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International Notes: FIBA Rankings, Jenkins, Embiid, Williams

August 15th, 2024 at 10:56am CST by Dana Gauruder

The results of the Paris Olympics led to some movement in the FIBA rankings, according to a press release from the organization. The USA remains at the top spot, with Serbia – which narrowly lost Team USA in the semifinals – moving up from No. 4 to No. 2.

Germany, the 2023 FIBA World Cup champions, remained at No. 3, while France leaped five notches to No. 4. Canada moved up two slots to round out the top five.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • Former NBA guard John Jenkins has signed with Tofas in Turkey, according to Sportando. Jenkins spent the last two seasons with the G League Ignite, appearing in a total of 43 games. He averaged 17.5 points in 16 regular season games last season. Jenkins hasn’t appeared in an NBA contest since the 2018/19 season, when he played a total of 26 games with the Knicks and Wizards.
  • Joel Embiid has been awarded the Medal of Commander of the Order of Valor by his native Cameroon in recognition of his Olympic gold medal, according to a TMZ report (hat tip to Eurohoops.net). Embiid moved to the U.S. when he was 16. Cameroon may have had an ulterior motive for celebrating Embiid — he hinted at the possibility of representing his homeland at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, though that switch would require USA Basketball and FIBA to sign off.
  • Former Clippers and Timberwolves guard C.J. Williams has signed with Poland’s Start Lublin, Sportando relays. Williams, who played in Romania last season, appeared in a total of 53 NBA games from 2017-19.
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And-Ones: Buzelis, Jenkins, Draft-Rights Players, More

November 3rd, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Matas Buzelis, a projected top-three pick in the 2024 NBA draft, tells Sam Yip of HoopsHype that there wasn’t a specific former player for the G League Ignite that influenced him to take that path before becoming draft-eligible — he simply thought it would be the best way for him to prepare for the NBA.

“I picked Ignite because at the end of the day you want to be a professional basketball player – that’s everyone’s goal,” Buzelis said. “So, why take a different route like college where you’re not playing NBA rules? You get to play NBA threes, shot clocks, everything. So it’s pretty much like a cheat code, I’d say.”

Buzelis singled out former NBA shooting guard John Jenkins, currently a member of the Ignite, as the teammate that has stood out the most to him early in his G League stint. According to Buzelis, Jenkins taught him to take care of his body by establishing a training routine, which is something he “didn’t really have” before this year.

“He was in the NBA before for like three NBA teams,”  Buzelis said. “He’s like 32 years old and still killing. Taking care of his body and everything. So I take example from him that I can play a long time.”

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

  • Within an interesting story about the rise of multi-team NBA trades in recent years, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports provides an interesting tidbit on the guidelines governing trades of players’ draft rights. According to Fischer, in order for a draft-rights player to be traded, he must have been selected in one of the nine most recent drafts. In multi-team deals, the player must have been selected in one of last five drafts — or nine, if he earned a spot on the most recent All-EuroLeague team. Luka Mitrovic, the player whose draft rights were traded from the Kings to the Clippers in a deal this week, was picked nine drafts ago.
  • The second tax apron introduced in the NBA’s newest Collective Bargaining Agreement will make roster-building much more challenging for high-salary teams beginning in 2024. However, as Danny Leroux of The Athletic details, many current taxpayers are taking advantage of the transition rules in place during the 2023/24 season to make big moves that won’t be possible starting next offseason.
  • Italian team Olimpia Milano has been in the market for backcourt help, with head coach Ettore Messina acknowledging that Kendrick Nunn and Carlik Jones were among the players with NBA experience on the team’s radar, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. Nunn ended up in Greece while Jones is continuing his career in China, so Milan will have to continue weighing its free agent options.
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And-Ones: Lewis, Ignite, Best Draft Assets, RSNs

August 30th, 2023 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA referee Eric Lewis has retired, the league announced today in a brief press release (Twitter link). Lewis officiated more than 1,000 regular season NBA games over the course of his career and has worked several NBA Finals contests since 2019.

Back in May, the NBA opened an investigation into a possible Twitter burner account run by Lewis. The Twitter account, which has since been deleted, responded to many posts about NBA officiating to defend Lewis and other referees. League rules prohibit referees from publicly commenting on the officiating without authorization.

According to today’s announcement, since Lewis has decided to retire, the NBA has closed its investigation into his social media activity.

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

  • Having previously announced the prospects that are joining the program for the 2023/24 season, the G League Ignite issued a press release revealing the veteran players who will serve as mentors. John Jenkins and Eric Mika will be returning to the team and will be joined by former NBA guards Jeremy Pargo and David Stockton, as well as guard Admon Gilder, who has played in a handful of international leagues since going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2020.
  • Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranked all 30 NBA teams based on their future draft assets, from the Thunder (No. 1) and Spurs (No. 2) to the Timberwolves (No. 29) and Suns (No. 30).
  • Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes a look at where things stand with the NBA and the Bally Sports regional sports networks after parent company Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy. The league has been informed, according to Vorkunov, that Diamond Sports Group has the capital to honor its NBA commitments for the upcoming season, though one industry source told The Athletic that it’s a “very fluid situation.”
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World Cup Notes: Bridges, Johnson, Team USA, Towns

August 19th, 2023 at 8:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mikal Bridges‘ and Cameron Johnson‘s careers have mirrored each other, from breaking into the NBA with Phoenix to being sent to the Nets in the same trade and now making their debuts together with Team USA, writes Vishakha Deshpande of USA Basketball. Nicknamed “The Twins” because of their close friendship, Bridges and Johnson are enjoying their experience as they try to win a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup.

“It’s just really amazing to be here with him (Johnson),” Bridges said. “It’s wild to even think that I didn’t know Cam very well five years ago and with every passing season we get closer. And now being here and playing for USA, it’s just such an honor.”

Many of the NBA’s top stars are skipping the World Cup with an eye toward playing in the Olympics next summer. That has created opportunities for not just Johnson and Bridges, but the rest of the U.S. roster, which is largely made up of players in their first major international competition.

“It’s been amazing,” Bridges said. “We’re all kind of like the same age. It’s a fun set of guys and we got along really fast. We weren’t worried about that at all when we got here. The goal is to get gold for USA.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

  • With Team USA’s first World Cup game one week away, head coach Steve Kerr appears to have settled on a starting lineup, observes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Kerr used the same starting five for the fourth straight game as the Americans defeated Greece in an exhibition Friday, penciling in Bridges alongside Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Brandon Ingram and Jaren Jackson Jr. “It’s so hard because you only have a couple weeks and then you jump right into the tournament,” Kerr said. “So I like the stability of that (starting) group.”
  • They haven’t gotten much notice, but John Jenkins, Langston Galloway and Eric Mika have been working with Team USA in advance of the World Cup, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The three players – who played for the U.S. during the World Cup qualifiers – won’t accompany the team to Manila for the tournament, but they’ve been actively involved in the preparation as members of the U.S. Select Team. “To see them win it all, it’d be a huge moment for me, John, Eric,” Galloway said. “We helped get them here. Now let’s finish the job.” 
  • Karl-Anthony Towns was ejected from the Dominican Republic’s exhibition game with Spain after picking up two technical fouls, tweets Chrisos Tsaltas of Sportal. The Timberwolves‘ big man put up 20 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes before being tossed.
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Team USA Finalizes Select Team Roster

July 25th, 2023 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has officially announced its Select Team roster, announcing in a press release that 14 players will get the opportunity to train with and scrimmage against the primary 12-man national team roster as it prepares for the 2023 World Cup.

Those 14 players, most of whom have been previous reported, are as follows:

As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press notes (via Twitter), Galloway, Jenkins, and Mika aren’t currently in the NBA but were among the players who suited up for Team USA during the qualifying games for the World Cup, ensuring that the U.S. earned a spot in the tournament. They’ll be rewarded for their contributions by getting spots on the select team and taking part in the lead-up to the World Cup.

“We are confident that our USA Men’s Select Team will do a great job helping prepare the men’s national team for the 2023 Men’s FIBA World Cup,” national team managing director Grant Hill said in a statement. “We have a good mix of young NBA players and those who helped us qualify for the World Cup, all of who will play a huge role in our success in Manila, as we continue to develop the national team pipeline for years to come.”

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.

As we’ve previously noted, members of the U.S. select team would be candidates for promotion if any players from the national team roster have to withdraw from the World Cup for any reason.

Even if no substitutions are necessary, the players on the select team could eventually be called upon by USA Basketball to join future Olympic or World Cup teams. Brandon Ingram, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Mikal Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jalen Brunson are among those on this year’s World Cup roster who were members of the U.S. select teams for the 2016 Olympics, 2019 World Cup, or 2021 Olympics.

In addition to Ingram, Edwards, Haliburton, Bridges, Jackson, and Brunson, the U.S. World Cup roster consists of Cameron Johnson, Austin Reaves, Paolo Banchero, Bobby Portis, Josh Hart, and Walker Kessler.

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World Cup Notes: Team USA, Caruso, Carmelo

February 24th, 2023 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball clinched a spot in the 2023 FIBA World Cup with an 88-77 win over Uruguay on Thursday, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes. Longtime NBA guard Langston Galloway played a key role in Team USA’s comeback victory, scoring 11 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.

“Couldn’t be more proud about the group of guys that we have here,” Galloway said. “Just thankful for the opportunity. I’m getting to play and represent with the United States across my chest, and all the guys who have been part of this journey with me. … We accomplished the task at hand, which was qualifying for the World Cup.”

Team USA entered this month’s qualifiers needing to win one of two games to secure one of seven World Cup berths available to teams in the FIBA Americas region. Canada and the U.S. have now locked up two of those spots, but five remain up for grabs heading into the final day of qualifying matches on Sunday.

Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil all have records of either 8-3 or 7-4 in qualifying so far and are battling to claim those five slots available in the FIBA Americas region — one of those six teams will be the odd man out after this weekend’s games and won’t compete in the World Cup later this year.

Here’s more on the World Cup:

  • Joe Vardon of The Athletic takes a closer look at the players and coaches (led by former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen) who did the dirty work of qualifying for a tournament that they won’t actually get to participate in. Steve Kerr will coach a Team USA roster made up of NBA players at the actual World Cup in August and September. “Nobody’s really gonna say, ‘Oh, congrats to so-and-so for doing this for us,'” said former NBA guard John Jenkins, who was part of the U.S. roster during qualifiers. “I don’t do it for recognition from the world. I just do it because I feel an obligation for my country and for a lot of the guys that are gonna play in the World Cup. They are my friends or I’ve played against them for a while.”
  • Within that same story, Vardon provides new context for a viral clip of Kerr telling Bulls guard Alex Caruso, “We’d love to have you” in December. According to Vardon, Kerr was actually talking to Caruso about Team USA’s World Cup roster, rather than trying recruit the veteran guard to the Warriors.
  • Veteran forward Carmelo Anthony, who won three Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball, has been named a global ambassador for this year’s World Cup, according to a FIBA press release. “I’ve proudly represented the USA on the world’s largest stages, and the World Cup is the toughest competition in international basketball,” Anthony said in a statement. “It’s all about striking a perfect balance of personnel, talent and having that great chemistry. I’m looking forward to supporting all the players at the World Cup this year and celebrating the sport on a global scale.” Argentina’s Luis Scola and Spain’s Pau Gasol are also serving as global ambassadors who will help promote the event.
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And-Ones: Ignite, Embiid, Team USA, Remaining FAs, Shengelia

September 30th, 2022 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The G League Ignite officially filled out its roster for the 2022/23 season this week, announcing in a press release that seven veteran players have joined the team and will complement the group of young prospects already under contract with the Ignite. Former NBA guard John Jenkins and big man Eric Mika are among the team’s vets.

The Ignite also announced that they have a new general manager, having named Anthony McClish to fill the role. McClish, who worked as a consultant for the Ignite for the last two seasons, was previously the general manager of the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate.

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

  • Joel Embiid revealed this week that he was sworn in as a U.S. citizen earlier this month, per Dan Gelston of The Associated Press. The Sixers star is a native of Cameroon who also has French citizenship, so he’ll have no shortage of options for which country he wants to represent if and when he competes in future international competitions.
  • Team USA is on the verge of losing its No. 1 international basketball ranking for the first time since FIBA created the rankings 20 years ago, observes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Spain is poised to take over that top spot if the U.S. loses any of its next four World Cup qualifying games, says Vardon.
  • ESPN’s NBA analysts have weighed in on the best landing spots for some of the top remaining NBA free agents, including Jeremy Lamb, Hassan Whiteside, and Eric Bledsoe.
  • Tornike Shengelia, who appeared in 45 NBA games from 2012-14 for Brooklyn and Chicago, initially thought he might return to the league this offseason, but ended up signing a new contract with Virtus Bologna in Italy instead, as Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops writes. Shengelia has become a star in Europe, winning titles in 2020 (Liga ACB), 2021 (VTB United League), and 2022 (EuroCup).
  • ESPN’s Kevin Pelton (Insider link) unveiled his stats-based win projections for the 2022/23 season, and they look quite different from the general consensus. Among Pelton’s most interesting projections: the Pelicans moving up to third in the West while the Warriors slip to eighth, and the Bulls falling to 12th in the East.
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Team USA Sets Roster For August World Cup Qualifiers

August 11th, 2022 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

Team USA will play a pair of qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup this month, squaring off against Uruguay on August 25 in Las Vegas and then facing Colombia on August 29 in Barranquilla, Colombia.

USA Basketball issued a press release today announcing its 12-man roster for those qualifying games. The following players will be representing the U.S. on a club led by head coach Jim Boylen:

McClung is the only member of the 12-man group who is currently under contract with an NBA team, having signed a training camp contract with the Warriors last month. However, everyone on the roster except for Ellison has appeared in at least one NBA regular season game.

Galloway and Jenkins are the most experienced NBA veterans on the roster. Galloway has 452 regular season games for seven teams under his belt, while Jenkins has made 171 appearances for five clubs.

Team USA has a 5-1 record through the first three qualifying windows, putting the squad in a tie for first place with Brazil atop Group F. After this month’s games, the remaining two qualifying windows are scheduled for November and February — teams will end up playing a total of 12 qualifying contests apiece.

The 2023 World Cup will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10 next year. Assuming its team qualifies – which looks like a pretty safe bet – USA Basketball is expected to send a roster of more accomplished NBA veterans to the event.

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And-Ones: Lingering Questions, Ref Vaccinations, Noel, Jenkins, Mathias

August 28th, 2021 at 2:56pm CST by Eli Cohen

The NBA’s summer of player movement may be winding down, but there are still some questions looming over teams. An ESPN panel of insiders looked at some of them on Thursday (before the Lauri Markkanen–Larry Nance–Derrick Jones Jr. three team deal broke).

Among the predictions that were made: Nick Friedell believes Damian Lillard will eventually end up with the Knicks, just not in the immediate future; Kirk Goldsberry thinks that J.J. Redick will end up with the Nets; Andrew Lopez predicts Paul Millsap will start the season not on a roster, but will be picked up mid-season.

The crew also looks at which new coaches have the hardest road ahead: Chauncey Billups with the Blazers and Willie Green with the Pelicans each received two votes, while Jason Kidd with the Mavericks received one.

And, of course, the much-discussed Ben Simmons–Sixers impasse was the first topic of debate.

We have more news from around the world of hoops:

  • The NBA will require its referees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, barring medical or religious exemptions, the league announced today. A report from ESPN laid out the scope of the policy, including that referees will receive booster shots once those become recommended, and that refs without an approved exemption who aren’t vaccinated will not be eligible to work games.
  • Knicks center Nerlens Noel‘s lawsuit has the potential to change the NBA-agent landscape, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Fischer writes that as opposed to the league’s tampering rules between teams and players, there are no such prohibitions on agents trying to poach clients, and that this unprecedented peek behind the curtain could give the league incentive to put some protections in place.
  • John Jenkins has signed with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque in France, reports Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw (via Twitter). Jenkins played eight seasons in the NBA, averaging 5.0 PPG while shooting 36.7% from three on 319 career attempts. Jenkins recently participated with the Team USA select team as Team USA prepared for their eventual gold medal run.
  • Dakota Mathias has agreed to sign with the G League Ignite, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The 26-year-old played eight games for the Sixers as one of their two-way contracts last season, and Scotto reports that several teams have interest in him as a two-way player again this year. Mathias averaged six PPG and 1.6 APG in 15.4 minutes a night for Philadelphia.
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Olympic Notes: Johnson, Garland, Bey, Durant, Satoransky

July 10th, 2021 at 11:04am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs’ Keldon Johnson, Cavaliers’ Darius Garland and Pistons’ Saddiq Bey will move up from the U.S. Select Team and play for Team USA in exhibition games, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The trio will fill in for Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, who will join Team USA after the Finals. Johnson, Garland and Bey would be candidates to join Team USA for the Olympics if any players have to bow out.

Exhibition games in Las Vegas will begin on Saturday with a matchup against Nigeria.

We have more on the Olympics:

  • Select Team members Cameron Reynolds, Josh Magette, John Jenkins and Dakota Mathias will remain in Las Vegas and will be available for exhibition games, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. The pool of Select Team players has been reduced by injuries and COVID-19 protocols. Timberwolves big man Naz Reid suffered a minor injury in Thursday’s practice, Windhorst adds.
  • Nets superstar Kevin Durant will look to collect his third gold medal in Tokyo and he’s energized by that possibility, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “I committed to USA Basketball when I was coming out of college,” Durant said. “And every chance that I can get that I’m healthy and my mind is in the right place to play basketball, I’m going to go out there and play. Finished the year off healthy, the regular season and the playoffs, so I felt it’d be cool to get a kickstart on next season by getting in shape a little earlier in the summer with Team USA.”
  • Bulls guard Zach LaVine will be facing backcourt partner Tomas Satoransky in Group A play and he’s looking forward to the matchup, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago relays. Satoransky will play for the Czech Republic, which is in Team USA’s Group along with Iran and France. “I’m looking forward to playing them and having some bragging rights,” LaVine said good-naturedly. “Hopefully, we really kick their butt.”
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