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International Notes: Cole, Kuzminskas, Perrantes, Wiseman

November 11th, 2019 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA guard Norris Cole is continuing his career overseas, with AS Monaco announcing in a press release that it has signed the two-time NBA champion.

“I’m excited to be here in Monaco,” Cole said in a statement. “We discussed it with my family, my agent, we thought it was the best choice. I’m looking forward to seeing the new teammates, talking to the staff, and helping my team the best I can do.”

Cole, 31, played for the Heat from 2011-15 before spending time with the Pelicans and Thunder. He appeared in 360 regular season NBA games and another 68 playoff contests, but has played in international leagues since 2017, suiting up for teams in Israel, Italy, and Montenegro. His new club competes in France’s top league.

Let’s round up a few more international basketball notes…

  • After parting ways with Greek club Olympiacos, former NBA forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas has joined Russia’s Lokomotiv Kuban on a two-year deal, according to an announcement from the team. The 30-year-old Lithuanian appeared in 69 games for the Knicks from 2016-17 before heading back to Europe.
  • Turkish team Bahcesehir has signed 25-year-old point guard London Perrantes, the club announced today (via Twitter; hat tip to Sportando). Perrantes, who appeared in 14 NBA games with the Cavaliers during the 2017/18 season, was in camp with the Trail Blazers this fall before being waived last month.
  • Australia’s National Basketball League, which is already home to top 2020 draft prospects like LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton, would have interest in bringing over James Wiseman if he’s officially deemed ineligible to play for Memphis, writes Adam Zagoria of Forbes. However, Wiseman’s situation, which we previously discussed, may not be quickly or easily resolved, a source tells Zagoria. “He’s exceptionally talented and of course we’d be interested, but honestly we haven’t even had a conversation with him or his family,” NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said of the potential No. 1 pick. “I have no idea yet as to whether or not it would suit his plans, his personality or his aspirations.”
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And-Ones: Stern, Wiseman, Kuzminskas, Falk

November 10th, 2019 at 9:43pm CST by JD Shaw

Former NBA commissioner David Stern has suggested that the NBA’s current ban on marijuana is outdated and believes the league should reconsider its stance, Jabari Young of CNBC writes.

Stern’s perspective within the argument, fueled by the medical benefits and factors based in recovery, have shifted over the years with the recent surge of medical use in THC and CBD.

“In many cases in sports,” Stern said, “the opioid crisis begins with players being prescribed pills for their pain, and if there is another substance, whether it be CBD or THC that eases pain, then I’m all for it.”

The NBA recently issued a 25-game suspension to Suns center Deandre Ayton after he tested positive for a diuretic, which is sometimes used to cleanse the body of a THC. Veteran guard Dion Waiters received a 10-game suspension from the Heat after consuming an edible laced with THC last week.

“You don’t want players drinking beer at halftime,” Stern said. “And you don’t want them smoking joints at halftime. But if it’s a controlled usage and has a viable, legitimate use, why not?”

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Potential No. 1 overall pick James Wiseman is likely to be selected as a top-five selection in the 2020 draft regardless of what happens with his college eligibility, Sam Vecenie writes as part of his story for The Athletic. Wiseman, a 7’1″ center, has been deemed as “likely ineligible” by the NCAA as it continues its investigation.
  • Former NBA forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas has been released by Olympiacos in Greece, the club announced in press release. Kuzminskas and the team finalized a mutual termination agreement over the weekend, a source told Hoops Rumors, allowing the 30-year-old to enter free agency and explore other avenues this week.
  • Matthew Gutierrez of The Athletic hosted an interesting Q&A with veteran NBA agent David Falk, who discussed the evolving agent business, why Carmelo Anthony could still be a free agent and more. Falk is best known for representing Michael Jordan during his playing career.
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Potential Top Pick Wiseman Ruled Ineligible By NCAA

November 8th, 2019 at 7:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:49pm: Memphis took a risk playing Wiseman, as the NCAA issued a statement saying that Wiseman “is likely ineligible.”

6:18pm: The school has issued a statement, saying it is working with the NCAA to try to restore Wiseman’s eligibility, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Hardaway provided Wiseman’s family $11.5K in moving expenses in 2017 without James Wiseman’s knowledge, according to the statement.

5:38pm: Wiseman will play for Memphis Friday against UIC due to an “emergency temporary restraining order,” Evan Daniels of 247 Sports tweets.

4:57pm: Memphis big man James Wiseman, the potential No. 1 overall pick in next June’s draft, has been ruled ineligible to play for the Tigers by the NCAA, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

The NCAA deemed that Memphis head coach and former NBA star Penny Hardaway, who signed Wiseman as part of the No. 1 rated recruiting class, helped to pay Wiseman and his family to move to the city last year while he was still in high school, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets. Memphis-based attorney Leslie Ballin told reporters than Hardaway’s actions made him a booster in the NCAA’s eyes, college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman tweets.

The 7’1” Wiseman had a dominant college debut on Tuesday, as he racked up 28 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks against South Carolina State in just 22 minutes.

How this will affect Wiseman’s draft stock remains to be seen. He could have solidified his status as the best player in the draft but will now be forced to the sidelines. NBA teams wanted to see more regarding his feel for the game, his motor and his jump shot, so the NCAA’s ruling will make it tougher for scouts and executives to evaluate him, O’Connor adds in another tweet.

Wiseman averaged 25.8 points and 14.8 rebounds at Memphis East High School. He was named the 2018-19 Gatorade National Player of the Year and was initially expected to sign with Kentucky. But he shifted gears when Memphis hired Hardaway, who was his former AAU coach.

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And-Ones: Timberwolves, Durant, Buycks, Draft

November 3rd, 2019 at 9:43pm CST by JD Shaw

The Timberwolves are fuming over how the NBA handled the discipline for Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns, which stems from a mid-game scuffle between the two superstars last week, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Minnesota has expressed disapproval of the league’s decision to suspend both Embiid and Towns two games for multiple reasons, as noted by Krawczynski.

Firstly, team officials believe Embiid was the instigator of the scuffle, leading to Towns’ involvement. The franchise also touched on Embiid’s decision to leave the game with a bang upon his ejection, shadow-boxing and firing up the Philadelphia crowd while Towns exited the floor quietly.

And the last issue, one discussed heavily by fans across the league, relates to the league’s decision not to penalize Ben Simmons for his involvement in the altercation. Simmons was seen with his arms wrapped around the neck of Towns, causing many to believe he was attempting a rear-naked choke. The league ultimately viewed Simmons as a peacemaker.

“While we are disappointed in the league’s decision, we understand the magnitude of this unfortunate incident,” Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said, according to Krawczynski. “The NBA is highly competitive and last night was a reflection of that. We support Karl and will move forward together as a group.”

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • The shaky starts from both the Nets and Warriors show Kevin Durant‘s tremendous on-court value even more, as detailed by Frank Isola of The Athletic. Golden State lost Durant in free agency this summer, with the 10-time All-Star choosing to take his talents to Brooklyn on a multi-year deal. Durant is expected to miss the rest of the 2019/20 season as he rehabs from a torn Achilles’ tendon, with the Nets currently struggling at 2-4.
  • Free agent guard Dwight Buycks has agreed to a new deal with the Shenzhen Leopards in China, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Buycks averaged 20.5 points with the team last season.
  • Jonathon Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN.com discuss the early contenders for the 2020 NBA Draft, including which prospects have the best chances of being selected in the lottery. ESPN revealed its early mock draft for the event last week, with 7-foot-1 center James Wiseman currently projected as the No. 1 overall pick.
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NBL Prospects Ball, Hampton Drawing Significant Interest

October 9th, 2019 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After initially telling NBA teams that they wouldn’t be permitted to scout practices involving top prospects LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton this season due to the league’s no-contact rules, the league office allowed clubs to attend a pair of New Zealand Breakers practices in Memphis this week to get a look at Hampton, according to a pair of reports from Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com.

As Givony details, scouts and executives from NBA teams had hoped to attend a total of five Breakers practices this week in Memphis and Oklahoma City to scout Hampton as part of the New Zealand club’s preseason tour. However, the league prohibited teams from attending sessions on Sunday and Monday morning before opening up Monday night’s practice as well as Tuesday morning’s shootaround. Teams will also be allowed to attend the Breakers’ morning shootaround on Thursday in OKC, Givony adds.

As Givony explains, the NBA’s no-contact rules prohibit teams from having contact with draft-ineligible players outside of a few approved settings, including official games and select college practices. Non-college prospects like Ball and Hampton are still considered draft-ineligible for 2020 at this point since they haven’t officially declared through the league office.

The league’s latest memo related to non-contact rules extensively addressed college and international prospects, but Ball and Hampton technically don’t fall into either category since they’re not attending college and haven’t lived outside the U.S. for three years — they’re essentially in a grey area, leaving the NBA to interpret their status based on the league’s existing rules.

It’s possible the NBA will alter its interpretation of those rules or tweak them slightly to allow teams more freedom to scout Ball and Hampton over the course of the 2019/20 season. Givony points out that 27 NBA scouts attending the NBL Blitz in Tasmania last month and many of those scouts attended practices involving Ball and Hampton, which may lead to fines.

The Breakers practices that were open to NBA execs and scouts this week were heavily populated, according to the NBL, which estimates that over 100 reps from teams were on hand on Monday night to get a look at Hampton. Another top 2020 prospect, James Wiseman, had his pro day at the University of Memphis earlier on Monday, so many scouts and execs attended both events.

Meanwhile, Ball, who is also playing in the NBL as a member of the Illawarra Hawks, is drawing plenty of attention from fans in addition to NBA teams. According to Adam Zagoria of Forbes.com, Ball’s NBL debut became the most-watched game in league history, with one million viewers streaming the game on Facebook in the United States.

Zagoria also wrote in a separate Forbes article that the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Nets, and Raptors are among the teams that have reached out to the Spire Academy in Ohio – where Ball played last season – for information on the young point guard. The Cavaliers have also been evaluating him, sources tell Zagoria.

In ESPN’s latest mock draft, Givony had Wiseman coming off the board at No. 1, followed by Ball at No. 3 and Hampton at No. 6.

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And-Ones: Wiseman, Barrett, Dedmon, Barbosa, DeMarco

June 22nd, 2019 at 11:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

The latest 2020 mock draft has Memphis freshman center James Wiseman going to the Knicks with the No. 1 pick. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Georgia guard Anthony Edwards going to the Cavaliers at No. 2 and North Carolina guard Cole Anthony heading to the Suns at No. 3.

We have more from around the basketball world:

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Draft Updates: Wiseman, Poole, Lard, More

April 23rd, 2019 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

While most of the draft-related focus these days is on 2019’s event, that didn’t stop ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz from taking an early look at 2020. In an Insider-only story at ESPN.com, the pair of draft experts updates their mock draft for ’20, notably moving up Memphis center James Wiseman from No. 3 to No. 1.

As Schmitz explains, Wiseman has long been considered the most physically gifted prospect in his high school, but his consistency and effort level left something to be desired. That has changed in recent weeks, as he has impressed evaluators with his play on both ends of the floor during the Nike Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic.

Circling back to 2019, here are a few more draft notes:

  • Michigan sophomore guard Jordan Poole has decided to keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft, the school announced today (via Twitter). Poole ranks just outside the top 60 on Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, but presumably the feedback he has received so far in the pre-draft process was encouraging.
  • Iowa State sophomore forward Cameron Lard officially announced this week that he has declared for the 2019 NBA draft, posting a message on Instagram to confirm the decision. Lard’s wording suggests that he’s committed to going pro and won’t retain his college eligibility after two up-and-down seasons with the Cyclones, which included multiple suspensions and off-court issues.
  • German forward Philipp Herkenhoff (born 1999) and German guard Jonas Mattisseck (born 2000) have added their names to the NBA’s early entry list for the 2019 draft, tweets Givony. Both players will have until June 10 to withdraw their names if they decide not to become draft-eligible quite yet.
  • The following players have also declared for the 2019 NBA draft:
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And-Ones: New NBAGL Rules, Muhammad, Draft

October 12th, 2018 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League often serves as a testing ground for new and experimental rules that the NBA may eventually consider implementing. For the 2018/19 season, the G League will introduce two more of those new rules, the league announced today in a press release.

One of those rules will require the shot clock to be set to 14 seconds – instead of 24 – when a team advances the ball to the frontcourt following a reset or team timeout. The second rule involves a “transition take foul,” when a defender fouls an offensive player during a transition opportunity without attempting to make a play on the ball, as seen here. In that scenario, the offensive team can select any player in the game to shoot one free throw and then gets the ball back.

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

  • Shabazz Muhammad, waived by the Bucks on Thursday, may end up heading to China for the 2018/19 season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. A source tells Carchia that Muhammad is leaning toward signing a deal with a Chinese team – possibly Jiangsu – if he doesn’t quickly find a new NBA home.
  • While some fans may argue that it’s far too early to start talking about the 2019 NBA draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) is already looking ahead to 2020. Givony’s first mock draft for ’20 features center James Wiseman at No. 1, point guard Cole Anthony at No. 2, and power forward Jaden McDaniels rounding out the top three. All three remain undecided on their respective colleges.
  • Luka Doncic has received more hype than any other international NBA prospect in recent years, but there are plenty of other players overseas worth keeping an eye on going forward. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press identifies five foreign-born prospects who are on NBA teams’ radars.
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