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Duane Washington Rejoins KK Partizan

October 14th, 2024 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, free agent guard Duane Washington has returned to KK Partizan, the Serbian team he signed with over the offseason, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Askounis reports that Washington has completed the paperwork necessary to be re-added to Partizan’s roster.

After finishing last season with the Knicks, Washington agreed to sign with Partizan in July; the Belgrade-based club later confirmed the deal in August. However, the Knicks – who still held Washington’s Early Bird rights – required him as a sign-and-trade asset for salary-matching purposes in their trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.

Partizan Belgrade received a buyout in exchange for allowing Washington out of his contract, while the 24-year-old secured a $2.16MM guaranteed salary from the Hornets for his involvement in the Towns trade. He spent a week with Charlotte, then was waived last Wednesday, clearing the way for him to rejoin Partizan.

Washington has suited up a pair of Partizan’s domestic matchups so far this season, but wasn’t available to play in either of the team’s first two EuroLeague contests. While Partizan has a 4-0 record in ABA League play, the club has lost its first two EuroLeague games, so Washington’s return will be a welcome one. Partizan will face Bayern Munich and Maccabi Tel Aviv in EuroLeague play this week.

Washington has appeared in a total of 79 NBA contests for the Pacers and Suns (he didn’t see any game action for the Knicks), averaging 9.1 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per night while shooting .391/.371/.729.

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International Notes: Osman, Lee, Loyd, S. Johnson

October 13th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Cedi Osman, who returned to Europe this summer after seven NBA seasons, said in an interview with Giorgos Adamopoulos of Eurohoops that he’s not convinced his NBA career is finished. The 29-year-old forward signed a one-year contract with Panathinaikos, and he wants to have a strong season with the Greek team before considering his basketball future.

“I do not think it is over for me, but you never know what happens,” Osman said. “I am fully committed to Panathinaikos right now and I really want to win EuroLeague with this team. We have a great team, a very talented team that I believe can go for the back-to-back and I want to win all the cups that we can. I want to achieve everything here. So, that is why I am happy to be here and I am excited and hopefully it is going to be a great year for us.”

There were rumors during the summer that Osman was close to joining Real Madrid, but he dismissed those talks as “nothing serious.” He also discussed the adjustment of getting used to the EuroLeague style of play again and the experience of playing alongside LeBron James in Cleveland and Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio.

“He is great. He is unbelievable,” Osman said of Wembanyama. “In one or two years, he will probably be the face of the NBA. That is what I think. He is a talented kid that we have never seen before.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • Saben Lee has a new two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv after reaching a buyout agreement with Turkey’s Manisa Basket, the Israeli team announced on its website. Lee, who appeared in 24 games with the Suns last season, made a splash by scoring 36 and 43 points in his first two games with Manisa. “I’m excited to join such a historic club and looking forward to this season,” Lee said. “I hope we can win many games and bring pride to the fans. I’m grateful for the opportunity and want to thank the management, coaching staff, and everyone who had a hand in me getting to wear Maccabi’s uniform. Let’s go Maccabi, I can’t wait to get to work.”
  • Jordan Loyd, who left Maccabi Tel Aviv due to concerns about the war in Israel, has signed a two-year deal with AS Monaco, according to Eurohoops. The 31-year-old point guard has played for numerous teams since leaving the NBA, but he has a fondness for Monaco, where he was named MVP of the LNB Finals in 2023.
  • Former NBA forward Stanley Johnson, who now plays for Anadolu Efes, wasn’t injured when two shots were fired through the window of his apartment in Istanbul, BasketNews reports. Police are searching for the suspects.
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And-Ones: Preseason, Abu Dhabi, China, Nakase

October 11th, 2024 at 11:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Unlike the regular season schedule, which is entirely controlled by the NBA, teams around the league dictate their own schedules for preseason, as Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic details.

“It is a fascinating, not well-known part of the NBA ecosystem,” said Warriors chief revenue officer John Beaven. “We’re pretty pleased that control has remained with us. We lean into it. I think there’s some teams that probably do it to check the box.”

One exception is when international teams — like the New Zealand Breakers — come to North America to participate in preseason. NBA teams actually pay those clubs, and the league gets involved to figure out broadcasting rights.

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

  • Speaking of the preseason, the NBA canceled Friday’s contest in Orlando between the Magic and Pelicans due to Hurricane Milton, the Magic announced (via Twitter). The game will not be rescheduled.
  • The Celtics and Nuggets were eager to travel to Abu Dhabi for the NBA’s third consecutive preseason in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, writes Tania Ganguli of The New York Times. The league says it’s focused on growing the sport globally, but it has drawn criticism from human rights groups for partnering with the UAE, China and Rwanda.
  • Commissioner Adam Silver believes the NBA will return to China in the future, according to Vorkunov. The league hasn’t played a game in the country since then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey sent out a tweet in support of freedom for Hong Kong in 2019. “I think we will bring back games to China at some point,” Silver said Thursday at a sports management conference at Columbia University. “We had a well-known incident there pre-pandemic with a tweet and China’s government took us off the air for a period of time. We accepted that. We stood by our values.”
  • Former Clippers assistant Natalie Nakase has been named head coach of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, the team announced in a press release. Nakase has spent the past three season as the top assistant for the Las Vegas Aces. “Being named the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries is a lifelong dream come true,” said Nakase. “I am thankful to Joe Lacob, Ohemaa Nyanin and the Golden State front office for entrusting me with this responsibility. We are committed to building a winning culture of grit, hard work, and competitiveness. We will strive to improve, compete, and ultimately bring home a championship for our fans and this organization.”
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Troy Brown Jr. Signs With Turkish Club

October 11th, 2024 at 8:15am CST by Tristan Tucker

Former NBA wing Troy Brown Jr. is heading overseas for the first time in his career, landing with Turkish club Manisa Basket, according to an announcement from the team (Twitter link).

Brown evolved into an effective role player after being selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Wizards. He spent six seasons in the league with five different teams, including Washington, the Bulls, the Lakers, the Timberwolves and, most recently, the Pistons.

Brown holds career averages of 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game on a .423/.351/.783 shooting line. The 25-year-old had his most productive season in 2019/20, averaging 10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.6 APG and making 22 starts.

Brown had a resurgent year in ’22/23 after signing with the Lakers, as he averaged 7.1 PPG and 4.1 RPG while making 45 starts on a team that wound up in the Western Conference Finals. However, last offseason, he signed with the Wolves and didn’t become a rotation staple. He was then traded to the Pistons at the February deadline and wasn’t retained after the season.

The Oregon product is now taking his talents to Manisa, a club that just lost Javon Freeman-Liberty to the NBA and may not have Saben Lee for long.

Manisa is competing in the Basketball Champions League for the first time this season after posting a 16-14 domestic record last year.

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NBA Free Agents Who Signed With International Teams

October 9th, 2024 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

With dozens of new players entering the NBA every season as part of that year’s rookie class, there aren’t enough roster spots to go around for all of the veterans who become free agents in a given offseason.

Some of those vets left on the outside looking in will retire. But many of the NBA’s job-seeking free agents wind up accepting opportunities in other parts of the world, signing with a team that competes in one of the many professional basketball leagues in Europe, Asia, Australia, or South America.

Listed below are the players who finished last season on an NBA roster and have since signed contracts overseas with non-NBA (and non-G-League) clubs.

Since this list is focused exclusively on players who finished the 2023/24 season under contract with an NBA team, there are some notable names who made the move overseas in recent months but aren’t included. For instance, Furkan Korkmaz spent six-and-a-half seasons in the league before being waived by the Pacers in February. He didn’t find work in the NBA for the remainder of the ’23/24 campaign, then opted to join AS Monaco this offseason.

Here are the 2024 NBA free agents who signed with international clubs this offseason, listed alongside the NBA team with whom they finished last season:

Australia

Belgium

China

France

Greece

Israel

Italy

Japan

Montenegro

Russia

Serbia

Spain

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

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International Notes: Freeman-Liberty, Lee, Hernandez, Mason

October 7th, 2024 at 9:33am CST by Luke Adams

Former Raptors guard Javon Freeman-Liberty, who signed with Manisa Basket this offseason, is leaving the Turkish club, according to Ismail Senol of beIN Sports (Twitter link). Interestingly, Senol says that Freeman-Liberty is headed to the NBA.

It’s unclear which NBA team Freeman-Liberty is joining or what sort of contract he’ll sign. Presumably, he would’ve had the opportunity to accept non-guaranteed camp invitations before signing in Turkey, so perhaps he received an offer to fill a team’s two-way spot. It’s also possible the 6’4″ guard didn’t warm to his first overseas opportunity and decided he’d prefer to return to the G League. We should find out soon.

Freeman-Liberty was on a two-way contract with the Raptors for most of the 2023/24 campaign before being promoted to the standard roster on March 1. The 24-year-old appeared in 22 games at the NBA level with Toronto, averaging 7.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 18.3 minutes per night. He put up much bigger numbers with the Raptors 905 in the NBAGL, including 24.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, and a shooting line of .470/.360/.825 in 26 Showcase Cup and regular season outings.

Here are more updates from around the international basketball world:

  • Saben Lee, Freeman-Liberty’s teammate with Manisa Basket, is also reportedly leaving the club. Sources tell Aris Barkas of Eurohoops that the former NBA guard has agreed to sign with the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, who will pay a $150K buyout to Manisa. The 38th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Lee had spent the past four seasons playing for the Pistons, Sixers, and Suns. The 6’2″ guard finished last season on a two-way contract with Phoenix and appeared in 24 NBA games for the Suns.
  • Former Raptors big man Dewan Hernandez, a 2019 second-round pick, has signed with Promitheas Patras, the Greek team announced in a press release. Hernandez, who played his college ball for the Miami Hurricanes, appeared in just six NBA games for the Raptors and has bounced around non-NBA league since then, spending time in the G League, Israel, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and China.
  • Former NBA guard Frank Mason, who played 103 games for Sacramento, Milwaukee, and Orlando from 2017-21, has joined the Fujian Sturgeons in the Chinese Basketball Association, Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays. It’ll be Mason’s second season playing overseas — the 2020 G League MVP spent the 2023/24 campaign with SLUC Nancy Basket in France.
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International Notes: Bertans, Lee, Bogdanovic, Jokic

October 6th, 2024 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

After changing teams frequently in the NBA, Davis Bertans was looking for stability when he decided to move overseas. In an interview with Mozzart Sport (translation via BasketNews), Bertans said part of the attraction of joining the new Dubai Basketball Club is long-term security.

“I also got a contract for three years, which was very important for my family, so that I don’t have to move every year,” he said.

Bertans was traded from Washington to Dallas at the 2022 deadline, then was moved to Oklahoma City in a 2023 draft-night deal. He got sent to Charlotte at this year’s deadline and was waived by the Hornets in July.

There were rumors this summer that Bertans might return to his former Partizan team in Belgrade, but he said that never came close to happening.

“I didn’t get an offer to go to Partizan,” Bertans said. “Maybe there was a chance to go for one season, but it wasn’t for me. I wanted to spend a longer time in the same city. I was traded four times in two years in the NBA, it’s very difficult for the family.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • There’s a growing market for Saben Lee, who signed with Turkey’s Manisa Basket in August, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. Sources tell Barkas that Fenerbahce is nearing a deal with the former NBA point guard after losing Scottie Wilbekin with a torn ACL. Maccabi is also interested in adding Lee, Barkas adds in a separate story, but he may be hesitant to play in Israel due to the fear of a war. Lee recently had a stellar debut in the Basketball Champions League with 36 points and six assists.
  • Former NBA center Pero Antic hopes to convince Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic to join Belgrade’s Crvena Zvezda once his NBA career is done, according to BasketNews. “We corresponded two days ago,” said Antic, who’s now president of the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia. “We’re in constant contact, we joke, we’ve been roommates. I’ll bring him to Crvena Zvezda sometime. He said that he would finish his career in Partizan, but I think that he will do it in Crvena Zvezda.”
  • NBA commissioner Adam Silver said over the weekend that Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic have all requested exhibition games in their native countries. However, Jokic told reporters that he never asked for a game in Serbia, BasketNews relays. “I don’t have approval to talk about it, I didn’t demand it,” Jokic said in Abu Dhabi, where the Nuggets are playing their second preseason contest today.
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International Notes: McGruder, Pokusevski, Abu Dhabi, International Stars, Korkmaz

October 5th, 2024 at 11:39am CST by Tristan Tucker

Former NBA guard Rodney McGruder has signed with Italian club Reyer Venezia, according to a release from the team (hat tip to Sportando).

McGruder appeared in 317 games (132 starts) from 2016-23, registering career averages of 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest. He played most extensively for the Heat during that time, making 112 of his starts in a Miami uniform. In his first season in the league, McGruder finished in eighth in Rookie of the Year voting after starting in 65 of the Heat’s games. He dealt with an injury the following year but opened the 2018/19 season as a full-time starter for Miami, averaging over 10 PPG and shooting just under 40.0% on three-pointers through the New Year.

However, McGruder fell out of the rotation that year and was eventually cut at the end of the season as it became clear the Heat wouldn’t make the postseason. He was waived in order to make room for back-end roster shuffling moves, including the conversion of Duncan Robinson from a two-way deal to a standard contract.

McGruder then played for the Clippers for one season before spending the subsequent three years of his career with the Pistons. Detroit appreciated him as a veteran leader, but opted not to re-sign him in 2023. He landed on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Warriors last offseason but didn’t ultimately make the team. McGruder then played for Olimpia Milano in Italy last season.

We have more international notes:

  • Former first-rounder Aleksej Pokusevski returned to Europe this offseason, signing with Partizan Belgrade after spending four seasons in the NBA with the Thunder and Hornets. According to Eurohoops, he’s open to an NBA return in the future but is thankful to be with a club that’s helping him develop further. “I think I’ve already gotten better, and that was one of the main reasons I came here,” Pokusevski said. “Overall, we’ve gotten better as a team, we’ve grown closer, and I think it’s going to be a good season for us.” He averaged 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in 168 career games (65 starts).
  • Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Abu Dhabi’s chairman of Department of Culture and Tourism, has been a driving force of the NBA’s high-profile preseason games in United Arab Emirates, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. The league is deepening its relationship with the Middle East, which is continuing to be a more viable business partner for the NBA, Windhorst explains in a piece highlighting the growing relationship between the two sides.
  • Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo have requested to NBA commissioner Adam Silver that the NBA host games in their respective home countries of Slovenia, Serbia and Greece, according to Sportando. “It’s a difficult task because hosting these games requires an incredible amount of resources and, frankly, it doesn’t make financial sense as a one-off event,” Silver said, per Sportando. “It works in places like Mexico City, Paris or here in Abu Dhabi because it is part of a long-term initiative. I really appreciate the enthusiasm of the fans in Serbia, Slovenia and Greece, as well as the efforts of players like Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Doncic to bring NBA games to their countries. But it is not easy to organize. We will continue to explore this possibility, even though the cost of organizing these events increases every year. I want to find a way to honor these great players”
  • After signing with AS Monaco this offseason, Furkan Korkmaz suffered a leg injury, according to BasketNews. He’s expected to miss multiple weeks as a result of the ailment.
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And-Ones: 2025 Draft, Snell, G League, Garuba, Parker

October 2nd, 2024 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2025 draft class is stronger at the top than 2024’s class was, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link), but there still isn’t a clear-cut No. 1 pick in this group like there was in 2023 with Victor Wembanyama.

Cooper Flagg has long been viewed as the best bet to be next year’s top pick, but that’s not yet a lock, Givony writes, putting the odds of the Duke forward coming off the board first at just slightly above 50%. Rutgers wing Ace Bailey is Flagg’s top competition at this point, per Givony, who has Bailey’s odds of going No. 1 at 25%. Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, and French guard Nolan Traore are also in the mix for the first overall spot, Givony adds.

“I’m going into this year with an open mind about who the No. 1 pick might be,” one NBA executive told ESPN. “This is how mistakes are made: getting anchored to an opinion and then closing yourself off to new, much more important information that we’ll be receiving in the coming months seeing how the season plays out.

“I need to see if Cooper Flagg is indeed a No. 1-type offensive option who can be expected to carry a team at some point in his career, or if he’s more of a superstar role player who is better suited as your second- or third-best player. Every year there are surprises, new players pop up and others take an unexpected leap.”

Mock drafts from last fall illustrate that potential for in-season surprises. ESPN’s November 2023 mock had Isaiah Collier first overall, Ja’Kobe Walter fourth, and Reed Sheppard 25th — they were eventually drafted 29th, 19th, and third, respectively.

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

  • Nine-year NBA veteran Tony Snell, who last played in the NBA during the 2021/22 season, will join the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League this fall, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Heat‘s affiliate will need to acquire Snell’s returning rights from the Maine Celtics, the team he played for last season. Snell won’t be signed to Miami’s preseason roster at all, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
  • The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) traded Jarrett Culver‘s G League returning rights to the Osceola Magic in exchange for Jared Butler‘s rights, per the Vipers (Twitter link). Culver is with Orlando on an Exhibit 10 contract, so it appears he’ll play for the Magic’s G League team this season. Butler remains under contract with the Wizards and would need to be waived and sign an NBAGL contract for Houston’s affiliate to take advantage of his rights.
  • Speaking to Eurohoops’ Javier Molero and Alex Molina, respectively, former NBAers Usman Garuba and Jabari Parker expressed that they’re comfortable no longer playing in the league. Garuba, who returned to Real Madrid this summer after three seasons with Houston and Golden State, said his NBA experience wasn’t quite what he expected and that he’d be “more selfish” if he were doing it all over again. “I left as a kid and grew up,” said Garuba, the 23rd overall pick in the 2021 draft. “I had a lot of ups and downs and learned a lot of lessons over there. I got traded, I got cut, I saw a lot of things, the dark side of the business. I think that made me mature a lot as a player.”
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International Notes: Interviews, EuroLeague Salaries, Cooper, Cook

September 29th, 2024 at 10:06am CST by Rory Maher

In an interview with Bilal Baran Yardımcı of Eurohoops, former Wisconsin standout Nigel Hayes-Davis confirmed he hoped to return to the NBA this offseason and drew some interest, but a deal didn’t come to fruition.

“At the end of the day, it didn’t happen,” he said. “The reason isn’t important. I’ve always been someone who focuses on the things I can control. I feel like I did everything I could to prove my abilities. Sometimes things don’t go your way. Maybe this is better for me. I went through a similar process last summer, and I came back and broke a EuroLeague scoring record. We don’t know what the universe has in store for me this year, but we’ll see together.”

Hayes-Davis, who earned a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team with Fenerbahce in 2023/24, re-signed with the Turkish team on a three-year deal. The 29-year-old also played on the U.S. Select Team this summer and raved about the experience.

“It was something I could only experience once in a lifetime,” he told Eurohoops. “It was the best three weeks of my life; I can’t remember being happier. Everything, from sunrise to sunset, was amazing. I’m very happy and grateful for the experience. Being in the camp, the things I learned, the atmosphere, the travels with the team—everything was perfect. There are people who would pay a lot of money to have these experiences. It was an unforgettable experience. I’m so glad I recorded most of it. Being able to share and watch it again in the future will be very special for me.”

Here are some more international notes:

  • Evan Fournier and Jordan Nwora also recently sat down for interviews with Antonis Stroggylakis and Semih Tuna of Eurohoops, respectively. After spending the past 12 years in the NBA, French wing Fournier returned to Europe with Greek club Olympiacos, while former second-rounder Nwora, who had spent the past four years in the league, signed with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes.
  • Aris Barkas of Eurohoops cites several sources in listing the top 10 EuroLeague salaries of 2024/25, noting that the values presented take into account local taxes. Sasha Vezenkov ($4.1MM), Shane Larkin ($3.7MM) and Mike James ($3MM) comprise the top three, with several other former NBA players included as well, including Fournier and Hayes-Davis.
  • Turkish team Merkezefendi has signed former NBA players Sharife Cooper and Tyler Cook, the team announced (Twitter links; hat tips to Sportando). Cooper, who signed with a Chinese team in April, inked a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers in February but didn’t receive any playing time. The former second-round pick, who played 13 regular season games with Atlanta in 2021/22 while on a two-way deal, has spent the past two seasons with Cleveland’s NBA G League affiliate, the Canton Charge. Cook, meanwhile, suited up for five NBA teams over the course of his three seasons in the league from 2019-22. He played with Joventut in Spain last season.
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