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Olympics Notes: Kerr, LeBron, Hayes-Davis, K. Antetokounmpo

July 21st, 2024 at 4:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

As Team USA gears up to try to earn its fifth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics, head coach Steve Kerr has been impressed by the efforts of 39-year-old Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James, both during practices and exhibition games, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.

“I’m blown away by his effort, concentration, and focus every single drill,” Kerr said. “He talks, and even in a shootaround, he walks through his voice behind the play, yelling out the scheme. His leadership by example. The guy is incredible. I’ve known that forever, but to see it out close, it’s pretty special.”

James is participating in his fourth Olympic games with Team USA, but his first since 2012. After settling for bronze in 2004, Team USA re-tooled, and James won gold in 2008 and ’12 with more team-oriented rosters.

There’s more from the Olympics:

  • Former NBA forward Nigel Hayes-Davis has been suiting up for the USA Select Team, playing alongside Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics this week. The 6’8″ Fenerbahce swingman discussed his tenure with the Select Team, per Cesare Milantiigel of Eurohoops. “My agent Kevin Bradbury told me something about the USA thing. It was during the season, so I really didn’t pay attention to it. I had other things I was focusing on,” Hayes-Davis said. “I didn’t know what my duties and roles would be. But it’s a tremendous opportunity and it surpasses even what I imagined it would be. I apologize for being long with it, but this is something you couldn’t pay money to be a part of as a basketball player.”
  • Former Mavericks and Lakers forward Kostas Antetokounmpo is waiting on a medical green light with regard to whether or not he can suit up for Olympic competition for the Greek national team, according to Eurohoops. The program will make a final determination on Monday.
  • After almost falling to South Sudan in a Saturday pre-Olympics warm-up game, Team USA can now better appreciate just how formidable some of its foes may be this summer.
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International Notes: Hayes-Davis, Winston, Gill, Hommes

July 20th, 2024 at 4:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns All-NBA combo forward Kevin Durant, who is in London with Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics, believes USA Select Team forward Nigel Hayes-Davis, currently playing for EuroLeague club Fenerbahce, is good enough to be an NBA player, according to Cesare Milantiurant of Eurohoops.

“I think he has the talent to be in the NBA,” Durant said. “He’s been showing that so far, he’s showed that in college, and playing in the EuroLeague. Hopefully, he gets this opportunity, but he just loves to play regardless and he will play and work on his game until he can no more. Hopefully, he’s in the league soon.”

A Wisconsin alum, Hayes-Davis has appeared in nine total NBA games, all during the 2017/18 season, for the Lakers, Raptors, and Kings. The 6’8″ wing boasts averages of 3.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists in those games.

Here’s more from around the basketball world at large:

  • Former Wizards point guard Cassius Winston has inked a new deal with Italian pro club Pallacanestro Reggiana, reports Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. The 6’1″ vet appeared in 29 games with Washington from 2020-22, averaging 1.9 points and 0.7 assists in 4.7 minutes per contest.
  • Despite earning interest from multiple European clubs including Barcelona and Anadolu Efes, Wizards backup power forward Anthony Gill is not considering a return to play there, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. In 2023/24, Gill appeared in 50 contests for Washington, starting three. He averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 boards per night.
  • Former two-way Pelicans combo forward Daulton Hommes, who never played an NBA game for New Orleans, is departing Dolomiti Energia Trentino to link up with an as-yet unnamed EuroLeague team, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando.
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International Notes: Olympic Qualifiers, Robinson, Australia, Canada, Hayes-Davis

July 4th, 2024 at 9:28pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of NBA superstars will match up this weekend in Greece as they look to keep their home countries’ Olympic hopes alive. The Greek national team, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, will take on Luka Doncic and the Slovenians in the semifinals of one of four ongoing Olympic qualifying tournaments (link via ESPN). The winner of Greece vs. Slovenia will go on to face the winner of Croatia vs. Dominican Republic for a spot in the men’s basketball Olympic tournament in Paris.

In total, four Olympic berths still remain up for grabs. The other semifinal matchups in Olympic qualifying tournaments around the globe are as follows:

  • Riga, Latvia:
    • Latvia vs. Cameroon
    • Brazil vs. Philippines
  • Valencia, Spain:
    • Spain vs. Finland
    • Bahamas vs. Lebanon
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico:
    • Puerto Rico vs. Mexico
    • Lithuania vs. Italy

While none of the other teams fighting for a spot in the Olympics has a perennial MVP candidate like Antetokounmpo or Doncic on its roster, there are many NBA players competing in the qualifying tournaments, including All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis for Lithuania and Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield, and Eric Gordon representing the Bahamas.

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

  • Former NBA lottery pick Jerome Robinson has signed with Saint-Quentin in France, the team officially announced (via Twitter). Robinson, who was drafted 13th overall in 2018, has appeared in a total of 135 NBA regular season games, including 22 with Golden State last season while on a two-way contract with the Warriors.
  • The Australian national team has set its 12-man roster for the Olympics, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN, who notes that eight active NBA players – Josh Giddey, Josh Green, Dante Exum, Jock Landale, Duop Reath, Dyson Daniels, Patty Mills, and Joe Ingles – made the cut, along with former NBA guard Matthew Dellavedova. Trail Blazers forward Matisse Thybulle is the most surprising omission, Uluc adds.
  • Team Canada hasn’t set its Olympic roster yet, but pared it down a little on Wednesday, with Oshae Brissett among the cuts. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links), Brissett – who is coming off a championship season as a Celtics reserve – asked to withdraw to focus on his NBA free agency. It looks like there are 10 NBA players who are safe bets to be on the Canadian squad, with two roster spots still up for grabs, as Lewenberg outlines in another tweet.
  • Nigel Hayes-Davis, the former NBA forward who is part of the U.S. Select Team and was rumored this spring to be drawing NBA interest, has re-upped with Fenerbahce, signing a three-year contract with the Turkish team, according to a press release.
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USA Basketball Announces 15-Man Select Team

June 28th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced in a press release that a 15-man Select Team will train with the U.S. Olympic squad as it prepares for the upcoming Olympics. The Select Team, which is made up mostly of younger players and some who have previous Team USA experience, will work out with the men’s national team in Las Vegas from July 6-8.

The members of the Select Team are as follows:

Perhaps the most notable name on the list is Flagg, who has committed to Duke and will begin his first college basketball season in the fall. He’s viewed as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Duren, Galloway, Murphy, Murray, and Pritchard were part of the U.S. Select Team that trained with the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible some of these players will use their Select Team experience as a springboard to represent Team USA in international competitions down the road. Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton are among the players on this year’s Olympic team that were members of a Select Team earlier in their respective careers.

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.

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International Notes: Fournier, Lithuania, Canada, Nunn, Hayes-Davis

May 28th, 2024 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Pistons considered extremely unlikely to exercise their $19MM team option on Evan Fournier for the 2024/25 season, the French swingman is on track to become a free agent this summer. There has been some speculation that Fournier could return to Europe, where he began his professional career and where he could play a far more significant role than he has the past couple seasons.

It doesn’t sound like that’s Fournier’s Plan A, however. According to Dimitri Kucharczyk of BasketUSA (hat tip to RealGM), while Fournier’s representatives didn’t specifically address rumors linking him to French team ASVEL and Greek club Olympiacos, they indicated that the 31-year-old wants to continue playing in the NBA.

Before being traded to Detroit in February, Fournier had barely seen the court for over a year in New York, having been removed from the team’s rotation during the first half of the 2022/23 season. He saw regular playing time off the bench with the Pistons – 18.7 minutes per night across 29 appearances – but shot just 37.3% from the field and 27.0% from beyond the arc, well below his NBA career averages of 44.1% and 37.4%. That will hurt his stock as he seeks his next contract.

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

  • As Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops details, Lithuania’s preliminary roster for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament is headlined by a pair of NBA big men in Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas. However, there are some notable absences too, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, who points out (via Twitter) that former NBA forward Ignas Brazdeikis and projected NBA lottery pick Matas Buzelis aren’t in the mix this summer.
  • It has been a good spring for Canadian guards, with Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker among those who won playoff series. The latest gift for the Canadians’ Olympic medal aspirations, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, is guard Andrew Nembhard, who played some of the best basketball of his career to keep the Pacers competitive vs. Boston following Tyrese Haliburton‘s hamstring injury. Nembhard is a near-lock to be on Canada’s Olympic roster this summer, says Grange.
  • Greek team Panathinaikos won this year’s EuroLeague title, with former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn scoring 21 points in 24 minutes in the championship game. Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops takes a closer look at Nunn’s memorable year and considers whether the guard is more likely to continue on with Panathinaikos or exercise the NBA out in his contract to return stateside.
  • Former NBA forward Xavier Cooks, who spent the 2023/24 season in Japan after being waived by the Wizards in October, is returning to his home country of Australia, having signed a three-year contract with the Sydney Kings, per a press release.
  • Could a return to the NBA be in the cards for forward Nigel Hayes-Davis? The former Wisconsin standout, who appeared in nine NBA games back in 2017/18, is rumored to be seeking a return, with the Cavaliers among the teams who may have interest, tweets Soritis Vetakis of LiveSports and SDNA. Hayes-Davis has spent the last two seasons with Fenerbahce in Turkey and earned a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team this spring.
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International Notes: Adams, McRae, Hayes, Wooten

August 22nd, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Connecticut guard Jalen Adams has signed a one-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem, writes Johnny Askounis of EuroHoops.

Adams played for the Raptors in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 17.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in five games. He also had a workout for the Celtics in late July.

The 25-year-old has played in the G League and in France since going undrafted in 2019. He was in the G League bubble last season with the Erie BayHawks.

There are more overseas signings to report:

  • Former NBA guard Jordan McRae has signed with Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 in France, according to EuroHoops. The 30-year-old was with five teams from 2015/16 to 2019/20 and last played for the Pistons. He spent last season with Beijing.
  • Nigel Hayes, who worked out for the Sixers and Celtics last month, has reached a contract agreement with Barcelona, EuroHoops reports. The 26-year-old had brief stops with the Lakers, Raptors and Kings during the 2017/18 season and has played overseas since then, spending last season with Galatasaray in the Turkish League.
  • Kenny Wooten, who played in the G League last season, has joined Ironi Ness Ziona in Israel, writes Allessandro Maggi of Sportando. Wooten, 23, signed a two-way contract with the Knicks in January of 2020, but never appeared in an NBA game. The Rockets claimed him off waivers before the start of last season and he played for Rio Grande Valley in the G League.
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Eastern Draft Notes: Hawks, Sixers, Cavaliers, Hornets

July 23rd, 2021 at 9:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tennessee guard Jaden Springer and Oregon guard Chris Duarte are expected to work out for the Hawks shortly before the draft, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. Duarte is ranked No. 23 on ESPN’s Best Available list, though he’s expected by some outlets to go higher, and Springer is rated No. 27. Atlanta holds the No. 20 pick.

We have more draft news involving Eastern Conference teams:

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And-Ones: McCullough, Hayes, Auguste, Udoh, Lofton

July 18th, 2021 at 6:46pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Nets forward Chris McCullough, the 29th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, is eyeing a return to the NBA this year, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. McCullough is currently training for The Basketball Tournament with Boeheim’s Army.

“I’m still athletic and stuff like that. But I do way more than dunk now,” said McCullough, who played 40 games with Brooklyn from 2015-17 and 21 games with Washington from 2017-18. “I can block shots. I can handle the ball. I have range. I can create my own shot now. So it will be very different.”

McCullough’s TBT team is set to start playing on Saturday. The 26-year-old has received interest for the Las Vegas Summer League next month, sources said. He also told the Daily News that he has upcoming workouts scheduled with multiple NBA teams.

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

  • EuroLeague players Nigel Hayes and Zach Auguste will work out for the Celtics this week, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link). Hayes, a 6’8″ power forward, holds nine games of NBA experience and last played in Lithuania. As for Auguste, a 6’10” big man, he’s spent most of his career overseas and most recently played in Greece.
  • Free agent center Ekpe Udoh has signed a two-year contract with Virtus Bologna in Italy, the team announced. Udoh, the No. 6 pick in 2010, has appeared in 384 NBA games with four teams. He most recently played in China.
  • Former Pistons two-way player Zach Lofton has signed in Kuwait with Kazma Sport Club, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. Lofton is a 28-year-old guard who went undrafted in 2018.
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Pacific Notes: Fredette, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers

June 24th, 2019 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette will have a spot on the Warriors‘ Summer League roster next month, assistant GM Larry Harris tells Joe, Lo and Dibs of 95.7 The Game (Twitter link). Fredette technically remains under contract with the Suns and has a team option for the 2019/20 season. If he has already committed to Golden State for Summer League play though, that’s a strong indication that Phoenix won’t be exercising that option.

In other Summer League news, former Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes will play for the Clippers‘ squad, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that Hayes is employing an NBA out after signing with EuroLeague team Zalgiris. Hayes appeared in nine NBA games during the 2017/18 season, including five with the Kings.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Within an article exploring the pitch the Clippers should make to Kawhi Leonard in free agency, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz cites sources who say a belief that Leonard would sign with an L.A. team in 2019 was a significant reason why the Celtics and Sixers didn’t go all-in for the forward on the trade market a year ago.
  • While Leonard will be the Clippers‘ top target in free agency this summer, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said that the club would “never put all our eggs in one basket,” as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times relays.
  • Their trade for Anthony Davis will make the Lakers contenders, but their title aspirations ultimately may hinge on what sort of role players they can acquire to complement Davis and LeBron James, writes Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times.
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Nigel Hayes To Play In Turkey

August 8th, 2018 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

Former Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes is headed overseas for the coming season, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who reports (via Twitter) that Hayes has reached a contract agreement with Turkish club Galatasaray.

Hayes, 23, went undrafted last summer, but joined the Knicks for training camp. A strong showing (16.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, .454 3PT%) for New York’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, resulted in a handful of NBA opportunities for the young forward later in the year.

Hayes signed 10-day contracts with the Lakers and Raptors before inking a rest-of-season deal with the Kings. He appeared in nine total games for the three clubs, but was waived by Sacramento last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.

According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who reported earlier today that Hayes was closing in on a deal with Galatasaray, the Turkish team is also moving toward signing former Hornets and Mavericks guard Aaron Harrison. Harrison finished the 2017/18 season with Dallas but is now an unrestricted free agent.

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