International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: 2022 Free Agents, M. Richardson, Capitanes

November 23rd, 2021 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

In his early look at 2022’s top free agents, John Hollinger of The Athletic ranks Bulls guard Zach LaVine as the No. 1 player in next year’s class, ahead of stars like Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Nets guard James Harden. As Hollinger explains, LaVine will be just 27 years old when he reaches free agency, which means his next contract is a good bet to cover his prime years. Beal will be 29 and Harden will be entering his age-33 season, so the final seasons of long-term deals would be a little riskier in those cases — especially for Harden.

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

Former NBA first-round pick Malachi Richardson is continuing his professional career in Poland, having signed with King Wilki Morskie Szczecin, according to the team. The 22nd overall pick in the 2016 draft, Richardson hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2018/19 season and most recently suited up in Italy.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Mexico City Capitanes’ first season in the NBA G League has them based out of an apartment complex in Fort Worth, Texas without a home arena. Scott Cacciola of The New York Times takes a closer look at an unusual start for the G League’s first Mexican franchise, which won’t actually play in Mexico in 2021/22.
With the Lakers and Knicks set to face one another in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, Sopan Deb of The New York Times explores why Sportico and Forbes have given both teams valuations north of $5 billion and why the value of a big-market franchise like the Lakers or Knicks isn’t really dependent on whether or not they’re winning.

Terrance Ferguson Expected To Play In Greece

November 22nd, 2021 at 12:43pm CST by Rory Maher

NOVEMBER 22: Ferguson is no longer expected to finalize his deal with AEK Athens, according to Christos Tsaltas of Greek outlet SDNA. Instead, Ferguson is on track to join Lavrio BC, another club in Greece.

NOVEMBER 19: Former NBA wing Terrance Ferguson is expected to join Greek team AEK Athens, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

Basketball writer/insider Luca D’Alessandro tweets that the team has been waiting for a “ban” to be lifted to make the signing official. Essentially, AEK Athens can’t officially finalize deals with new players until they’ve settled all debts with previous players, as Antigoni Zachari of EuroHoops detailed last month.

Ferguson, who is still just 23 years old, was selected by the Thunder with the 21st overall pick in the 2017 draft and played his first three seasons with the club, from 2017-20. During that time he started 124 out of 191 games and held averages of 4.5 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 20.7 MPG with a .406/.337/.753 shooting line. He spent last season with the Sixers, but couldn’t crack the team’s rotation and only appeared in 13 games for a total of 47 minutes.

Ferguson is an electric athlete and decent defender, but evidently was unable to develop his offensive skills enough to stick in the NBA after his rookie contract expired.

He showed flashes of potential with the Thunder, but was traded to the Sixers in the deal that sent Danny Green to the Sixers in exchange for Al Horford. He was later traded to the Knicks last March in a complicated move that brought George Hill to Philadelphia and involved several second-round picks, but was subsequently waived by the Knicks.

Spanish Team Interested In Bismack Biyombo

November 14th, 2021 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Hornets center Bismack Biyombo is attracting interest from Baskonia in Spain, according to a report from Noticias de Alava (hat tip to EuroHoops).

Biyombo was a part-time starter for Charlotte last season, averaging 5.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 66 games. He was a free agent over the summer and wasn’t able to reach a deal with a new team after the Hornets renounced his rights in August.

The 29-year-old was the seventh player selected in the 2011 draft and spent his first four NBA seasons in Charlotte. He played a year with the Raptors and two with the Magic before the Hornets brought him back in a 2018 trade. He appeared in 702 total games over the past 10 years with career averages of 5.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per night.

Baskonia is looking to shake up its roster after four straight losses, the EuroHoops report notes. Biyombo played in the Spanish League before coming to the NBA.

And-Ones: Rudez, Trade Candidates, Singh, Canales

November 11th, 2021 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA forward Damjan Rudez has announced his retirement, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files relays (via Twitter). Rudez confirmed his decision on his own Twitter account, posting a message thanking everyone who was “a part of this long and beautiful journey with me.”

A 6’10” Crotian, Rudez spent most of his professional career in Europe. Besides playing in his home country, he also had stints in Belgium, Slovenia, Spain, Monaco, and The Netherlands. He did briefly play in the NBA from 2014-17, appearing in a total of 146 games for the Pacers, Timberwolves, and Magic.

Rudez’ NBA career got off to a promising start in Indiana, where he made 40.6% of his three-point attempts in 68 games (15.4 MPG) as a 28-year-old rookie. However, he was traded to Minnesota in exchange for Chase Budinger following his rookie year and his production fell off after that.

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

Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype identifies some players around the NBA who aren’t getting regular minutes and could become trade candidates this season. Some, including Raptors guard Goran Dragic and Kings big man Marvin Bagley III, are probably already on the trade block, while others, such as Magic center Robin Lopez and Pistons wing Hamidou Diallo, are more speculative.
Indian prospect Principal Singh is finalizing a three-year contract with the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s National Basketball League, tweets Marc Stein. Singh spent last season with the G League Ignite, but logged just 25 minutes in four games with the developmental club.
Veteran NBA assistant coach Kaleb Canales will be the associate head coach for Mexico’s national team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Canales, who became the NBA’s first Mexican-American head coach in 2012, last worked for the Pacers under Nate Bjorkgren.
Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) have updated their 2022 NBA mock draft and provided early impressions on a handful of prospects, including Duke guard Trevor Keels, who enjoyed an impressive college debut on Tuesday.

Sindarius Thornwell Signs With German Team

November 11th, 2021 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran free agent guard Sindarius Thornwell will resume his career overseas, having signed with Ratiopharm Ulm, the German team announced today in a press release. Thornwell is an injury replacement for Christoph Philipps, who hurt his shoulder.

A second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Thornwell has appeared in 160 total regular season games since entering the NBA, spending time with the Clippers, Pelicans, and Magic from 2017-21. He played in 21 games last season for New Orleans and Orlando.

Thornwell is considered a strong perimeter defender, but his offensive output in the NBA has been modest. The 6’4″ guard, who turns 27 next Monday, averaged 2.5 PPG on 40.7% shooting in his 160 NBA contests (10.8 MPG).

Thornwell finished last season on a two-way deal with the Magic, but had been a free agent since then. In Germany, he’ll join a Ratiopharm Ulm roster that includes a handful of other former NBA players, including Cristiano Felicio, Jaron Blossomgame, and Semaj Christon. The club competes in both Germany’s top league and the EuroCup.

And-Ones: M. Gasol, I. Thomas, 2022 Draft, Sharpe

November 9th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After reuniting with Pau Gasol last season, FC Barcelona is attempting to recruit his brother Marc Gasol, team manager Juan Carlos Navarro confirmed this week (link via Mundo Deportivo; hat tip to Sportando).

Navarro classified the team’s discussions with Gasol as “conversations” rather than “negotiations,” but suggested that the Spanish center hasn’t ruled out the possibility. Gasol, who was traded from the Lakers to the Grizzlies and then was waived during the offseason, decided to return home to Spain rather than continue his career in the NBA. It remains to be seen if he’ll play on either side of the Atlantic in 2021/22.

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

In a documentary-style YouTube video called ‘For The Love of The Game,’ free agent guard Isaiah Thomas says he nearly signed with an NBA team during the summer. “This offseason I worked out for three teams and got very positive feedback from every organization,” Thomas said, per Marcus Kwesi O’Mard of NESN.com. “There was one team that I was basically very close to signing (with), then it didn’t happen.” The 32-year-old is attempting to make an NBA comeback after spending just 10 days on a roster last season.
In the first draft of his big board for the 2022 NBA draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic contends that Duke forward Paolo Banchero and Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren are in their own tier at the top of the ’22 class. According to Vecenie, there are a lot of question marks beyond the top two at this point.
Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 1 prospect in ESPN’s ranking of the 2022 recruiting class, announced on Tuesday (via Twitter) that he’ll be enrolling at Kentucky in January. Sharpe won’t be eligible for the 2022 draft because he didn’t graduate high school before the NBA’s 2021/22 season began, notes ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Booster Shots, Plumlee, Saunders, Ramasar

November 8th, 2021 at 6:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA and the Players Association are recommending booster shots for players and personnel who received their Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 shots more than six months ago, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago should also get a booster shot, per the NBA and NBPA. The league is recommending that those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine get either a Moderna or Pfizer booster.

We have more from the basketball world:

Former NBA big man Miles Plumlee is close to signing with Guang Zhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports. Plumlee has previously played in the CBA. He appeared in 19 games with Atlanta during the 2018/19 season, his most recent NBA stint.
Former Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders has found a new gig. He’ll be joining the University of Northwestern-St Paul faculty as an adjunct professor in the spring to teach a class on Sports Leadership, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links). However, Saunders intends to return to coaching soon. He had several chances to get back into the league but chose to take this season off for family reasons, per Krawczynski.
NBA agent Todd Ramasar believes the next Collective Bargaining Agreement will impose penalties on players who try to force trades shortly after signing long-term deals, as he told Ian Begley of SNY TV. “I do think there will be. Without getting into specifics, (I think it will be) similar to how the NBA probably adjusted fines for owners as it relates to tampering,” Ramasar said in an in-depth interview.

And-Ones: Foul Calls, New Ball, Mudiay, Acy

November 3rd, 2021 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is pleased with the way its referees have handled the crackdown on foul calls on non-basketball moves so far this season, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s VP of referee development and training, said that the refs are still focused on allowing offensive players to have freedom of movement and will continue to seek the right balance of foul calls as the season progresses.

“There’ve been a few instances, nothing that’s raised to a significant level, where we would still want a defensive foul where it’s getting lumped into a non-basketball move,” McCutchen said, per Bontemps. “We’re in the middle of that adjustment period with the staff. We have staff calls at a higher cadence than we would when we’re not implementing something as significant as this, and we’re showing them examples so that we can adjust in real-time to meet the demands of the league.”

As Shams Charania of The Athletic relays (via Twitter), the NBA’s competition committee has also discussed the increase in “take” fouls on transition plays and has encouraged the league to office to consider tweaking the rules for those fouls. However, that’s unlikely to happen in the middle of the season, so it may have to wait until 2022/23.

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

The NBA is using a new basketball this season, having switched from Spalding to Wilson. Clippers star Paul George said on Monday night that the Wilson ball doesn’t have the “touch and softness” of the Spalding one (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times) and NBPA president CJ McCollum said he’ll discuss the ball this week with players to get their input (Twitter link via Chris Mannix of SI.com). For what it’s worth, president of league operations Byron Spruell said on Tuesday that the NBA hasn’t gotten much feedback on the new ball (link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN), and Seth Partnow of The Athletic is skeptical it’s the reason for the early-season dip in offensive efficiency.
Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas has parted ways with former NBA lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link). Sources tell Urbonas that Mudiay will likely continue playing in Europe — he’ll be eligible to sign with a new EuroLeague team next month.
Former NBA big man Quincy Acy has signed with Olympiacos, the Greek team announced in a press release. Acy, who appeared in 337 NBA games from 2012-19 and has since played in China and Israel, agreed to a deal that runs through 2022/23.

And-Ones: M. Gasol, Leunen, B. Ferry, Overtime Elite

October 28th, 2021 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

After big man Ekpe Udoh suffered a serious knee injury last month, Virtus Bologna head coach Sergio Scariolo reached out to Marc Gasol to gauge his interest in joining the Italian club, Scariolo confirmed this week on Italian Twitch channel Area 52 (video link). As Marc Stein of Substack relays (via Twitter), Scariolo said Gasol turned him down in an “elegant way.”

Scariolo coached Gasol on the Spanish national team and as an assistant in Toronto, so he has an existing relationship with the veteran center. However, Gasol – who was traded to Memphis and then waived in September – appears content to spend time with his family in Spain rather than joining another NBA or EuroLeague team anytime soon. There were rumors last month that Gasol would be playing for Girona, the Spanish club he owns, but that hasn’t come to fruition yet.

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

Former Oregon forward Maarty Leunen, who spent the last 13 seasons playing overseas in various European leagues, has announced his retirement, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Leunen was the 54th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft and has had his rights traded four times since then – most recently to the Pacers in 2019 – but never signed an NBA contract.
Former Washington Bullets general manager Bob Ferry, who ran the front office from 1973 to 1990, died at age 84 on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The father of Danny Ferry, Bob Ferry won two Executive of the Year awards and helped Washington win the only title in franchise history in 1978.
Jeremy Woo of SI.com shares his impressions of the Overtime Elite’s Pro Day, including his thoughts on the program’s three most notable 2022 draft-eligible players: guard Jean Montero, wing Kok Yat, and forward Dominick Barlow.

Dwayne Bacon Signs With AS Monaco

October 27th, 2021 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran shooting guard Dwayne Bacon will continue his playing career outside of the NBA, having signed with AS Monaco Basket, the team announced today in a press release.

Bacon, 26, was selected with the 40th overall pick in the 2017 draft and spent his first three seasons in Charlotte before joining the Magic for the 2020/21 season. He appeared in all 72 of Orlando’s games last season, establishing new career highs in PPG (10.9), RPG (3.1), and MPG (25.7), though he still struggled to score efficiently, making just 40.2% of his field goal attempts, including 28.5% from beyond the arc.

In four total NBA seasons, Bacon has averaged 7.3 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 207 games (19.4 MPG). He joined the Knicks for training camp this offseason, but was beaten out by Wayne Selden for the 15th spot on the team’s regular season roster and was waived at the end of the preseason.

Bacon will join former NBAers Mike James, Donatas Motiejunas, and Donta Hall on AS Monaco’s roster. The team, which competes in France’s top basketball league, won the EuroCup title in 2020/21 and is playing in the EuroLeague for the first time in ’21/22.