Sergio Rodriguez On NBA Return, Playing Overseas
Things didn't quite work out for Sergio Rodriguez during his time in the NBA and even though he's thriving once again overseas, he doesn't necessarily sound intent on trying his hand here in the states again, writes Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. "I'm 27 with nine years as a pro player already. Everything goes very fast and I want to enjoy it," said the former Blazers guard. "I'm happy in Madrid and have two years left on my contract and the potential to win everything here or at least be in the mix. That's all I think about." Here's more from Sierra's chat with the guard who was once thought to be the future face of Portland's franchise..
Was there one moment where you lost confidence in your abilities as a player?
There have not been extended periods when I lost confidence. Of course I had down times, but not long ones. At the end of the day, I'm lucky because basketball is also my favorite hobby. There's been moments when I didn't feel too good, some during my time in the NBA or my first year in Real Madrid… But I knew things would look up eventually because I was putting in the work.
How did you feel upon your return to Europe from the NBA?
Looking back, (the NBA experience) wasn't that bad. I played 300 games, I had a blast and lived a dream… and I ended up in New York – starting for the Knicks. When I decided to return to Europe, it was Real Madrid no less, which was a big deal to me. I was going to be able to play at the Euroleague, shoot for championships and deal with the extreme pressure that comes with having to win all the time. When I left the NBA, I felt kind of empowered by the fact that I was joining Real Madrid.
Which of your three NBA stops (Portland, Sacramento, New York) was the most fun?
The three of them! I had a good time in each of the three. Of course, Portland has a bit of an advantage because it was three years there and it was kind of a family and the stars of the team were growing together at the same time. Then Sacramento was good too. Practices were very enjoyable and it was close to San Francisco. Besides, Sacramento fans are knowledgeable about basketball and one of my references as a player – Jason Williams – had played there with the Webber-led Kings, which were one of my favorite teams of all time. Then you had New York… Playing there with Tracy McGrady and in that city was a very positive experience. Maybe the timing of my arrival was not the best, though.
Knowing what you know now, would you still go to the NBA at age 20?
Yes, no doubt. My dream was to play in the NBA and I made it real and enjoyed it very much. There's a lot of players in the States fighting to be in that position, but with me it was, 'Meh, he's not playing much'. But in reality I feel fortunate that I had the career I had in the NBA. It could have been better, but it wasn't bad. Plus it helped me grow as a player. I wouldn't change anything.
Odds & Ends: Nunnally, Kirilenko, Brownlee, Rocks
D-Leaguer James Nunnally's name has come up in connection with a handful of NBA teams of late, having drawn the attention of the Spurs, Jazz, Suns and Pelicans. The Grizzlies may be most intrigued by the 6'7" swingman out of UC-Santa Barbara, as they've invited him to camp, reports Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. Still it doesn't sound like Nunnally has accepted that invitation yet, as he'll work as scheduled out this week for Utah and New Orleans. Here's more from this afternoon in the NBA:
- An NBA investigation into Andrei Kirilenko's discount contract with the Nets has cleared the team of any wrongdoing, a source tells Fred Kerber of the New York Post. Complaints from at least one other team triggered the probe.
- The Knicks are thinking of inviting small forward Justin Brownlee to camp after watching him play for their summer league squad this year. The 25-year-old from St. John's will work out for the team this week, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Agent Burton Rocks tells Hoops Rumors that the players union has certified him and his Burton Rocks LTD firm, which boasts a dozen baseball clients, as the MLB Trade Rumors Agency Database shows. Rocks is breaking into hoops by repping former Stony Brook standout Muhammed El-Amin.
- Villanova assistant coach Billy Lange has turned down the Rockets' offer to become the head coach of their D-League affiliate, but he's considering a job with the Sixers, reports Dana O'Neil of ESPN.com.
- The Grizzlies traded for Kosta Koufos this summer, and they've coveted the former Nuggets big man for more than a year, as TNT's David Aldridge writes as he hits on a wide range of subjects for his weekly NBA.com column.
- Forbes today published its list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, and Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen leads all sports owners in net worth, notes Darren Rovell of ESPN.com.
- John Schuhmann of NBA.com examines some of the data teams will be able to use under the league's new SportVU camera deal.
Italy Leads Globe In Deals For Ex-NBA Players
There's no shortage of free agent movement worldwide, as our constantly updated International Player Movement Tracker shows. Some of the most intriguing signings involve players who have NBA experience. Many ex-NBA types wind up in Spain, where the ACB league is widely considered the best professional circuit outside of the Association. China, too, is an increasingly popular destination, especially since its season ends early, giving players a chance to jump back to the NBA for the stretch run.
Neither of those two countries boasts the greatest number of ex-NBA players who've agreed to deals with overseas teams this summer. Italy has that honor, boasting 20 players with NBA experience who'll be joining teams in that country this year, including Kim English and Samardo Samuels, who saw NBA action as recently as this past season. Russia is next on the list, with the likes of Luke Babbitt, Mickael Gelabale, Andrew Goudelock and Jeremy Pargo. Some of the guys whose names appear below have limited NBA resumes, and a few only appeared in a single NBA game. Still, they represent the growing global connection between the NBA and leagues around the world.
This list doesn't include players who will be playing overseas on existing deals, and not all agreements are final. China, in particular, figures to see more NBA players migrate its way in the weeks ahead because of its convenient schedule, and many training camp invitees who fail to make NBA opening-night rosters will probably end up playing international ball. Those caveats aside, here's each country with pro teams that have combined for at least three new deals with former NBA players this offseason:
- Italy (20): Troy Bell, Mardy Collins, Travis Diener, Jerome Dyson, Kim English, Malik Hairston, Jarvis Hayes, Othello Hunter, Linton Johnson, Bobby Jones, Coby Karl,Keith Langford, Jeremy Richardson, Samardo Samuels, Matt Walsh, JaJuan Johnson, Tamar Slay, Jerry Smith, Kyle Weaver, Edwin Ubiles
- Russia (19): James Augustine, Luke Babbitt, Primoz Brezec, Derrick Brown, Paul Davis, Mickael Gelabale, Andrew Goudelock, Luke Harangody, Viktor Khryapa, Yaroslav Korolev, Nenad Krstic, Aaron Miles, Sergei Monia, Demetris Nichols, Jeremy Pargo,Kosta Perovic, Sonny Weems, Julian Wright, Courtney Fortson
- France (14): Alex Acker, Alexis Ajinca, Jon Brockman, Yakhouba Diawara, Daniel Ewing, Taurean Green, Travis Leslie, Kevin Murphy, David Noel, Ryan Reid, Mike Scott, Mouhamed Sene, Pape Sy, Jawad Williams
- Turkey (13): Carlos Arroyo, Esteban Batista, Khalid El-Amin, Semih Erden, Lynn Greer, Nathan Jawai, Linas Kleiza, Damir Markota, Kirk Penney, Zoran Planinic, Walker Russell, Darius Washington, Sean Williams
- Spain (11): Joey Dorsey, Rudy Fernandez, Ben Hansbrough, Oliver Lafayette,Maciej Lampe, Raul Lopez, Bostjan Nachbar, Juan Carlos Navarro, Andres Nocioni, Andy Panko, Sergio Rodriguez
- Greece (8): Mike Batiste, Antonis Fotsis, Stephane Lasme, Acie Law, Gabe Pruitt, Cedric Simmons, Vassilis Spanoulis, Roko Ukic
- Israel (5): Ronald Dupree, Ndudi Ebi, Donta Smith, Antoine Wright, Tyler Honeycutt
- China (4): Bobby Brown, Ivan Johnson, Johan Petro, Yi Jianlian
- Germany (3): Martynas Andriuskevicius, Sharrod Ford, Casey Jacobsen
- Lithuania (3): Omar Cook, Justin Dentmon, Andreas Glyniadakis
- Poland (3): Craig Brackins, Christian Eyenga, Cezary Trybanski
- Serbia (3): Ratko Varda, Charles Jenkins, Tarence Kinsey
Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Magic, Heat
The way the Magic, Hawks and Bobcats stand with training camp approaching figures to make for some intrigue in the weeks ahead, as I examined this weekend. Those three teams have fewer than 13 guaranteed contracts, so there are regular season jobs up for grabs. The same might not be true for the Heat and the Wizards, though Michael Beasley's presence could make it interesting for Miami, and there are other developments for Washington's team, as we detail:
- Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld remains in charge, but D.C.'s front office is getting a makeover, the team announced on its website. Tommy Sheppard gets a promotion and will presumably serve as Grunfeld's right-hand man. The Wizards have brought in other officials from the Raptors, Thunder and Hawks.
- Washington's offseason additions will allow the Wizards to play more small-ball this season, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com examines. The opposite approach is taking place in Orlando, where No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo will play the point and Maurice Harkless will see some action at two guard, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets.
- In today's mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if Michael Beasley could eventually find his way into the Heat's starting lineup ahead of Udonis Haslem. Winderman doesn't see that as a likely outcome, as the starting five is already overloaded with scorers. Beyond that, Beasley has to prove himself as being worthy of a roster spot and worth an extra $2MM+ when factoring in his salary along with the luxury tax.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Junior Cadougan To Join Bucks In Camp
Undrafted Marquette point guard Junior Cadougan will be in training camp with the Bucks, agent Charles Briscoe tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link). He auditioned for the Bucks as well as the Wizards in advance of the draft, and was a part of Milwaukee's summer league team.
The 6'1" Cadougan didn't play much for the summer Bucks, scoring just two points as he appeared in two games for a total of 12 minutes. His stats weren't too impressive in college, where he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 turnovers per contest as a senior. The native of Canada got some seasoning as a member of the national team this summer in the FIBA Americas Championship, but he only notched 1.7 PPG in that event.
The 23-year-old becomes the 16th player on the Bucks, who already had 15 others on fully guaranteed contracts. That'll make it tough for Cadougan to win a spot on the opening-night roster. Even though the Bucks clearly want to evaluate him over the next month, they might not have too much interest in retaining his D-League rights, since they share their affiliate with five other NBA teams — something I pointed out when I examined every Eastern Conference team's pre-camp roster outlook this weekend.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Stone, Morais, 76ers
The Celtics pushed the reset button this offseason when they sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn in a package that will give them MarShon Brooks, draft picks, and a whole lot of financial flexibility. On the surface, it looked like a smart way for Danny Ainge & Co. to jump start the rebuilding process. However, Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com has another theory as to why KG and Pierce were jettisoned from Boston after unearthing a picture of the duo wearing sunglasses at night and posing with Lakers legend Magic Johnson. Here's today's look at the Atlantic Division..
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun sees an interesting chase for the Raptors' 15th and final spot unfolding in the weeks ahead (Twitter links). Julyan Stone, Chris Wright, and Angolan standout Carlos Morais will audition for the last bench position and Wolstat expects Stone, if healthy, to be the frontrunner for the gig. Wright might be the least likely of the three to stick with small forwards Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan, and Terrence Ross in the fold with Quincy Acy also possibly seeing some time at the three. Wolstat says that the Raps could use both a scoring guard like Morais and a defensive guy like Stone (link).
- No real surprise here, but Doug Smith of the Toronto Star doesn't expect anyone competing for the Raptors' final spot to get a fully guaranteed deal.
- Commissioner David Stern is hoping that the 76ers make the playoffs this season, writes Roy Burton of SBNation. Some fans might be behind the "Riggin' For [Andrew] Wiggins" campaign, but Stern certainly doesn't endorse that line of thinking. "That is so… small," said Stern at the Beyond Sport Summit. "I hope they have a great season and don't have the chance for the No. 1 pick." Of course, the worst record only gives you a 25% chance at the top pick in the draft lottery.
- Agent Charles Briscoe told HoopsHype (via Twitter) that former Sixers combo guard Xavier Silas will work out for the Jazz today and tomorrow. Silas appeared in two games for Philly in 2011/12 and suffered a concussion in summer league with the 76ers later that year.
International Notes: Vujacic, Hayward, Holiday
Guard Sasha Vujacic is working out hard in Los Angeles in hopes of relaunching his NBA career, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). In fact, the 29-year-old is determined to hold out for an NBA deal rather than return to Europe, where he'd surely find a lucrative offer. According to one witness, Vujacic was a hit in the Lakers' gym last week and has been looking sharp in pickup games in the L.A. area after his time in Turkey with Anadolu Efes.
Over parts of seven seasons in the states, mostly with the Lakers, Vujacic averaged 5.6 PPG and 1.3 APG in 15.9 minutes per game. He also showed that he can fill a stat sheet during a run with the Nets in 2010/11 where he put up 11.4 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 28.5 minutes per contest. Here's the rest of today's news from around the globe..
- Italian club Reggio Emilia is looking to make a final roster addition with Lazar Hayward and Justin Holiday as the two main targets, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. If they can't land either player, Cory Higgins is their third option. Hayward, a standout at Marquette, spent last season with the L.A. D-Fenders of the D-League averaging 15.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG. Justin Holiday was with the 76ers for nine games and with the D-League's Idaho Stampede for 47 games, where he put up 17.3 PPG.
- Italian club Sidigas Avellino officially announced that they have signed Jarvis Hayes, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). It was reported last week that the longtime NBA forward struck a deal with the club after spending last season with Israel's Elizur Ashkelon.
- Former Knicks big man Jerome Jordan has officially signed with Italian club Virtus Bologna, according to Carchia (on Twitter).
- As always, you can keep up with all global basketball activity with Hoops Rumors' International Tracker.
Rick Adelman Confirms Return For 2013/14
There wasn't a tremendous amount of doubt surrounding Rick Adelman's status for the upcoming season, but it wasn't until recently that everything was 100% locked in. Over the weekend, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor confirmed to Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune that the veteran coach will be on the sidelines to open the 2013/14 season.
Adelman was expected to be with the team going forward, but it wasn't for sure until he brought his coaching staff out to his home in Portland, Oregon last week and laid out the plans for this season. While the 67-year-old is undoubtedly excited about the upcoming season, he has much more important matters to tend to at home with his wife facing some health issues. Hopefully, this week's news means that Adelman's wife is feeling a whole lot better and on the road to recovery.
The highly-respected coach has yet to see the playoffs during his two years in Minnesota, but optimism is high around the T'Wolves that they'll be able to find their way in. For his career, Adelman owns a 1002-707 record with the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Kings, Rockets, and T'Wolves.
Odds & Ends: Fratello, Draft, Wright
Mike Fratello, who is in charge of Ukraine's national team at EuroBasket, believes that now is the time for a European head coach to break the barrier and take the reins of an NBA team, writes Mark Woods for ESPN.com. "It will take a GM from somewhere who has a very understanding owner, a GM believing and trusting in the person that he's going to select and convincing his owner to trust that this guy can coach," the veteran coach said. Italian coach Ettore Messina has been linked to several jobs in recent years – including the Nets and Hawks – but he remains overseas. Here's more from around the Association..
- Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld runs down the picks that have changed hands in the 2014 Draft. The Jazz, Magic, and Celtics are all guaranteed multiple first-round picks, meaning that they're not dependent on anyone else's performance in 2013/14. Meanwhile, the Suns have their fingers crossed that they'll wind up with three first round picks in the talent rich draft.
- Tommy Dee of Ridiculous Upside explains why Chris Wright is ready to stick with the Raptors. The athletic tweener showed that he has talent in his time in the D-League, but he'll be going against guards Julyan Stone and Carlos Morais for the 15th and final spot. Of course, the Raptors could also roll with 14 players to start the season.
- Last week, Hoops Rumors debuted the brand new International Player Movement Tracker with the help of Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival. Be sure to check it out today.
Western Notes: Grizzlies, Joerger, Thunder, Ellis
A first-time coach could be an obstacle in the early season, but Grizzlies management is convinced the team will quickly gain chemistry with Dave Joerger, who was an assistant coach under Lionel Hollins. “You have to start rebuilding your momentum and re-creating your roles and we have a number of new faces,” GM Chris Wallace told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “Because of the personnel and the dynamics of the organization, you hope that his transition is looser than if an outside person came in.” Here's more from the Western Conference..
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman has some questions to ponder before training camp opens for the Thunder. One of the big question marks for OKC is whether Jeremy Lamb is ready to step up and contribute. The youngster will be called upon to be a big contributor after the Thunder let Kevin Martin go this summer.
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News sizes the Mavericks' Monta Ellis against ten other top shooting guards in the league over the last six seasons, based on scoring average. The Mavs gave Ellis a three-year, $28MM deal this offseason after missing out on some more ambitious free agent targets.
- Anthony Davis' cousin, Keith Chamberlain, was among 34 players trying out for the Pelicans' D-League affiliate this weekend, according to Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com.