International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

International Notes: Petrusev, Madar, Giedraitis, Jokubaitis

August 16th, 2021 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

Turkish club Anadolu Efes, the reigning EuroLeague champion, is expected to sign 6’11” forward/center Filip Petrusev for the coming season, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

Petrusev was the 50th player selected in the 2021 draft, and while he spoke earlier this month of wanting to join his new NBA team – the Sixers – as soon as possible, the plan was always to stash him overseas for at least one more seasons.

The 21-year-old is coming off a big year (23.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG) for Mega Basket in the Adriatic League and will get an opportunity to face a higher level of competition in EuroLeague play in 2021/22.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

If the Celtics opt not to sign 2020 second-rounder Yam Madar for the 2021/22 season, the expectation is that he’ll play for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany, according to reports out of Israel (hat tip to Sportando). Madar remains a candidate to come stateside, but Boston already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts (plus Jabari Parker on a non-guaranteed deal) for ’21/22, so it may be another year before the Israeli guard signs his first NBA contract.
Lithuanian wing Rokas Giedraitis has turned down a one-year, minimum-salary offer from an NBA team and will remain with Baskonia in Spain, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. Giedraitis averaged 12.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.6 APG on .485/.405/.824 shooting in 33 EuroLeague games (28.7 MPG) last season. It’s unclear which NBA team attempted to sign him.
Marc Berman of The New York Post explores the roles that the Knicks‘ European scouts, Adam Tatalovich and Kevin Wilson, played in the team’s decision to draft Lithuanian guard Rokas Jokubaitis. As Berman notes, Wilson is based in Barcelona, so he’ll get an opportunity to continue scouting Jokubaitis in 2021/22 — the No. 34 pick is set to spend the season with FC Barcelona in Spain.

And-Ones: Mudiay, Vonleh, Griggs, Schedule

August 15th, 2021 at 9:46am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard Emmanuel Mudiay will likely sign with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania if he doesn’t receive an NBA offer before training camps open, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. Mudiay is currently playing for the Trail Blazers in the Las Vegas Summer League.

After five years in the NBA, the 25-year-old sat out all of last season. He received offers to play in the G League and in Europe, according to Urbonas, but turned them down in hopes of catching on with an NBA team.

Mudiay was taken by the Nuggets with the seventh pick in the 2015 draft and spent two and a half seasons in Denver before being traded to the Knicks. After a year and a half in New York, he signed with the Jazz as a free agent in 2019. Mudiay averaged 7.3 points and 2.1 assists per game as a backup during his lone season in Utah.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Free agent big man Noah Vonleh is getting interest from some NBA teams, but is considering offers in Europe and China as well, according to Sportando (Twitter link). The 25-year-old spent two weeks with the Nets in February and appeared in four games before being waived.
Highly-recruited high school guard Bryce Griggs has signed with Overtime Elite, the league announced in a press release. The 17-year-old out of Missouri City, Texas, will join the new league when it begins play next month. “Bryce Griggs is a player that has been recognized as one the nation’s most promising playmaking guards and we are thrilled to welcome him to the OTE family,” said Brandon Williams, OTE’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations. “Bryce has had one of the best coaches and mentors in John Lucas, and has been attracted to the combination of an NBA caliber coaching staff, sports science, performance and nutrition focuses that will play a crucial role in his development into an NBA player.”
The NBA will release its schedule for the 2021/22 season in the 7-10 days, tweets Marc Stein of Substack. Celtics writer Steve Bulpett hears that Friday is the target date (Twitter link).

Bruno Caboclo Signs With Brazilian Team

August 14th, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Dana Gauruder

Bruno Caboclo, who played for the Rockets last season, has signed with Sao Paulo in Brazil, according to the team, Hoops Rum0rs’ JD Shaw tweets.

The 6’9” Caboclo played in France with Limoges CSP at the end of last season.

He has appeared in 105 NBA games since he was drafted in the first round by the Raptors in 2014. He’s also played for Sacramento and Memphis.

Caboclo saw action in six games with Houston before he was waived in mid-January in order to clear a roster spot after the James Harden multi-team blockbuster. He also played eight games for Houston at the end of the 2019/20 season after being acquired from the Grizzlies at the trade deadline.

Suspended Jalen Harris Signs With Italian Team

August 14th, 2021 at 10:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

Jalen Harris, who has been suspended by the NBA for violating its anti-drug program, has signed a one-year deal with Italy’s Vanoli Cremona, the Italian team tweets (hat tip to Sportando).

The NBA dismissed and disqualified Harris on July 1 and he’ll have to wait a year to apply for reinstatement.

Harris played for the Raptors on a two-way contract last season after being selected with the 59th pick in the 2020 draft out of the University of Nevada. He averaged 7.4 PPG in 13 games and was a standout on the Raptors’ G League team in his seven games with the 905, averaging 17.6 PPG on 50% shooting from 3-point distance.

The day after the suspension was announced, the Raptors waived Harris, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Thus, Toronto no longer holds his rights and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent if and when he’s eventually approved for reinstatement.

And-Ones: Lawson, Tobey, Lin, Ainge, Alkins

August 11th, 2021 at 8:04am CST by Eli Cohen

Former Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson has signed with Kolossos Rhodes, a team in the Greek League, per a team press release. According to Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando, Lawson originally signed with the Greek club last January, but was unable to leave China to join the team due to travel complications.

Lawson, who is still only 33 years old, had several seasons of borderline All-Star level play for the Nuggets before off-court issues derailed him. The 5’11” point guard has averaged 26+ PPG and 8.7+ APG the last two seasons in China. This stint marks his first time in the European leagues since he played with BC Zalgiris during the 2011 NBA lockout.

We have more news from around the world of basketball:

Mike Tobey, who played in two games for the Hornets during the 2016/17 season, had a strong showing for the Slovenian Olympic team alongside Luka Doncic in Tokyo, averaging 13.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 2.5 APG while shooting 38% from three. But Marc Stein reports that Tobey has a significant buyout with his current team of Valencia in Spain, making a return to the NBA a complicated proposition, at least in the near future.
Former Knick – and NBA champion with the Raptors – Jeremy Lin tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing in Shanghai, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Lin said he is vaccinated, and is only experiencing minor symptoms.
Danny Ainge may not be with the Celtics anymore, but he calls his current status “taking a break,” rather than “retired,” according to an interview with A. Sherrod Blakely. “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to re-enter to the level I was at, for sure,” Ainge said. “I’m enjoying what I’m doing now. I’m in no rush.”
Rawle Alkins plans to sign with Ukraine’s Dnipro, according to our JD Shaw (Twitter link). The 23-year-old 6’5 guard from the University of Arizona played 10 games for the Bulls during the 2018/19 season.

Warriors RFA Nico Mannion Signs With Italian Team

August 10th, 2021 at 2:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:30pm: Mannion’s deal with Virtus Bologna covers two seasons, but has an NBA out clause after year one, tweets Carchia.

11:52pm: Warriors point guard Nico Mannion has agreed to a deal with Virtus Bologna in Italy, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. The agreement was confirmed by Mannion’s agent, Bill Duffy. The team also sent out a press release announcing the deal.

Mannion, who was born in Tuscany, signed a two-way contract with the Warriors last November after being selected with the 48th pick in the 2020 draft. He saw limited playing time as a rookie, appearing in 30 games and averaging 4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per night.

The 20-year-old was a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer from Golden State last month. If Mannion ever returns to the NBA, the Warriors will keep his RFA rights, which allow them to match any offer. Mannion’s QO was the equivalent of another two-way deal and would remain the same if he comes back to the NBA. However, Golden State – and other teams – would be permitted to offer him a more lucrative standard contract.

The Italian team’s interest in Mannion was first reported by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. According to Carchia, the initial target for Virtus Bologna was Chris Chiozza, who will sign a two-way contract with the Warriors.

Rockets First-Rounder Garuba Reaches Buyout Agreement With Real Madrid

August 10th, 2021 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

Spanish big man Usman Garuba has reached a buyout agreement with Real Madrid that will allow him to get out of his contract with the Spanish club and join the Rockets for the 2021/22 season, according to a report from Jose Luis Martinez of Marca.com (hat tip to Sportando).

As we relayed last month, Garuba’s NBA buyout clause with Real Madrid was said to be worth three million Euros and would have become even more expensive in future years.

An NBA team can contribute to a player’s buyout with his international club, but only up to $775K (approximately €655K). That meant that if Garuba wanted to make the leap to the NBA right away after being selected with the No. 23 pick in the 2021 draft, most of the buyout would have to come out of his own pocket.

According to Martinez, Garuba and Real Madrid – who had the big man under contract through at least 2024 – agreed to a deal that will allow him to pay off the rest of his buyout in installments.

Garuba, 19, has been a member of Real Madrid since 2017 and was a regular part of the team’s rotation in 2020/21. He was named the ACB Best Young Player and also received the EuroLeague Rising Star award, then missed the 2021 draft because he was representing Spain at the Tokyo Olympics.

Assuming Garuba plays out his full rookie scale contract with the Rockets, he’ll ultimately come out ahead despite having to send a sizable chunk of his salary back to Real Madrid. As our breakdown shows, he projects to earn about $11.8MM over the course of the four-year NBA deal.

Once they officially sign Garuba, the Rockets will have all four of their first-round picks under contract. Jalen Green (No. 2), Alperen Sengun (No. 16), and Josh Christopher (No. 24) have already signed.

Cristiano Felicio Signs With German Team

August 9th, 2021 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

Former Bulls forward/center Cristiano Felicio has signed a one-year contract with German club Ratiopharm Ulm, the team announced today in a press release.

Felicio, a Brazilian big man who went undrafted in 2014, initially signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Bulls in 2015, then re-upped on a four-year, $32MM deal in 2017.

That investment, which was questioned even at the time, didn’t produce positive returns for Chicago, as Felicio appeared in just 155 games across the last four years, averaging 4.2 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 14.1 minutes per contest off the team’s bench. He hasn’t played regular rotation minutes since the 2018/19 season.

Making the move to Germany will give Felicio an opportunity to once again see consistent playing time and to rebuild his value. However, it’s unclear whether he’ll make his way back to the NBA down the road or if he’ll continue playing in international leagues for the foreseeable future.

And-Ones: Smith, Biyombo, Spurs, Hall, Almansa, Trade Market

August 7th, 2021 at 10:45am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons officially renounced their rights to Wayne Ellington, who has signed with the Lakers, and Dennis Smith Jr., according to the RealGM transactions log. The Hornets renounced four players, including Bismack Biyombo, while the Spurs renounced their rights to a whopping 13 players. San Antonio’s list includes Donatas Motiejunas and David Lee, who haven’t appeared in an NBA game for years. Renouncing those rights allows teams to maximize their cap room in free agency.

We have more from the basketball world:

Donta Hall has signed with France’s Betclic Elite side AS Monaco, Sportando relays. Hall, who turns 24 on Saturday, played 13 games with the Magic this past season on two 10-day contracts and an end-of-the-season deal via the hardship exception. The power forward also played a total of nine games for the Pistons and Nets in 2019/20.
Overtime Elite has added another top European prospect. Izan Almansa has signed with the league, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. The 6’9” Almansa, a 16-year old Spanish power forward, is the second player OTE has signed from Real Madrid’s youth program and seventh international prospect.
While free agency is winding down, the trade market could continue to percolate in the coming weeks, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes. Ben Simmons and Damian Lillard top the list of stars who could be on the move, while the Raptors and Magic are teams to watch, with the latter possibly taking on an onerous contract in order to acquire future assets.
The ESPN duo of Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks also take a look at unresolved storylines this month involving free agency, the trade market and potential extensions.

Alen Smailagic Signing With Serbian Team

August 6th, 2021 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

After being released by the Warriors earlier this week, Alen Smailagic has wasted no time securing a new deal overseas.

Serbian club KK Partizan announced in a press release on Friday that Smailagic is signing a three-year contract with the team. It’ll be a homecoming for the young forward/center, as he was born and raised in Belgrade.

Smailagic, who turns 21 later this month, spent a season with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League in 2018/19 before Golden State drafted him with the 39th overall pick in 2019.

Although the Dubs were said to be high on the big man’s potential, Smailagic never really took any major steps forward at the NBA level, appearing in just 29 games (7.7 MPG) and averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.5 RPG across two seasons in Golden State. He was waived before his salary for 2021/22 became guaranteed.

Technically, Smailagic isn’t set to clear NBA waivers until later today, but KK Partizan’s announcement suggests no claim is expected.