Israeli club Maccabi Ra’anana is taking part in three NBA preseason games this year and is getting reinforcements in former NBA players Quinndary Weatherspoon and Dwayne Bacon, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and NBA on TNT (Twitter link). Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets that 18-year-old big man Nathan Missia-Dio is playing for the club as well.
Haynes writes that Bacon and Weatherspoon are joining Maccabi Ra’anana right away, playing on Thursday night against the Nets. Both players are hoping to sign with NBA teams at the conclusion of the preseason. Mamadi Diakite and Bruno Caboclo are among other former NBA players who are suiting up for Maccabi Ra’anana in the preseason.
Weatherspoon, 27, appeared in 42 NBA games from 2019-22 after being drafted with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He played in two seasons with the Spurs, who drafted him, before playing with the Warriors in the 2021/22 season. The 6’3″ guard averaged 2.1 points in the NBA but was more productive in the G League, where he saw more playing time, averaging 25.3 points in 20 regular season appearances in his most recent season there.
Bacon, 28, made 207 NBA appearances (80 starts) in a productive span from 2017-21. He was selected with the 40th overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Hornets and holds career averages of 7.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in four seasons with Charlotte and Orlando.
As for Missia-Dio, the Belgian big is only taking part in the club’s games against the Cavaliers on October 16 and the Timberwolves on October 17. He’s a 6’9″ Overtime Elite product who is eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft and will return to OTE to finish out the rest of the season, according to Givony (Twitter link).
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said the league is open to playing games at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid’s soccer team, according to a report from ESPN. The stadium can hold up to 85,000 fans, which could be appealing to a league that has never played overseas in an outdoor soccer stadium. “I’ve had the opportunity to see the new Bernabéu, and it’s incredible what they’ve done there,” Tatum said. “I’ve seen the system with which they raise and lower the grass. It will be a world-class stadium. If the circumstances are right, we would love to play there.“
- Sixers center Joel Embiid was given an ultimatum by the French Federation to commit to France in the 2024 Olympics by October 10, but he ultimately ended up committing to play for Team USA. French Federation president Jean-Pierre Siutat said that he was disappointed by the process, according to Eurohoops.net. “I met [Embiid] with Boris Diaw during a dinner in March 2022. We never went looking for him, we never asked,” Siutat said. “It was at his request that we took the steps and I am disappointed that we spent so much time and energy on a case that, ultimately, should never have been opened and it wasn’t created by any request of ours. This is a subject that is behind us now.“
- Even after the blockbuster Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday deals, there could be several more trades that would have a profound impact on the direction of the 2023/24 season, The Ringer’s Seerat Sohi opines. Sohi writes about five potential trade candidates, including James Harden, Pascal Siakam, Karl-Anthony Towns, Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon. I recommend checking the piece, because Sohi describes each situation in full, outlines potential routes forward, and considers what sort of trade package makes sense for each player.