International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jordan McRae To Sign With Beijing Ducks

December 27th, 2020 at 4:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

4:02pm: McRae’s deal with Beijing will be worth $1.5MM for 25 games, sources tell Quinton Mayo of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter links). According to Mayo, McRae is set to depart today, pending the OK from the Chinese government.

2:21pm: Former NBA guard Jordan McRae is set to join the Beijing Ducks of the CBA, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link). The Ducks have enjoyed great success added a lot of ex-NBA point guards in the recent past, including Jeremy Lin and Stephon Marbury.

The 6’5″ combo guard out of Tennessee spent parts of last season with the Pistons, Wizards and Nuggets. He also logged time with the Suns and Cavaliers across four NBA seasons. McRae holds career averages of 6.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.4 APG, in 13.8 MPG, across 123 games.

While with the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, he notched a single-game scoring record of 54 points against the Celtics’ G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, in January 2019.

This will not be McRae’s first tour of duty overseas, as he took an intermission from the NBA to serve with Saski Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB.

Turkish Team Interested In Frank Kaminsky

December 20th, 2020 at 11:54am CST by Arthur Hill

Now that Frank Kaminsky has been officially waived by the Kings, he may be headed to Turkey. Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays a report from Turkish reporter Ugur Ozan Sulak that Fenerbahce will attempt to sign Kaminsky.

Fenerbahce is coached by Igor Kokoskov, who is familiar with Kaminsky from his time in the NBA, though Kokoskov had been let go by the Suns by the time Kaminsky joined the team. Skerletic adds that Fenerbahce negotiated with Kaminsky the last time he was a free agent.

The 27-year-old big man played for the Suns last season, averaging 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 39 games. He signed a non-guaranteed deal with Sacramento last month.

Derrick Walton Signs With French Club

December 19th, 2020 at 1:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA guard Derrick Walton has signed with France’s ASVEL for the remainder of the EuroLeague season, according to a team press release.

Walton was waived by the Sixers earlier this week after signing a one-year, minimum-salary training camp deal last month.

Walton, 25, made his NBA debut with the Heat back in 2017/18. He spent most of the ’19/20 season with the Clippers, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.0 APG in limited minutes (9.7 MPG) over 23 games.

L.A. sent Walton to Atlanta at February’s deadline in a salary-dump trade and the Hawks subsequently released him. He caught on with the Pistons for a 10-day deal in February, but didn’t finish the season on an NBA roster.

Marko Guduric Returns To Fenerbahce

December 18th, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

After being waived by the Grizzlies earlier this week, veteran swingman Marko Guduric wasted no time in rejoining his previous team in Turkey. Fenerbahce announced in a press release that it has formally reached an agreement with Guduric on a new three-year deal.

Guduric, 25, signed a two-year, $5.4MM contract with Memphis a year ago and appeared in 44 games with the team last season. However, the 6’6″ Serbian averaged just 3.9 PPG on .395/.301/.923 shooting in 11.0 minutes per contest, falling out of the rotation by December.

While the second year of his contract was guaranteed, Guduric was one of the odd men out for the Grizzlies, who had been carrying 17 players with guaranteed salaries after completing their offseason moves. He and Mario Hezonja were cut as the team pared its roster down to 15 guaranteed players for the regular season.

Guduric previously played for Fenerbahce from 2017-19, winning a Turkish League championship in ’18 and taking home the Turkish Cup in ’19. The team also appeared in the EuroLeague Final Four in each of those two years.

And-Ones: Lin, G League, Jenkins, Rookie Extensions

December 15th, 2020 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Jeremy Lin will indeed be a late addition to the G League Ignite’s roster for the squad’s scrimmages on Tuesday and Thursday this week, says Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). As Givony explains, Lin lives near Walnut Creek and has been practicing recently with the NBAGL’s Select Team. The veteran point guard will be able to stick with the Ignite in a practice player capacity for as long as he chooses, Givony adds.

The Ignite’s two scrimmages this week against a squad of G League veterans won’t be streamed publicly, but NBA teams will receive access to the film, according to Givony, who lists the rosters for each club (Twitter link). The Ignite are headlined by prospects like Jalen Green, Daishen Nix, and Jonathan Kuminga, while the team of G League vets includes Isaiah Briscoe, London Perrantes, and Bryce Alford, among others.

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

Brian Shaw, the head coach of the G League Ignite, spoke to Mark Whicker of The Orange County Register about the team, suggesting that Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga “can step into the NBA right now.”
Former NBA first-round pick John Jenkins has officially joined Bilbao Basket in Spain for the next two months, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Jenkins, 29, has appeared in 171 total regular season games for five NBA teams, having suited up most recently in 2018/19 for the Wizards and Knicks.
Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes a closer look at the players who remain eligible to sign rookie scale extensions before next Monday’s deadline, identifying John Collins, OG Anunoby, Lonzo Ball, Derrick White, and Jonathan Isaac as some of the most interesting cases to watch.

And-Ones: Fans In Arenas, W. Chandler, 2021 Draft, More

December 11th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

For the time being, only five teams – the Jazz, Pelicans, Magic, Rockets, and Grizzlies – are continuing with their plans to have some fans in arenas when the regular season begins, sources tell David Aldridge of The Athletic.

The Mavericks and Heat each confirmed today that they won’t have fans for their preseason games, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami also won’t host fans for its Christmas Day game, as Chiang notes.

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

The NBA intends to administer a daily point-of-care, rapid coronavirus testing system for the 2020/21 season, according to Shams Charania and Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter links). Those tests would return results within 30 minutes in teams’ home markets and within 90 minutes on the road. In the event of invalid results, the player would undergo another rapid test at least 30 minutes after the first one and could participate in team activities while awaiting the result, sources tell The Athletic.
Veteran forward Wilson Chandler is expected to leave Zhejiang Guangsha, his team in China, a source tells Sportando. Chandler, who finished the 2019/20 season with Brooklyn, signed to play in the Chinese Basketball Association in the fall. It’s unclear whether or not his reported exit is related to an NBA opportunity.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have published their first list of the top 100 prospects for the 2021 NBA draft. Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham leads the way, followed by USC’s Evan Mobley and Jalen Green of the G League Ignite.
Speaking of Green and the Ignite, they’re scheduled to scrimmage on December 15 and 17 against a group of veteran G Leaguers, according to Givony (all Twitter links). It’s unclear whether or not those games will be streamed, but NBA teams will get access to the film, according to Givony, who says Isaiah Briscoe, Tariq Owens, and Bryce Alford will be among the vets scrimmaging against the Ignite.

And-Ones: Jersey Ads, Magette, Sixers, Thunder, Rookies

December 10th, 2020 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s jersey advertisement patch program, which was launched in 2017 and became permanent in 2019, will be more important than ever as a revenue stream for teams at a time when most of the league’s clubs aren’t selling tickets to games, writes Bill Shea of The Athletic. A number of teams that originally agreed to three-year deals with sponsors in ’17 are either re-upping those contracts or reaching deals with new sponsors in 2020.

“What’s held up the best (in the pandemic) are assets where the value is heavily driven by broadcast and digital media,” said Matt Wolf, a senior VP in the NBA’s team marketing and business operations department. “Things like the jersey patches have held up really well.”

Finding steady sources of revenue to rely on will be a greater challenge than usual in 2020/21, prompting the NBA to give its teams a stimulus of $30MM apiece in order to protect against liquidity issues, according to John Lombardo of Sports Business Journal (hat tip to ESPN). That $900MM was raised from notes issued by the NBA in the private placement market, according to the Sports Business Journal report, which indicates that those notes will eventually be paid back with interest.

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

Former NBA guard Josh Magette has signed with Turkish club Darussafaka, the team announced in a press release. Magette, who appeared in 26 games for Atlanta and Orlando between 2017 and 2020, was waived by the Magic in January.
Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) provides some additional details on the Al Horford/Danny Green trade, reporting that the $2MM sent from the Sixers to the Thunder in the deal will actually convey in 2027, and only if Philadelphia’s first-round pick has been protected in 2025, 2026, and 2027. That money still counts toward the 76ers’ traded cash limit for this season, however.
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Mike Schmitz identifies the six 2020 rookies he believes have the best chance of cracking ESPN’s list of top 100 players a year from now. Schmitz’s picks include top-five draftees Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Isaac Okoro, along with later lottery picks Obi Toppin, Deni Avdija, and Tyrese Haliburton.

And-Ones: Coaching Attire, G League, Selden, Luxury Tax

December 8th, 2020 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NBA coaches were permitted to wear casual attire during the restart. They’ll be allowed to wear polo shirts once again during the upcoming season but they’ll also have to mask up, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). NBA coaches have traditionally worn suits but they’ll no longer be required to don sports jackets. However, track pants will not be allowed.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The Wizards are in discussions with the Pelicans to combine their G League teams — the Capital City Go-Go and Erie Bayhawks — at the proposed Atlanta bubble, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. That would allow the NBA teams to split the costs of the proposed condensed season. The entry fee per team is anticipated to be in the neighborhood of $500K.
Former NBA guard Wayne Selden has signed with Israel’s Ironi Ness Ziona, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia relays. Seiden played a combined 75 games with the Grizzlies and Bulls during the 2018/19 season. He saw action in 11 G League games last season after a stint in China.
The Warriors have a projected luxury tax penalty of $147MM based on their current 2020/21 salary obligations, according to the numbers crunched by Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The Nets ($59MM) and Sixers ($24MM) are the only other teams with tax bills above $9MM. However, those projected penalties will get reduced based on revenue loss this season and roster cuts by opening night, Marks adds.
Despite a long list of COVID-19 protocols, the NBA will face plenty of challenges during the upcoming season without the protection afforded by the Orlando campus, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. No matter how many precautions the league institutes, it will need plenty of luck to pull this season off.

And-Ones: Ferrell, G League, DeRozan, Brown, NBRA

December 7th, 2020 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent guard Yogi Ferrell is still seeking NBA opportunities, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. His agent, Cervando Tejada, denied a report that he was negotiating with FC Barcelona in the EuroLeague. “Ferrell is in (the) U.S. working out and waiting for another NBA opportunity and no talks have happened with Barcelona as of now,” Tejeda told. Ferrell played for the Kings the past two seasons and appeared in 50 regular-season games as a reserve last season, averaging 4.4 PPG in 10.6 MPG.

We have more from around the basketball world:

NBA teams are offering fewer Exhibit 10 contracts to players on their training camp rosters, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. There were 51 players on Exhibit 10 contracts as of Saturday, down from 128 two seasons ago. Players receive a $50K bonus if he spends 60 days with the G League affiliate of the team that signed him. But with the uncertainty regarding the G League’s season, such contracts have become less valuable, Marks adds.
Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan chased an intruder out of his house last month, according to a TMZ report. DeRozan confronted the man, who had made his way upstairs into a play area where at least one of DeMar’s kids was located. The intruder was arrested after attempting to get back into DeRozan’s gated community.
Warriors associate coach Mike Brown has aspirations of turning the Nigeria national basketball team into a powerhouse, Colin Udoh of ESPN writes. Brown has become Nigeria’s head coach and he believes there’s enough talent to earn a medal at next year’s Tokyo Olympics. “Our goal is to finish on the podium,” he said. “We want to show the world that we can compete with the best of them. And I think, with the talent that we have, it’s a realistic goal for us.”
The National Basketball Referees Association has ratified a Letter of Agreement which modifies its collective bargaining agreement with the NBA for the 2020/21 season, the NBRA tweets. The modifications address COVID-19 issues and provide for the officials’ waiver of certain work rules in order to implement those health and safety protocols.

Vic Law Signs With Brisbane Bullets

December 4th, 2020 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

Former Magic two-way player Vic Law will play in Australia during the 2020/21 season. The Brisbane Bullets have put out a press release announcing that they’ve signed the 6’7″ forward.

Law, who will turn 25 later this month, went undrafted out of Northwestern in 2019, then signed a training camp contract with the Magic a few weeks later. Although he was waived before the regular season began, he returned to Orlando on a two-way deal in January and finished the season with the team.

Law only played 62 total minutes in eight NBA games as a rookie in 2019/20, but had a big year for the Lakeland Magic in the G League. He averaged 19.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.7 APG on .497/.403/.894 shooting in 33 games (34.9 MPG), earning a spot on the All-NBAGL Third Team.

The Magic had already signed Jordan Bone and undrafted rookie Karim Mane to fill their two-way contract slots for 2020/21, so there was no room to bring back Law on a second two-way deal.