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajosa predicted that the NBA’s new European league could tip off in 2027, Stein says his own reporting suggests Garbajosa’s timetable may not be exact but also isn’t far off.
Although Isaac Bonga‘s NBA exit clause for 2025 expired, he drew interest from a few teams earlier in the summer, according to Stein, who says Bonga committed to spending the coming season with Partizan Belgrade after not getting a concrete offer from any of those clubs. Stein anticipates Bonga will receive more serious NBA interest next offseason.