Giorgos Printezis Rumors

And-Ones: D-League, Printezis, Taylor

November 12th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

NBA D-League president Malcolm Turner says the NBA is moving closer to a 30-for-30 model that would provide each NBA team with its own D-League affiliate, and Turner believes that it is a goal that could be realized within the next five years, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “All those NBA teams who currently don’t have a D-League team, we’re in active conversations with all of them,” Turner said. “Each team is at varying stages in terms of interest, and we’re trying to prioritize actionable interest and opportunities we can act on now. We’re already working on the pipeline of opportunities for 2017/18 and beyond. One of the reasons we’re focused on them so far in advance is 30-for-30 is our No. 1 initiative and we feel like we’re now within striking distance of achieving that goal.”

Turner also acknowledged that increasing player salaries in the D-League to be more competitive with overseas clubs is an important part of allowing the league to grow, Zillgitt adds. “As we grow, we obviously have additional player rosters to fill,” Turner continued. “We want to make sure we’re adding more and better talent to the league rather than less. We are taking a look at any and all opportunities to enhance our value proposition for talent. We’re in the market for top talent to fill our rosters and assessing our overall business accordingly. We have a bright future, and we’re working very hard to realize those opportunities.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Wolves owner Glen Taylor is engaged in serious talks to sell approximately 20% ownership of the franchise to a group led by Grizzlies minority partner Steve Kaplan, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The group’s motivation for purchasing a minority share is that it hopes to position itself to buy the majority stake if Taylor decides to sell the franchise in the future, Wojnarowski adds.
Greek power forward Giorgos Printezis, whose draft rights went from the Hawks to San Antonio in July as part of the Tiago Splitter trade, is on the Spurs‘ radar, though at 30 years old he is running out of time if he wishes to make the jump stateside, Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net writes. “It was good to meet with Giorgos. We traded for his rights last summer and this was the first time I got to spend some time with him. I have never met him before,” said Spurs GM R.C.Buford, who recently scouted the player in Athens. Printezis’ contract with Olympiacos runs through the summer of 2017, according to Barkas. As for the chances of seeing the forward in San Antonio at that point, Buford told Barkas, “I think that a part of this decision belongs to him. For sure we will be following him and if our needs fit his needs, then we will see what happens.”
The Bucks, who are currently without their own affiliate, are willing to invest in a D-League team, and the franchise will meet later this month to discuss the possibilities, Zillgitt tweets.

Hawks Acquire Thabo Sefolosha

July 16th, 2014 at 7:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 16TH, 7:48pm: Sefolosha’s deal has a declining salary structure, with $4,150,000 in 2014/15, $4,000,000 in 2015/16, and $3,850,000 in 2016/17, according to the Hawks updated salary sheet by Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. That $4.15MM salary in year one is the value of the trade exception the Thunder create with this deal.

6:36pm: The Hawks announced that the deal is official, per team press release.

“Thabo is an unselfish, competitive and playoff-tested player, and does many things well on both sides of the ball,” Hawks president Danny Ferry said in a statement. “He also fills a need, giving us more size and depth at the wing position. He’s been a part of winning programs and will fit our culture well.”

4:40pm: The Thunder will receive the rights to draft-and-stash prospect Sofoklis Schortsanitis, while Atlanta gets Sefolosha, the rights to fellow draft-and-stash prospect Giorgos Printezis, and cash, according to Mayberry (Twitter link).

JULY 15TH, 4:32pm: The Hawks and Thunder are working on a sign-and-trade that would send Sefolosha to Atlanta but allow the Thunder to reap a trade exception, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. It’s expected to be finalized today, Mayberry adds.

JULY 10TH, 10:12pm: In spite of the team press release, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears that Sefolosha’s signing has yet to take place (Twitter link). Such news is out of the ordinary, given the team’s announcement, and Vivlamore notes the agreement is still in place, so the deal is likely to happen sometime soon.

6:10pm: The deal is official, the Hawks announce via press release.

“Thabo is an unselfish, competitive and playoff-tested player, and does many things well on both sides of the ball,” Hawks President and GM Danny Ferry said. “He also fills a need, giving us more size and depth at the wing position. He’s been a part of winning programs and will fit our culture well.”

JULY 3RD: The Hawks and Thabo Sefolosha have reached agreement on a three-year, $12MM deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. There were serious doubts about the Thunder’s willingness to retain their starting shooting guard since their playoff elimination, and indeed the 30-year-old is headed elsewhere. It’s a fully guaranteed three-year deal with no option clauses involved, Charania adds.

The Clippers, Mavs and Rockets scheduled meetings with the Guy Zucker client, who also visited Washington, according to earlier reports, and Toronto, as Charania writes. The Heat apparently made an inquiry, but there was no report of contact from either the Thunder or the Hawks. Atlanta nonetheless was on the lookout for a wing player with size and wasn’t pleased with the way it played when either Kyle Korver or DeMarre Carroll were unavailable last season, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. It appears as though the Hawks have brought Sefolosha in to address those issues.

Atlanta will likely use cap space to finalize the deal, having opened up additional flexibility with this week’s John Salmons trade. It’s doubtful they’ll stop there, however. The Hawks had reportedly thought about making a run at Carmelo Anthony, and while that seems like a remote possibility, they can still open enough cap room for an eye-catching free agent acquisition, even with Sefolosha in tow.

Atlantic Rumors: Sixers, Humphries, Landry, Knicks

May 28th, 2012 at 6:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics make their third appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in the last five years when they open up against the Heat tonight. Here's the latest from other teams in the division hoping to build toward that kind of consistent success.

If the Sixers decide to use the amnesty clause to wipe the $18.16MM due Elton Brand next year off their cap, Nets power forward Kris Humphries will be their No. 1 target to replace him via free agency, writes John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Carl Landry is also the kind of power forward the Sixers like, Mitchell says.
Mitchell, in the same piece, says he doesn't put too much stock in Lou Williams' comments suggesting he'll be back with the Sixers, and hears that the 25-year-old combo guard will seek "a nice, long-term deal" after turning down his $5.35MM option for next season.
Giorgos Printezis, a 6'9" forward who hit the game-winning shot for Olympiacos of Greece in the Euroleague championship earlier this month, told Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops he would entertain offers this summer from the Knicks, who hold his NBA rights (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld believes the Knicks, who officially removed the interim tag from coach Mike Woodson's title Friday, were the only "real option" for luring Phil Jackson out of retirement (Twitter link).
Luke Adams looked at the summer ahead for the Sixers earlier today in the latest installment of our Offseason Outlook feature.