International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Evan Fournier To Sign With Olympiacos

September 2nd, 2024 at 11:26am CST by Arthur Hill

11:26am: Fournier’s deal with Olympiacos covers two years and is worth more than $4MM, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

10:24am: Fournier has decided to accept the offer from Olympiacos and is finalizing a three-year contract, tweets Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.

9:03am: Olympiacos is among the European teams talking to longtime NBA guard Evan Fournier, according to Pantelis Diamantopoulos of Sport24.

With few NBA roster spots still available, Fournier has “started to ferment” the idea of returning to Europe, according to Diamantopoulos. A report late last week indicated that several clubs from Spain, Italy and France have either made formal offers or expressed interest in signing him.

Diamantopoulos states that Fournier wants to join a team with a legitimate shot at winning the EuroLeague and has already turned down Milan. Olympiacos reached the EuroLeague Final Four last season and upgraded its roster this summer with the addition of former Kings power forward Sasha Vezenkov.

Fournier is seeking a salary of two million Euros (roughly $2.2MM) from interested teams, which could present an obstacle to a deal with Olympiacos, reports Konstantinos Melagies of Gazzetta in Greece. Melagies adds that the “red and whites” already have a large roster in place, and coach George Bartzokas likes the players he has now. The team may have to give up additional money to part with any of its current contracts. However, Melagies believes that Olympiacos may be motivated to make another big move in hopes of winning a title while celebrating its 100th season.

After helping France capture a silver medal at the Olympics last month, Fournier and his agent approached NBA teams to see if there was any renewed interest, according to Melagies, but the effort was unsuccessful. He describes negotiations as “hot” and states that a resolution is expected within the next few days.

Fournier, 32, began last season with the Knicks but only appeared in three games before being traded to Detroit at the February deadline. He has previous experience in Europe, playing for JSF Nanterre and Poitiers Basket 86 in France before coming to the NBA, where he has spent the past 12 seasons.

Real Madrid Hoping To Sign Cedi Osman

September 2nd, 2024 at 10:36am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent forward Cedi Osman has become a priority for Real Madrid, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.

The 29-year-old shooting specialist remains unsigned after playing for the Spurs last season. With limited NBA roster spots available as training camps get set to open later this month, Osman may have to look overseas for his next opportunity.

Real Madrid needs to find a replacement for Guerschon Yabusele, who exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and signed with the Sixers following an impressive performance in the Olympics. The Spanish team also lost Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez to retirement.

Former NBA player Semi Ojeleye, who spent last season with Valencia in Spain, is another possibility for Real Madrid, Maggi adds. He also states that Osman could get an offer from Anadolu Efes in his native Turkey.

Osman played for Efes from 2011-17 before coming to the NBA. He also has extensive experience with the Turkish national team.

He was selected by Minnesota with the 31st pick in the 2015 draft was and traded to Cleveland on draft night. He spent six years with the Cavaliers before being shipped to San Antonio last summer in a three-team deal.

Osman had a reduced role with the Spurs as one of the few veterans on a rebuilding team. He averaged 6.8 points per game in 17.6 minutes per night, his lowest totals in both categories since his rookie season. With 15 players already holding guaranteed contracts, there was no room for Osman to return to San Antonio.

International Notes: Duval, Inglis, Tinkle

September 1st, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA guard Trevon Duval has signed with Salah BC, a team based in Azerbaijan that will compete in the qualification round of the upcoming Basketball Champions League (BCL), as Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays.

A former top high school recruit who played one college season at Duke, Duval went undrafted in 2018. He spent most of the 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Bucks, appearing in three NBA games.

Duval has spent most of his professional career in the NBA G League, playing for the Wisconsin Herd, Iowa Wolves and Grand Rapids Gold. The 26-year-old played in Turkey last season with Manisa Basket, Skerletic notes.

Here are a couple more international notes:

French forward Damien Inglis has signed with the Yokohama B-Corsairs, the Japanese team announced in a press release. The 31st pick of the 2014 draft, Inglis spent two NBA seasons with the Bucks from 2014-16. While his NBA stint was brief, the 29-year-old has enjoyed a long career in Europe, playing for teams in France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. Last season with Valencia Basket, he averaged 8.2 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 32 EuroLeague games (20.5 MPG). This is Inglis’ first stint in Japan.
Former Oregon State star Tres Tinkle will be heading to Turkey for the ’24/25 campaign, having signed with Darussafaka (Twitter link). A 6’7″ forward, Tinkle signed Exhibit 10 deals with the Lakers and Raptors in 2020, ultimately playing for the G League’s Raptors 905 during the ’20/21 season. He has spent the past three seasons playing for clubs in Italy, France and Spain, respectively.
In case you missed it, guard Saben Lee and center Omer Yurtseven have signed international contracts in recent days. Both players played for NBA teams last season.

And-Ones: Rookie Scale Extensions, $500MM Players, Beverley, Muhammad, T. Robinson

August 31st, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Three of the first four players selected in the 2021 draft have already received rookie scale extensions, but Rockets guard Jalen Green may have to wait until next summer, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Despite a strong finish to last season, there are still questions about Green after three years in the NBA. Houston may want to maximize its cap space for 2025, and Pincus suggests the Rockets’ final offer to Green may not be in the neighborhood of what fellow top four picks Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes received.

That philosophy would also affect Alperen Sengun, who was taken with the 16th pick in 2021. Pincus suggests that Sengun could receive a generous offer before the October 21 deadline if the Rockets are planning to pick up Fred VanVleet‘s $44.9MM option for the 2025/26 season. However, the Turkish center will only have a $16.3MM cap hold if the team plans to decline its option on VanVleet and operate using cap space.

Pincus’ comments are part of his analysis of the entire first round from 2021 and the likelihood of an extension for each remaining player. He gives a C-minus to Cunningham’s new deal, stating that the Pistons assumed unnecessary risk when they could have signed him to a similar contract next summer. The Cavaliers‘ Mobley extension gets a B-minus from Pincus, while the Raptors‘ Barnes extension rates a B-plus.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

Stephen Curry‘s extension with the Warriors and Paul George‘s max contract with the Sixers will push them above $500MM in career earnings, joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only players with deals in place to reach that figure, notes Steve Henson of The Los Angeles Times. James Harden will top $400MM under his new two-year, $70MM deal with the Clippers, while Chris Paul will get close to that number after joining the Spurs for one year at $10.46MM.
Longtime NBA guard Patrick Beverley made his debut for Hapoel Tel Aviv today in Israel, according to Eurohoops. Beverley, 36, was in the starting lineup and contributed three points, six assists and his typical intense defense in a preseason win over Elitzur Ironi Netanya.
Former NBA players Shabazz Muhammad and Thomas Robinson have signed with Homenetmen Beirut, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Muhammad, who joined the Kings’ G League affiliate in January, last played in the NBA during the 2017/18 season. Robinson, a lottery pick in 2012, has been out of the league for seven years.

Saben Lee Signs With Turkish Team

August 31st, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Saben Lee has officially signed with Turkish team Manisa Basket (Instagram link). The move had long been anticipated, with Tolis Kotzias of SDNA.gr (Twitter link) reporting in early August that Lee was close to finalizing a deal with the club.

The 38th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Lee has spent the past four seasons playing for the Pistons, Sixers, and Suns. The 6’2″ guard finished the most recent season on a two-way contract with Phoenix and appeared in 24 NBA games for the Suns.

Across his four seasons in the NBA, Lee appeared in 134 total regular season games, averaging 5.2 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per contest. An unreliable jump shot hindered his ability to earn regular rotation minutes, as he posted a career shooting line of just .421/.271/.734.

Lee’s four years of NBA service meant he was no longer eligible for a two-way deal in 2024/25, which may have been a factor in his inability to find a roster spot stateside.

Lee is joining a Manisa club that will be competing in the Basketball Champions League – in addition to Turkey’s Basketball Super League – for the first time next season. Manisa Basket posted a 16-14 mark in domestic play last season, finishing sixth out of 16 Turkish teams. The club was eliminated in the first round of the postseason by Besiktas.

And-Ones: Marjanovic, Vucevic, Rebuilding Teams, Cauley-Stein

August 31st, 2024 at 11:53am CST by Dana Gauruder

Boban Marjanovic turned 36 this month. The affable big man told Marc Stein in his latest Substack post that he’d like to still be playing at 40 years old, as LeBron James is doing.

“I want to stay in [the] NBA; this is the main goal,” he said. “I want my kids to be there and I want myself to be there.”

Marjanovic remains on the free agent market and continues to search for a new opportunity. He was on the Rockets’ roster last season.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

Bulls center Nikola Vucevic hasn’t ruled out the idea of finishing his career in Europe, but doesn’t plan to play overseas anytime soon, BasketNews.com relays. “I would love to play in the NBA for as long as possible. It’s the best league, with the best players and conditions,” Vucevic told Iva Jevtic of B92. “At this moment, I’m not thinking about a return to Europe. If it ever happens, Crvena Zvezda would be the main favorite, but many things would have to fall into place.” Crvena Zvezda is based in Belgrade, Serbia.
A number of NBA teams are in rebuilding mode and Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report ranks how each of them are faring. He sees the Spurs being ahead of the pack and not just because they have generational talent Victor Wembanyama. The Pistons come in at the No. 2 spot due to the amount of young talent on their roster, headed by Cade Cunningham.
In a comprehensive feature story, Kyle Tucker of The Athletic details the difficulties that Willie Cauley-Stein has endured in recent years. Cauley-Stein, who hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2021/22, remains hopeful of getting another NBA contract.

Evan Fournier Reportedly Considering EuroLeague Offers

August 30th, 2024 at 10:52am CST by Luke Adams

Since having his 2024/25 team option turned down by the Pistons and becoming an unrestricted free agent, Evan Fournier has been seeking out potential NBA opportunities. But with no deal having materialized stateside approximately two months later, the French swingman is “seriously considering” the possibility of returning to Europe, reports Michalis Stefanou of Eurohoops.

According to Stefanou, EuroLeague teams based in Spain, Italy, and France have either made a contract offer to Fournier or expressed interest in signing him.

As Stefanou points out, Fournier tweeted back in 2022 that if he were ever to return to the EuroLeague, his top choice would be Olympiacos, but it’s unclear whether the Greek club is among those teams with interest in the veteran wing.

Before being selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Nuggets, Fournier spent time with JSF Nanterre and Poitiers Basket 86 in France, so the 31-year-old is no stranger to playing overseas. However, he has been in the NBA for the past 12 seasons, appearing in more than 700 total regular season games for Denver, Orlando, Boston, New York, and Detroit.

Fournier was a reliable starter and scorer for several years in his prime, averaging over 15 points per game for six consecutive seasons from 2015-21 and setting a Knicks team record for most three-pointers in a single season in 2021/22 with 241 (Donte DiVincenzo broke that record this past season).

However, he fell out of Tom Thibodeau‘s rotation in New York during the ’22/23 season, and after eventually getting the change of scenery he sought, he struggled to make an impact in Detroit during the second half of the ’23/24 campaign, averaging just 7.2 points in 18.7 minutes per game across 29 outings, with a .373/.270/.794 shooting line.

Marc Stein reported during the second week of July that the Wizards may have interest in Fournier as a potential veteran mentor to young Frenchmen Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly. Nothing came of that though, and there haven’t been any reports since then linking Fournier to any specific NBA teams.

He probably didn’t help his stock much by posting modest numbers (9.8 PPG on 34.0% shooting, including 32.4% on three-pointers) during France’s silver medal run at the Paris Olympics.

Omer Yurtseven Signs With Panathinaikos

August 30th, 2024 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent center Omer Yurtseven has signed a contract with Panathinaikos, the Greek club announced today in a press release. The two sides worked out an agreement after Panathinaikos’ interest in Yurtseven was reported several weeks ago, finalizing a two-year deal that includes a second-year option.

Yurtseven, 26, spent the past three seasons in the NBA, appearing in a total of 113 games for the Heat and Jazz during that time and posting averages of 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest.

The seven-footer showed promise as a rookie in 2021/22, earning backup center minutes for the Heat for a significant chunk of the season, but was limited to just nine appearances the following year due to an ankle injury. He inked a multiyear contract with the Jazz during the 2023 offseason, but it wasn’t guaranteed for 2024/25, so Utah cut him loose at the start of free agency.

Yurtseven’s deal with Panathinaikos will reunite him with head coach Ergin Ataman, who also coaches the Turkish national team. In a statement passed along by the team, the big man cited Ataman’s presence as a “very important” factor in his decision to join the Greek club.

Panathinaikos is coming off a dominant season in which it went 26-1 in Greek League play and defeated Olympiacos to win the championship. The team also had a 23-11 regular season record in EuroLeague competition and knocked off Maccabi Tel Aviv, Fenerbahce, and Real Madrid in the postseason to win its seventh EuroLeague title.

Bruno Caboclo Signs With Hapoel Tel Aviv

August 30th, 2024 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA first-round pick Bruno Caboclo has signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv, the Israeli club formally announced today (via Twitter). According to a Sport5 report relayed by Sportando, the contract covers two seasons. Previous reporting indicated the second year would be a team option.

Caboclo was said to be working out with the Warriors this week in the hopes of landing an NBA contract. While it’s possible Caboclo’s deal includes an NBA opt-out clause in the event that he receives an offer from Golden State or another team, the fact that he’s officially moving forward with Tel Aviv suggests that no NBA opportunity he likes has materialized.

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo spent parts of seven seasons in the NBA, but appeared in just 105 total games for the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets from 2014-21. He averaged 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per contest.

Caboclo has been more effective on the international stage, winning a German League (BBL) title in 2023 with Ratiopharm Ulm and earning All-EuroCup Second Team honors that season before spending the 2023/24 campaign with Partizan Belgrade in the EuroLeague. He also represented Brazil in this year’s Olympics, leading the national team with 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game across four outings.

Hapoel Tel Aviv, which is aiming to earn a promotion to the EuroLeague by winning a EuroCup title in 2024/25, also added NBA veterans Patrick Beverley and Ish Wainright earlier this summer.

And-Ones: Anthony, Toupane, 2024 Offseason Moves

August 29th, 2024 at 1:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony would like to become part of a team’s ownership group, he said on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast (YouTube link). However, he’s not quite sure how to go about becoming a minority stakeholder.

“I’m out there trying to raise money now, trying to raise money with my sports fund … it’s hard to raise money,” said Anthony, who earned $250MM+ in NBA contracts over his career. “… It’s hard to raise money. … And getting people to understand what sports is. It’s so much money being spent into sports, and people really don’t understand it. People really don’t understand sports.

“(The NBA) is a small piece of sports globally. A small piece in the grand scheme of things. This is one market. … That’s North America, they control basketball, but it’s like, they going global with it.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

French guard/forward Axel Toupane, who won a championship with Milwaukee in 2021, is signing with the Diablo Rojos for the Mexican LNBP season, a source tells Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Toupane appeared in 33 regular season games with three different teams over the course of his three NBA seasons. The 32-year-old has had a long international career, playing for teams in France, Lithuania, Greece and Spain since 2011. He played for Metropolitans 92 last season in France’s top basketball league (LNB Elite).
Dan Favale of Bleacher Report lists the biggest 2024 offseason win and loss for each of the NBA’s 30 teams. For the defending champion Celtics, Favale views Derrick White signing a long-term extension as their biggest win, while their biggest loss was losing top assistant coach Charles Lee, who is now head coach of the Hornets. At the other end last season’s standings, Favale liked the contract the Pistons handed out to Simone Fontecchio (two years, $16MM), but was not a fan of the trade that shipped Quentin Grimes to Dallas for Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks.
In case you missed it, Real Madrid and Guerschon Yabusele have reached an official agreement to end his contract, clearing the way for the French forward to finalize his reported deal with the Sixers.