And-Ones: Lin, James, Harrison, Williams
Point guard Jeremy Lin has received an offer from CSKA Moscow, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Lin is one of the biggest names remaining on the NBA free agent market but has received little interest following a disappointing stint with the champion Raptors. He was expected to be a rotation player in the playoffs after reaching a buyout with the Hawks but only appeared in eight postseason games during the title run, averaging 1.1 PPG in 3.4 MPG. Lin, 30, has appeared in 480 NBA games.
We have more international basketball news:
- Olimpia Milano is looking to part ways with former NBA guard Mike James, Carchia tweets. The Euro team signed another former NBA point guard, Shelvin Mack, on Thursday to essentially replace James. Head coach Ettore Messina informed James there’s no playing time available with the addition of Mack. James played a combined 36 games with the Suns and Pelicans during the 2017/18 season.
- Guard Aaron Harrison will remain in Turkey with Galatasaray, his agent told Carchia (Twitter link). Harrison, 24, last appeared in the NBA with the Mavericks, playing nine games during the 2017/18 season.
- Former Suns and Nets forward Alan Williams will likely sign with Russia’s Lokomotiv Krasnodar, Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas tweets. Williams, 26, played five games with Brooklyn last season.
Billy Garrett Signs With French Team
Free agent shooting guard Billy Garrett, who finished the 2018/19 season with the Knicks, has signed with French team Elan Chalon, the club announced today in a press release.
Garrett, 24, has spent most of the last two seasons playing for the Westchester Knicks after going undrafted out of DePaul in 2017. In 48 games for the G League club last season, he averaged 16.5 PPG, 3.7 APG, and 3.3 RPG in 29.8 minutes per contest, earning a late-season call-up to New York.
Garrett made his NBA debut in April for the Knicks, posting 6.5 PPG and 1.8 APG in four games (15.8 MPG) for the club down the stretch.
New York declined Garrett’s team option for 2019/20 and elected not to tender him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He suited up for the Suns during Summer League play earlier this month.
Shelvin Mack Signs With Olimpia Milano
JULY 25: Mack has officially signed a two-year contract with Olimpia Milano, the team announced today in a press release.
Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported earlier today that Mack had reached an agreement in principle to join the Italian club. Carchia also noted that James was expected to be bought out.
JULY 24: Shelvin Mack, who played for both the Grizzlies and Hornets last season, is drawing interest from Olimpia Milano, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Mack could replace former NBA point guard Mike James, even though James is still under contract with the Italian team.
Mack signed with Memphis last summer and appeared in 53 games, averaging 7.9 points per night, before being traded to the Hawks in February. Atlanta waived him immediately and he was claimed by Charlotte, but saw limited playing time in just four games.
The 29-year-old also spent time with the Wizards, Sixers, Jazz and Magic in an eight-year NBA career.
Greg Monroe To Play In Germany
JULY 25: Monroe has officially signed with Bayern Munich, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 24: Earlier this afternoon, FC Bayern Munich Basketball teased a “big” signing announcement for tomorrow, and Emiliano Carchia of Sportando is now reporting that the team is planning to announce the signing of NBA veteran big man Greg Monroe.
Monroe, 29, appears to be prioritizing playing time and perhaps financial gain with the move to Europe, which makes sense given the nine-year veteran’s recent struggles to carve out a niche in the ever-growing small ball atmosphere of today’s NBA.
The seventh overall pick in the 2010 draft, Monroe was named NBA All-Rookie Second Team for his efforts during the 2010/11 season. For his career, he holds averages of 13.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG, but has become a journeyman of sorts over the past couple of seasons.
Monroe will join fellow former first-round pick Josh Huestis on Bayern Munich’s 2019/20 roster, where the club will look to three-peat as Basketball Bundesliga champions this upcoming season.
And-Ones: Zion, World Cup, Schedule, Marinkovic
Zion Williamson, one of the top free agents on the shoe endorsement market, has reached a deal with Jordan Brand, he announced today on Instagram. Although terms of the multi-year arrangement were not released, Williamson received offers in excess of $10MM a year from some of Jordan’s competitors, relays Nick DePaula of ESPN.
“I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Jordan Brand family,” Williamson said. “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league and having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had and continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to, and I really can’t express how happy and excited I am for this journey.”
The company held an all-employees meeting this morning where the news was disclosed. Digital billboards featuring Williamson are scheduled to be unveiled soon.
There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:
- FIBA’s decision to move the World Cup to the summer before the Olympics may be responsible for so many stars deciding to skip the event, tweets Michael Lee of The Athletic. He notes that it’s difficult to find elite players who are willing to commit two straight offseasons to international competition. Many of the players who withdrew are sincere about their desire to prepare for the upcoming season, observes Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). With no obvious favorite for the 2019/20 title, many stars are seeking any advantage they can get. Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan are the latest players to pull their names out of consideration for Team USA.
- A summer filled with blockbuster trades and unprecedented free agent movement presents unique challenges for schedule makers, writes Jacob Feldman of Sports Illustrated. The scheduling process usually starts in mid-June, but the league came to an agreement with ESPN and TNT to push it back because of the expected flurry of transactions. The schedule release is still anticipated for its normal time of early to mid-August.
- Kings second-round pick Vanja Marinkovic will leave his Partizan Belgrade team to sign with Valencia in Spain, tweets international basketball consultant Vedran Modric. It will be a two-year deal with an option for a third season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link).
- Center Matt Costello, who played briefly for the Spurs during the 2017/18 season, has reached a deal with Spanish club Herbalife Gran Canaria, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando.
Wesley Johnson Signs With Panathinaikos
Veteran NBA swingman Wesley Johnson will head overseas for the 2019/20 season. Greek club Panathinaikos issued a press release today announcing that it has signed Johnson to a one-year contract.
The fourth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Johnson didn’t develop into the sort of impact player that his draft position may have portended, but he has been a reliable rotation piece over the course of his nine-year NBA career.
In 609 career games for the Timberwolves, Suns, Lakers, Clippers, Pelicans, and Wizards, Johnson has averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG with a .404/.337/.741 shooting line.
The 32-year-old was traded twice during the 2018/19 league year, playing limited minutes in 26 games for New Orleans and 12 for Washington before the Wizards released him during the final week of the regular season.
In Greece, Johnson will team up with another former lottery pick — the 10th overall selection in the 2011 draft, Jimmer Fredette also signed with Panathinaikos last week.
Suns’ George King Will Play In Italy
George King, a two-way player with the Suns last year, will join Dolomiti Energia Trentino for the upcoming season, relays Dario Skerletic of Sportando. The Italian team made the announcement on Twitter this morning.
The 59th player selected in the 2018 draft, King agreed to a two-way contract with Phoenix last summer. The small forward appeared in just one NBA game, scoring no points and collecting one rebound in six minutes. He posted a 15.5/5.3/2.5 line in 41 G League contests with Northern Arizona.
The Suns will look elsewhere to fill their remaining two-way slot for 2019/20. They signed rookie guard Jared Harper to a two-way deal this week.
Kosta Koufos To Join CSKA Moscow
Veteran NBA center Kosta Koufos has reached a contract agreement with defending EuroLeague champions CSKA Moscow, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). According to Haynes, the deal will make Koufos the highest-paid American player in Europe next season.
Sources tell Haynes (Twitter link) that Koufos’ new deal will be worth $6MM over two years. It will also have an NBA out, in the event that the big man decides to return stateside for the 2020/21 season.
Koufos, 30, spent the last four seasons with the Kings, who were said to have some interest in re-signing him. However, after averaging about 19-20 minutes per game in his first three years in Sacramento, the former first-round pick saw his role cut back in 2018/19 as the club focused on developing younger players.
In 42 games (12.0 MPG) last season, Koufos recorded 3.7 PPG and 4.2 RPG. He has posted career marks of 5.7 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 686 total regular season contests for the Jazz, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Grizzlies, and Kings.
CSKA Moscow was also rumored to be nearing a deal with former No. 4 overall pick Dragan Bender earlier this week. It’s not clear if the team’s new deal with Koufos will have any impact on Bender’s situation, or if both players will ultimately join the Russian club.
Dragan Bender Likely To Sign With CSKA Moscow
Former No. 4 overall pick Dragan Bender has reached a verbal agreement with EuroLeague powerhouse CSKA Moscow, a source tells Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops (Twitter link). According to Varlas, Bender is expected to join CSKA Moscow unless he gets an offer from an NBA team at the 11th hour.
Keith Smith of RealGM files a similar report, tweeting that Bender’s agreement with CSKA Moscow will allow him to continue seeking out NBA deals for a little while longer. If nothing materializes, the power forward will head to Russia for the 2019/20 season.
Bender, 21, spent the last three seasons with the Suns after being selected fourth overall in 2016. However, he failed to develop into a regular NBA rotation player, averaging 5.3 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .394/.321/.647 shooting line in 171 games in Phoenix.
A report earlier this week indicated that the Cavaliers and Raptors had inquired on Bender, though their level of interest was unclear. That report also linked the young forward to EuroLeague teams Fenerbahce and CSKA Moscow.
If he finalizes his deal with CSKA Moscow, Bender will join former NBA players such as Joel Bolomboy and Darrun Hilliard on the Russian club.
Wade Baldwin Signs With Olympiacos
Free agent guard Wade Baldwin has officially joined Greek club Olympiacos, having signed a two-year contract, the team announced today in a press release. Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops first reported that Baldwin and the EuroLeague squad were finalizing a two-year deal.
Baldwin, 23, was the 17th overall pick in the 2016 draft. However, he only lasted one season in Memphis before being waived by the Grizzlies. He later signed a two-way contract with Portland and was eventually promoted to the Trail Blazers’ 15-man roster, but was traded from the Blazers to the Cavaliers to the Rockets to the Pacers before last season’s trade deadline. Indiana ultimately waived him.
Baldwin, who averaged 3.1 PPG and 1.4 APG in 56 career NBA games, finished the 2018/19 season in the G League, telling Blake Murphy of The Athletic in March that he hoped to prove he was capable of being an NBA rotation player.
Instead of returning to the NBA though, Baldwin will head overseas for the first time in his professional career. He’ll join other former NBA players like Brandon Paul and Kostas Papanikolaou on the Olympiacos roster.