Alex Sarr Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Team USA, Prospects, Load Management, Porter

September 15th, 2023 at 8:32pm CST by Rory Maher

It was reported earlier this week that LeBron James was recruiting stars for the 2024 Olympics, with several players planning on joining the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in Paris.

Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insider link) recently crafted a 12-man roster for Team USA next summer by following three criteria: An ideal team, not necessarily the best individuals; prior success with USA Basketball; and young players who can continue with the national team in the future.

Pelton’s starting five features Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, James, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, with Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Mikal Bridges, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo and Evan Mobley coming off the bench. Donovan Mitchell was “perhaps the single toughest cut” from Pelton’s ideal roster.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

John Hollinger of The Athletic attended the G League Fall Invitational between G League Ignite and the Perth Wildcats to scout prospects for the 2024 NBA draft and beyond. While next year’s class isn’t considered particularly strong, Hollinger writes that several players stood out at the event, including Ron Holland, Alexandre Sarr and Izan Almansa. Ignite forward Tyler Smith was another standout who may have moved up draft boards, according to Hollinger, who notes that Perth guard Ben Henshall will be closely monitored going forward as well, perhaps for 2025 or 2026.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has a difficult balancing act when it comes to star players resting, with fans, revenue, and player health among the key factors to consider. But the new player participation policy is a step in the right direction, contends Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Having more stars on the court should make for a more compelling regular season, and Silver said at his press conference he had been weighing the advice of retired players, Goodwill notes. “You know, a lot of older players — by that I mean now, at this point, retired players — when I first came in the league, used to believe that they were more likely to get injured if they took nights off, that they would get out of rhythm,” he said. “In some cases, maybe (they) played fewer minutes, but they played. That’s something we want to look at as well.”
Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested this week on felony charges of assault and strangulation, but he’s far from the first NBA player to be accused of domestic violence. If the horrific allegations are proven true, Porter’s career in the league could be over, considering his history of off-court incidents. Chris Herring of Sports Illustrated believes the NBA should have a zero-tolerance policy for violence against women, though he concedes it would be a challenging rule to implement and would likely take several years. According to Herring, since salaries are rising across the board, players should be held to “extremely high behavioral standards.”

And-Ones: Holland, 2024 Draft, Cook, Player Participation

September 14th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

G League Ignite’s Ron Holland has moved up to No. 1 on Jonathan Givony of ESPN’s latest 2024 mock draft (Twitter video link). In recent exhibition games against Australia’s Perth Wildcats, Holland put up 56 points in 60 minutes, Givony notes, with the young forward displaying a tantalizing mixture of aggression, intensity, confidence, defense and shot-making.

Givony says NBA team’s will be attracted to Holland because “he is a winner” who raises the level of his teammates.

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

Elsewhere on his NBA Today appearance (Twitter video link), Givony said French big man Alexandre Sarr, who plays for Perth as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program, was another big winner from the exhibition contests. Sarr is up to No. 5 on Givony’s latest mock. The full top 10, in order, features Holland, Isaiah Collier (USC), Matas Buzelis (Ignite), Justin Edwards (Kentucky), Sarr, UConn teammates Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, Izan Almansa (Ignite), Kyle Filipowski (Duke) and D.J. Wagner (Kentucky).
Former NBA forward Tyler Cook has signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, the NBL announced in a press release. Cook, who turns 26 next week, has played 65 games with Cleveland, Denver, Brooklyn, Detroit and Chicago over his three seasons in the league, most recently suiting up for the Bulls in 2021/22 while on a two-way deal. Cook spent last season in the G League with Utah’s affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.
The NBA’s Board of Governors recently unanimously approved the new “player participation policy.” However, representatives from multiple teams have some reservations about certain aspects of the rules, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. One key concern is that a team may determine a player is fit to play the second game of a back-to-back, but the player might disagree and say he’s sore and needs rest. As Marks writes, since the rules weren’t part of the CBA, the team would be fined in that scenario, not the player. The participation policy might also contradict a team’s use of sports science, Marks adds.

International Notes: Patton, Sarr, Zagars, Canada

September 13th, 2023 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA center Justin Patton has signed with the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

The 16th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Patton only ended up playing in 22 NBA games for the Timberwolves, Sixers, Thunder, and Rockets between 2017-21 before heading overseas. A series of foot injuries derailed the early part of his professional career, but the 26-year-old has been able to stay on the court more frequently in Israel and France over the past two seasons. This will be Patton’s first stint in China.

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

While he’s not as tantalizing a prospect as Victor Wembanyama, another French center – Alexandre Sarr – is certainly earning fans ahead of the 2024 NBA draft, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. The 18-year-old, playing for the Perth Wildcats, averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 6.0 blocks in the team’s two games vs. the G League Ignite last week. “Very intriguing prospect,” one NBA general manager said to Spears. “Top-five pick. In the conversation for the No. 1 pick.”
Turkish club Fenerbahce is believed to be nearing a deal with World Cup standout Arturs Zagars, according to Aris Barkas and Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. Zagars, whose strong play for Latvia during the World Cup reportedly attracted NBA interest, is expected to be loaned to BC Wolves to start the 2023/24 season if he finalizes an agreement with Fenerbahce, per Eurohoops.
Zagars’ showcase of his NBA potential is one of six takeaways Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wrote about in his World Cup round-up.
Veteran forward Melvin Ejim has never played in the NBA since going pro in 2014, but he has represented Canada in several international competitions, earning bronze medals at the 2015 AmeriCup and 2023 World Cup. As Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.net relays, Ejim spoke this week about what it means for the Canadian program to knock off the U.S. and to claim a spot in the 2024 Olympics. “Bronze is amazing, but we have the talent, the people, and the organization to go for gold,” he said. “In the Olympics, we can show that.”

And-Ones: Sarr, Sharavjamts, 2022 Re-Draft, Bradbury

May 9th, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

French big man Alex Sarr is joining the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League for the 2023/24 season as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

A promising young prospect who began his playing career with Real Madrid’s youth team in 2019, Sarr has spent the last two years with Overtime Elite. The 18-year-old – who currently projects as a top-20 pick in 2024, per Givony – told ESPN that he was seeking a “new challenge” before becoming draft-eligible next year.

“The OTE experience was great,” Sarr said. “I had all the resources in the world and improved a lot the past two years. I need to take the next step with my game now; the NBL is what I need.”

As Givony observes, the NBL’s Next Stars program has been a popular choice for top French prospects in recent years. Ousmane Dieng played for the New Zealand Breakers before being drafted 11th overall by Oklahoma City in 2022, while Rayan Rupert – a projected first-rounder in 2023 – spent this past season with the Breakers.

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

Dayton forward Mike Sharavjamts, who declared for the draft following his freshman year, is leaning toward turning pro but has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal so that he has an opportunity to explore his options if he decides to continue his college career, reports Givony (via Twitter). Sharavjamts is among the prospects attending this weekend’s G League Elite Camp, which should give him a better idea of where he stands in the 2023 draft class.
Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Jazz center Walker Kessler are among the biggest risers in a re-draft of the 2022 draft conducted by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Williams jumps from No. 12 to No. 2 in Vecenie’s exercise, while Kessler moves from No. 22 to No. 9. Vecenie remains high enough on Chet Holmgren to keep the Thunder big man at No. 3 despite his lost rookie season.
Veteran agent Kevin Bradbury, who represents players like Patrick Beverley and Robert Williams, has agreed to join LIFT Sports Management, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Bradbury will become the head of basketball for the agency, which was founded by Donnie McGrath and former NBA sharpshooter Mike Miller.

French Forward Sarr Joins Overtime Elite

July 1st, 2021 at 5:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Overtime Elite has signed its first European player, French forward Alexandre Sarr, according to a team press release.

The 16-year-old Sarr played for the Real Madrid franchise last season and is ranked No. 9 by Eurospects.com for international prospects born in 2005. His older brother, Olivier, played at Wake Forest and Kentucky.

The Overtime Elite league serves as an alternative pathway for players to turn pro.

“Alexandre is a skilled and versatile athlete, a natural shot blocker, and a rebounder on both ends of the floor,” said Kevin Ollie, Overtime Elite’s head coach. “We look forward to experiencing rapid development every day once we can work with Alexandre in the gym.”

The 6’10” Sarr is the eighth player to join the new league. Point guard Jean Montero from the Dominican Republic was the first international player to sign with the league. Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Matt Bewle, Ryan Bewley, Emmanuel Maldonado and Jai Smith have also made commitments.

Every player will earn a six-figure salary, with a guaranteed minimum salary of $100K, plus bonuses and shares of equity in Overtime.