Israeli point guard Gal Mekel drew attention from the Jazz last offseason and after another impressive year overseas, he could finally have his NBA opportunity in 2013/14.  After Thursday's Israeli title game, Mekel will come to the United States to audition for the Bucks and other teams, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

The 25-year-old has good size for the one-guard position and is quite impressive in pick-and-roll sets (link).  Given his ability, the Maccabi Haifa star has a good chance to join Omri Casspi as the only Israelis in the NBA.  Mekel will try and finish out his Haifa career with a bang by leading his team to a championship victory over Maccabi Electra this week.

It's Friday afternoon, which means, even on Thanksgiving weekend, Marc Stein has published his Weekend Dime on ESPN.com. Let's dive right into the highlights from this week's column....

• Stein asked executives from five teams about Andrew Bynum's health issues and how they'd affect his contract offers next summer. One GM, noting that the NBA is a "desperate league," pointed to max offers this past offseason for Eric Gordon and Brook Lopez and said Bynum should still land a maximum-salary contract, even considering his knee problems. Other execs weren't so sure though, with one suggesting Bynum could count on "maybe a one- or two-year (max offer). You won't be able to get insurance coverage on his knees."
• While some pundits panned the Knicks this summer for adding so many aging veteran players, Carmelo Anthony wasn't among the critics. In Carmelo's view, players like Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace, and Kurt Thomas are helping him improve. "I have no complaints," Anthony said. "What our front office did this offseason, acquiring those guys we did, I have no complaints about that."
• China's Foshan Dralions aggressively pursued Eddy Curry after he was waived by the Mavericks, but Curry turned them down in hopes of landing an NBA roster spot.
• Israeli point guard Gal Mekel, who drew offseason interest from the Jazz, is playing in Israel this season, but hopes to earn a spot on an NBA team next season with a strong summer league performance.
• Andrei Kirilenko tells Stein that while there was a possibility he remained in Russia for more than one season, he only returned there because of the NBA lockout, and his plan always involved returning to the NBA.

After an impressive workout, Israeli point guard Gal Mekel has received an unexpected training camp invitation from the Jazz, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. However, according to Stein, visa issues may make it impossible for Mekel to arrive at camp on time, meaning he'd miss a handful of practices and be at a disadvantage when it comes to earning a roster spot.

Due to those visa issues, the most likely scenario involves Mekel playing in Europe for another season, then arriving in North America next July to participate in summer league action. Mekel, 24, would become Israel's second-ever NBA player, if he were to earn a roster spot with a team this year or next. Cleveland's Omri Casspi was the first.

Mekel played college ball in America at Wichita State from 2006 to 2008 before heading to Israel to play professionally. He played for Maccabi Tel Aviv and Gilboa Galil Elyon, winning the Israel Super League's rookie of the year honors in 2009 and MVP in 2011. Last season, the 6'4" point guard played in Italy for Benetton Treviso.