Bruno Caboclo

Bruno Caboclo Signs With Ratiopharm Ulm

Former NBA first-round pick Bruno Caboclo has signed with Ratiopharm Ulm, the German team announced today in a press release. According to the club, Caboclo’s deal runs through 2023/24, so he’ll be under contract with Ratiopharm Ulm for another season beyond the current one.

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo appeared in a total of 105 NBA regular season games across seven seasons with the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets. Although the Brazilian forward had tantalizing physical tools, he never put them together at the NBA level, averaging 4.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .403/.308/.836 shooting in 12.3 minutes per contest.

Caboclo finished the 2020/21 season in France, then returned to his home country for the ’21/22 campaign, signing with Sao Paolo FC. The 27-year-old led the club to a BCL Americas title and earned MVP honors in the Novo Basquete Brasil, which is Brazil’s top basketball league.

The Celtics signed Caboclo to a training camp contract this past offseason, but waived him in September before camps got underway. He has spent the first part of the 2022/23 campaign playing for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League, averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.3 BPG on 55.6% shooting in 16 games (26.8 MPG) in the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup this fall.

In addition to playing in the Basketball Bundesliga, Germany’s top basketball league, Ratiopharm Ulm also competes in the EuroCup. The team has gone 5-4 in EuroCup action but is just 5-8 in BBL play, so it will be looking for a boost from Caboclo.

International Notes: Caboclo, Silas, Hezonja, Embiid

Free agent power forward Bruno Caboclo, most recently with the Celtics, has signed with the NBA G League’s Mexico City Capitanes, a source informs Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Caboclo, 27, was initially drafted with the No. 20 pick in the 2014 draft by the Raptors. From 2014-21, the 6’9″ big man split his time between the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets, plus their respective G League teams. He joined Brazilian team São Paulo FC for the 2021/22 season. Following a 2022 Summer League stint with the Jazz, he joined the Celtics on a training camp deal, before being released late last month.

Caboclo was always a tantalizing athlete, thanks in part to his raw athleticism and 7’7″ wingspan. He failed to make an impact at the NBA level. Across 105 games, Caboclo holds averages of 4.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.7 APG and 0.6 BPG in 12.3 MPG.

There’s more basketball news from beyond the NBA:

  • Former NBA pro and, more recently, G League assistant coach Xavier Silas will make his debut as a head coach for Puerto Rican club the Guaynabo Mets, writes Spencer Davies of Basketball News. “It’s a team that has had a really good history,” Silas told Davies. “They went to the championship not last year, but the year before, so they have a really nice base and foundation of what they’re trying to do. The owners [Marc Grossman and Mark Linder], everybody has been super nice and helpful with everything, so I think it’s gonna be a good situation.” In the NBAGL, Silas has enjoyed stints with the Delaware Blue Coats and the Motor City Cruise.
  • 2015 lottery pick Mario Hezonja hasn’t closed the door on an NBA comeback, though for now he is enjoying his time with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, per Alex Madrid of Eurohoops. “I have a lot of things to do in Europe and well, in the future, if something happens we’ll see,” Hezonja said. “But really, I want to be here as long as I can, I want to earn a lot and I am happy.” After being selected with the fifth pick in 2015 by the Magic, Hezonja spent five seasons in the NBA, splitting his time between Orlando, the Knicks and the Trail Blazers, before returning overseas, where he has since suited up for clubs in Greece, Russia, and now Spain, where he also got his professional start prior to his NBA journey. Prior to being drafted stateside, the 6’8″ forward played in Barcelona from 2012-2015.
  • Cameroon-born Sixers All-NBA center Joel Embiid can suit up for either France or the U.S. in the 2024 Paris Olympics, as he possesses citizenship in both countries. French national team coach Vincent Collet told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that he hopes the seven-foot big man will choose his club. All-NBA Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert currently mans the middle for the French national team. “Now he has both nationalities, and he has to choose one basketball nationality, which is not the same,” Collet said. “So, that is a choice. Nobody can do anything to change it.”

Celtics Waive Bruno Caboclo

The Celtics have waived forward Bruno Caboclo, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Boston signed Caboclo to a training camp deal late last month with the expectation he’d compete for a roster spot, so the timing is somewhat surprising. It’s possible the Celtics found a more desirable option, or that Caboclo had a better offer overseas.

His contract included Exhibit 10 language, so it’s also possible he could resurface with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League team.

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo appeared in a total of 105 NBA regular season games across seven seasons with the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets. He averaged 4.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .403/.308/.836 shooting in 12.3 MPG.

Caboclo, who turns 27 on Wednesday, finished the 2020/21 season in France, then returned to his home country for the ’21/22 campaign, signing with Sao Paolo FC. Caboclo led the club to a BCL Americas title and earned MVP honors in the Novo Basquete Brasil, which is Brazil’s top basketball league.

Contract Details: Koloko, Caboclo, Silva, Tillman, Watanabe, Spurs

As initially reported by Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca, the Raptors used exactly $1.5MM of their mid-level exception to sign rookie big man Christian Koloko to a three-year contract on Friday. With the second and third years worth the minimum, Koloko’s deal has a total three-year value of $5,239,563.

The first two years of that contract are fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned, with the third year non-guaranteed. Koloko’s salary for 2024/25 would become fully guaranteed if he hasn’t been waived within 48 hours of the 2024 NBA draft.

Here are a few more details on newly-signed contracts from around the NBA:

  • The new one-year, non-guaranteed contracts for Bruno Caboclo (Celtics), Chris Silva (Hawks), and Justin Tillman (Nuggets) all include Exhibit 10 language. Silva’s and Tillman’s deals could be converted into two-way contracts, but Caboclo’s can’t, since he has too many years of NBA service to be two-way eligible.
  • Yuta Watanabe‘s one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Nets includes an Exhibit 9 clause, but not an Exhibit 10. That essentially means that Watanabe is only in the mix to compete for a regular season roster spot and probably won’t be joining Brooklyn’s G League affiliate if he’s cut (he’s ineligible for a two-way deal).
  • Alize Johnson‘s non-guaranteed contract with the Spurs is an Exhibit 9, but not an Exhibit 10. Tommy Kuhse‘s deal is an Exhibit 10, so he could have it converted into a two-way deal or could become an affiliate player for the Austin Spurs.

Celtics Sign Bruno Caboclo To Camp Deal

AUGUST 24: The Celtics have officially signed Caboclo, according to RealGM’s transactions log.


AUGUST 1: Free agent forward Bruno Caboclo has reached an agreement on a training camp deal with the Celtics and will get the opportunity to compete for a roster spot this fall, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo appeared in a total of 105 NBA regular season games across seven seasons with the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets. While the Brazilian forward had tantalizing physical tools, he never put them together at the NBA level, averaging 4.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .403/.308/.836 shooting in 12.3 minutes per contest.

Caboclo finished the 2020/21 season in France, then returned to his home country for the ’21/22 campaign, signing with Sao Paolo FC. Caboclo, who is still just 26 years old, led the club to a BCL Americas title and earned MVP honors in the Novo Basquete Brasil, which is Brazil’s top basketball league.

Caboclo worked out for the Jazz in June and played for Utah’s Summer League teams in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas in July, but will be heading to camp with the Celtics, who still have at least a couple regular season roster spots up for grabs. Boston is currently carrying just 12 players on standard contracts, plus a pair on two-way deals.

Jazz Notes: Mitchell, Gobert, Free Agents, Kessler

Jazz general manager Justin Zanik didn’t label Donovan Mitchell as “untouchable,” but he made it clear that moving Mitchell isn’t part of the team’s current plans, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. In the wake of the Rudy Gobert trade, there has been speculation that Utah might seek to unload Mitchell and launch a full-scale rebuild, but Zanik said the organization still considers Mitchell to be a vital part of its future.

“Change is inevitable in the NBA,” Zanik responded when asked about Mitchell. “I’m not trying to be cryptic or anything else, but Donovan is on our roster and he’s a very, very important part of what we’re trying to do. Things evolve in the NBA, so I couldn’t sit here and say anybody is (untouchable). We’re trying to build a championship team, but there’s no intent there (to trade Mitchell), at all.”

Zanik added that management has been in touch with Mitchell and he “has been supportive” of the team’s offseason moves, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Mitchell may see more time as the primary ball-handler during the upcoming season, and CEO Danny Ainge believes he’s capable of becoming a full-time point guard (Twitter link).

There’s more on the Jazz:

  • Zanik also said the team is “in the middle of” reforming its roster and indicated that more moves are coming, Walden tweets. Addressing the Gobert trade, Zanik said the Jazz loved having Gobert to anchor their defense, but decided the offer from Minnesota was “in the best interest of the organization.”
  • The team is still considering re-signing free agents Eric Paschall, Trent Forrest and Juancho Hernangomez, Walden adds (Twitter link). “By no means have we closed the book on any of those guys,” Zanik said.
  • First-round pick Walker Kessler is dealing with a minor toe injury that he suffered during pre-draft workouts and won’t play any more in Summer League, Walden tweets. Kessler has received clearance from the team’s medical staff, but will focus on conditioning.
  • Jared Butler and Bruno Caboclo were Jazz “standouts” at the Salt Lake City Summer League, per Trent Wood of The Deseret News.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Workouts, Jokic, Wolves, Roddy

The Jazz hosted another free agent mini-camp this week, bringing in 20 players on Monday and Tuesday for a closer look, as our JD Shaw relays (Twitter links). While not all of the invitees have NBA experience, there are a handful of noteworthy names in the group, including former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker. Big man Reggie Perry, swingman Denzel Valentine, forward Bruno Caboclo, and guards Langston Galloway, Sindarius Thornwell, and Grant Riller were among the other players to audition for Utah.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • The Jazz are working out six more draft-eligible prospects on Wednesday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune, who tweets that Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Tommy Kuhse (Saint Mary’s), Josh Minott (Memphis), Darryl Morsell (Marquette), Henri Drell (G League), and Jermaine Samuels (Villanova) will be in town.
  • Nuggets star and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic has committed to playing for the Serbian national team this offseason, the Serbian Basketball Federation announced on Wednesday (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops). Jokic likely won’t participate in the qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup that will take place in a couple weeks, but he’s expected to be available later in the summer for the 2022 EuroBasket tournament.
  • Colorado State forward David Roddy, who went to high school in Minnesota, is working out for his hometown Timberwolves on Wednesday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Roddy, the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s big board, could be an option for the Wolves in the first round at No. 19 or in the second round if he slips — Minnesota holds the 40th, 48th, and 50th overall picks.

Bruno Caboclo Signs With Brazilian Team

Bruno Caboclo, who played for the Rockets last season, has signed with Sao Paulo in Brazil, according to the team, Hoops Rum0rs’ JD Shaw tweets.

The 6’9” Caboclo played in France with Limoges CSP at the end of last season.

He has appeared in 105 NBA games since he was drafted in the first round by the Raptors in 2014. He’s also played for Sacramento and Memphis.

Caboclo saw action in six games with Houston before he was waived in mid-January in order to clear a roster spot after the James Harden multi-team blockbuster. He also played eight games for Houston at the end of the 2019/20 season after being acquired from the Grizzlies at the trade deadline.

And-Ones: Nets Security, Zipser, Mannion, Mozgov, TBT

A Nets security official who made contact with Bucks forward P.J. Tucker during a Game 3 skirmish has been barred by the NBA from working any more games in Milwaukee for the rest of the series, according to Joe Vardon, Eric Nehm and Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. The official, Antjuan Lambert, also won’t be allowed at courtside during the games in Brooklyn.

Lambert is employed by the team, but he has also been working for Kevin Durant since the star forward signed with Brooklyn in 2019. When Durant had an altercation with Tucker in the third quarter of Game 3, Lambert intervened and bumped into Tucker.

“In the heat of the moment you know people are coming to de-escalate things and try to get things under control and not bump and escalate and have things become a problem than what we’re trying to address or de-escalate,” Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And, in the 24-48 hours since, if it’s a Nets security guy and he’s bumping our player and things like that, that doesn’t seem like that’s the protocol and what we’d expect from any type of security.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former Bulls forward Paul Zipser had to undergo emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage this week, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Zipser is now playing for FC Bayern in Germany.
  • Warriors guard Nico Mannion will be part of the Italian team for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgrade, notes Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. Duke prospect Paolo Banchero, who received an Italian passport several months ago, hasn’t made a final decision on whether he’ll join Mannion.
  • Former NBA center Timofey Mozgov is expected to represent Russia in its upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament, Borghesan adds in a separate piece. Injuries limited Mozgov to six games this season for his Khimki team, but he recently returned to action.
  • Veteran NBA big man Amir Johnson will participate in The Basketball Tournament this summer, tweets J.D. Shaw of Hoops Rumors. Also playing will be Bruno Caboclo, who appeared in six games for the Rockets this season (Twitter link).

Bruno Caboclo Signs With French Team

Forward Bruno Caboclo, who played six games with the Rockets this season, has signed with France’s Limoges CSP, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.

Caboclo has appeared in 105 NBA games since he was drafted in the first round by the Raptors in 2014. He’s also played for Sacramento and Memphis.

Caboclo was waived in mid-January in order to clear a roster spot after the James Harden multi-team blockbuster. He also played eight games for Houston at the end of last season after being acquired from the Grizzlies at the trade deadline.

Caboclo signed a two-year contract with the Rockets in November that included a team option, but the first year wasn’t fully guaranteed.