Free agent sharpshooter Matt Ryan is finalizing a contract with Dubai Basketball, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link).
A 6’6″ wing, Ryan has suited up for five different NBA teams over the past four seasons, having spent most of 2024/25 with the Knicks. He rarely played for New York last season, only making 19 garbage-time appearances (3.6 minutes per game).
The 28-year-old signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Knicks in September and spent all of training camp and the preseason with the team, but was waived last month before the ’25/26 campaign began. As a four-year veteran, Ryan is no longer eligible for a two-way contract.
Dubai BC is in its first season in the EuroLeague and features several ex-NBA players.
Here are a few more notes from overseas:
- Veteran NBA guard Spencer Dinwiddie was cut by the Hornets this fall and decided to continue his career in Europe, having signed with Bayern Munich. In an interview with Nicolas Bulach of BasketEurope, Dinwiddie discussed the decision to play in Germany as well as the broader trend of former NBA players joining the EuroLeague. “Everybody is realizing that there is another very high-level basketball league in the world,” Dinwiddie said (hat tip to Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops). “The EuroLeague is very competitive. We have the chance to keep chasing our dreams and to enjoy playing the game, no matter where you are in your career. I think that’s why a lot of players move from the NBA to the EuroLeague.”
- Four-time NBA champion Tony Parker has agreed to become the head coach of France’s under-17 men’s national team, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Parker explained he was motivated to make the move because he recently came across a list his late father made for his three sons. “When I went through his notes after he passed away, one of his notes was top 10 goals for his kids,” the Hall of Famer told Andscape in a phone interview. “And when it came to me, it was coaching in the NBA and coaching the national team. That’s what he put on goals for me. So, it gives me a great inspiration and great motivation to follow this dream. …I want to give back because I miss the court. I miss the adrenaline, the challenge, the drive to win something. The front office is fun, but it’s not the same as being on the court.”
- Amid frontcourt injuries to Mathias Lessort, Richaun Holmes and Omer Yurtseven, Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos has reache a rest-of-season agreement with veteran big man Kenneth Faried, reports Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. The 35-year-old had been playing in Taiwan, but Panathinaikos bought out his contract, Barkas explains. Faried’s deal with Panathinaikos will be finalized soon, pending a physical, head coach Ergin Ataman confirmed today (Twitter video link via Eurohoops).