International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Lecque, Anthony, West, G League

November 17th, 2018 at 7:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Potential first-round pick Jalen Lecque will likely sign a national letter of intent this week, but he hasn’t given up on the NBA draft, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. Lecque is still a high school senior, but he is expected to be granted draft eligibility because he is a year removed from his graduating class. He committed to North Carolina State in October and could put that in writing before the early signing period ends on Wednesday.

A 6’4″ guard, Lecque put his talents on display this weekend at the National Prep Showcase with representatives from 16 NBA teams watching. He is projected at 25 in the latest mock draft compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

“I’m not really focused on the NBA right now,” Lecque said. “I’m focused on first steps first with high school and then next steps with college. I’m getting everything out of the way, graduating and looking to perform my best every game.”

Lecque added that he has no interest in the new G League “select” path that will enable some players fresh out of high school to make $125K.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

Regardless of his NBA future, Carmelo Anthony has a standing offer from the Puerto Rican national team, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Anthony, who already has three gold medals and a bronze with Team USA, announced his retirement from international basketball after the 2016 Olympics. He hasn’t expressed an interest in playing for Puerto Rico, but federation president Yum Ramos plans to offer an invitation. “With his connection to Puerto Rico, his NBA stardom and his experiences, our fans would love it,” said Mavericks guard J.J. Barea, a star with the Puerto Rican team. “We tried a bunch to get him in the past, but of course nobody blamed him for playing for Team USA. But if he ever wants a chance to represent us, it would be awesome to have him.”
David West, who retired from the NBA in August, will be the first chief operating officer for the Historical Basketball League, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The new college league, which will debut in 2020, intends to compensate and educate players based on their market value.
Two former NBA players were involved in a G League trade this week, notes a story on the South Bay Lakers’ website. The Lakers acquired the returning player rights for Joel Bolomboy from the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for similar rights to Vander Blue. Bolomboy played 18 combined games for the Jazz and Bucks, while Blue has 10 games of NBA experience with the Celtics and Lakers.

And-Ones: Warrick, McCullough, Early, Rozier

November 13th, 2018 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Former first-round pick Hakim Warrick has logged 526 regular season NBA games over an eight-year career, but has been out of the Association since the 2012/13 campaign, bouncing around various international leagues since then. In a span of just five years, Warrick played for teams in China, Turkey, Australia, Greece, Puerto Rico, Lebanon, and Israel.

Now, as Adam Zagoria details in a piece for Forbes.com, Warrick is giving the G League a try for the first time as he makes one more push for an NBA roster spot. At age 36, the veteran forward is a long shot to earn a contract offer from an NBA team, but believes he could offer “wisdom and experience” in a locker room — as well as still being able to play a little.

In five games so far this season for the Iowa Wolves, Warrick has recorded 9.2 PPG and 6.4 RPG with a .577 FG% in 18.5 MPG. He’s hoping that his play in the G League will earn him a look, telling Zagoria, “It (the G League) just seems the way to go if you want to try to get back in the NBA.”

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

Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays a pair of international roster moves, tweeting that Chris McCullough‘s one-month deal with Shanxi in China has expired, and writing that Japan’s Tokyo Hachioji Trains have signed Cleanthony Early. McCullough, a 2015 first-round pick, spent time with the Wizards last season, while 2014 second-rounder Early last played in the NBA in 2015/16 for the Knicks.
Preparing for the possibility of the Celtics making Terry Rozier available in trade talks later this season, Frank Urbina of HoopsHype identifies four possible landing spots for the point guard, exploring the potential fit for the Knicks, Suns, Magic, and Spurs.
In an interesting feature for ESPN.com, Kevin Arnovitz explores the ways in which NBA teams have begun to add major revenue streams entirely unrelated to basketball to their operations.

And-Ones: Ball Brothers, Payton, G. Green, Draft

November 8th, 2018 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Lonzo Ball‘s younger brothers are set to remain stateside after spending a portion of the 2017/18 season in Lithuania. Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) reported earlier this week that LiAngelo Ball has let G League teams know of his intent to sign a contract with the league. The NBAGL formally notifies its teams when a player enters the player pool, and as of this afternoon, there had been no official word on Ball, per Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). Still, that should happen soon.

Meanwhile, LaMelo Ball, the younger brother of Lonzo and LiAngelo, told Franklyn Calle of Slam that he’ll play high school ball this season. LaMelo, who said that he’s “excited” to return to high school for his senior year, is enrolling at prep school Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio, according to Calle.

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

Elfrid Payton‘s one-year, $3MM contract with the Pelicans was hardly one of the summer’s major deals, but New Orleans has badly missed Payton while he has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Scott Kushner of The Advocate has the story on the point guard, who was injured during the Pelicans’ first loss of the season and has seen his team go 1-5 since then.
After being in camp with the Pelicans this fall, Garlon Green has signed with Russian club Khimki, according to an official announcement from the team (hat tip to Sportando). Green, the younger brother of Rockets swingman Gerald Green, was waived by New Orleans along with Jarrett Jack at the end of the preseason.
With the 2018/19 NCAA season underway, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today has published his first NBA mock draft for 2019. Meanwhile, Alberto De Roa of HoopsHype identifies several of the top international prospects who could declare for the 2019 draft.

International Notes: Buycks, Sessions, Eddie, Sloan

November 4th, 2018 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Dwight Buycks, who has NBA experience with the Raptors, Lakers and Pistons, has joined the Shenzhen Leopards in the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Sportando. Spanish reporter Chema de Lucas was the first to break the news of the deal.

Buycks has 49 games of NBA experience, including 29 last season with Detroit, where he averaged 7.4 points in about 15 minutes per night. He signed a two-way contract with the Pistons in September of 2017, then had the deal converted into a standard NBA agreement in January. However, the team opted to waive him in July rather than guarantee his contract for another season.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Veteran guard Ramon Sessions has finalized a deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, the team announced on Twitter. He split last season between the Knicks and Wizards, playing a combined 28 games.
Jarell Eddie, who had brief stays with the Celtics and Bulls last year, has signed to play in France, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Eddie bounced around the NBA after going undrafted out of Virginia Tech in 2014. He signed a 10-day contract with Boston in January and another with Chicago in March, but couldn’t stick with either team.
Donald Sloan, who has played for five NBA teams, has signed with the Jiangsu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association, Sportando reports. He was last in the NBA with the Nets in 2015/16.
Former Pistons forward Tony Mitchell has signed a short-term deal to play in Argentina, Carchia tweets.

Ex-Rocket Bobby Brown To Play In Montenegro

November 2nd, 2018 at 8:09am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 2: Brown’s one-year deal with KK Mornar Bar is now official.

NOVEMBER 1: Former Rockets guard Bobby Brown is getting close to reaching an agreement with KK Mornar Bar, a EuroCup team based in Montenegro, tweets Lithuanian reporter Donatas Urbonas (hat tip to Sportando). Assuming a deal gets finalized, it’s expected to include out clauses for China and the EuroLeague, Urbonas notes.

Brown, a former Cal State Fullerton standout, appeared in 25 games for the Rockets in 2016/17 and 20 more in 2017/18. The 34-year-old played a limited role for the club, averaging 2.5 PPG and 0.6 APG in just 5.3 minutes per contest.

Although he also played in the NBA from 2008 to 2010, spending time with four teams during that stretch, Brown has spent the majority of his professional career playing in international leagues, so a return to Europe comes as no shock. He finished last season playing for Olympiacos in Greece after being cut by Houston in February.

International Notes: J. Anthony, B. Paul, Gentile

October 30th, 2018 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA center Joel Anthony has decided to return to Argentina to continue his playing career, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. After helping to lead San Lorenzo de Almagro to a domestic title and an Americas League championship last season, Anthony has rejoined the club, replacing another former NBA big man, Eric Dawson.

Anthony, who was waived by the Bucks last October, appeared in 490 regular season games over the course of his 10-year NBA career for the Heat, Celtics, Pistons, and Spurs. The 36-year-old also played in another 66 postseason games, primarily for the Heat — he won a pair of titles with Miami.

Here are a few more international notes and updates on players with a connection to the NBA:

Brandon Paul, who was waived by the Spurs earlier this year after appearing in 64 games for the club last season, is said to be considering EuroLeague club KK Buducnost, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who adds that a move to China is another option for the ex-Spurs shooting guard.
After being signed and cut by the Rockets this fall, Italian swingman Alessandro Gentile has signed with Estudiantes in Spain, per Carchia. The 53rd overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Gentile was a Rockets draft-and-stash for several years, but his rights are no longer held by any NBA team.
Manny Harris, who has seen NBA action for the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Mavericks, had a short-lived stint in Lithuania this season. As Carchia passes along, Harris and his club in Lithuania, Rytas Vilnius, have agreed to part ways after just 18 days.

And-Ones: Team USA, G League, Sessions, D. Gordon

October 27th, 2018 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Steve Kerr and Brad Stevens are considered the most likely candidates to succeed Gregg Popovich as head coach of Team USA, but there could be other names in the mix, relays Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. During a recent podcast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned Erik Spoelstra as a possibility, along with Nate McMillan and Villanova’s Jay Wright, although he added that the job will probably go to a current NBA coach.

ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst, who joined Wojnarowski for the show, questioned whether McMillan is really in the running, but called Spoelstra a “very strong” candidate, noting that he is highly respected around the league and is the second-longest-tenured head coach with the same team. Spoelstra’s main obstacle is that he’s not already on the Team USA staff.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

The G League’s new alternative to college basketball is getting mixed reviews from some of the nation’s top high school players, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The league plans to offer $125K “select contracts” to top prospects who are at least 18 years old but aren’t yet eligible for the NBA draft. Givony talked to a few five-star recruits who haven’t chosen a college — along with their families — and found both interest and skepticism about the new arrangement. “My first reaction was I’d like to hear more,” said Richard Hurt, the father of top-10 recruit Matthew Hurt. “… There are some things that are intriguing about it. It’s not the money. It’s the opportunity to focus solely on what your craft will be. Similar to what a trade school would be.”
Ramon Sessions may be headed to Israel, notes Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Maccabi Tel Aviv is reportedly considering an offer for the 11-year NBA veteran, who played a combined 28 games last season for the Knicks and Wizards. Sessions may replace another former NBA player, Jeremy Pargo, who will miss several weeks with an injury.
Drew Gordon tells NetsDaily.com that he sees the G League as his chance to return to the NBA after three years of being overseas. Gordon, who is playing for Long Island, has just nine games of NBA experience, all coming with the Sixers during the 2014/15 season. “I’ve basically been living my life out of four suitcases for the last five, six years,” he said. “It’s always interesting to immerse yourself into different cultures and having to live there for an extended period of time. You just have to learn to go with the flow with certain types of things and be able to adapt quickly and make changes with your game and everyday lifestyle.”

Anthony Brown To Play In Serbia

October 23rd, 2018 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Former second-round pick Anthony Brown will play in Serbia during the 2018/19 season, with KK Partizan announcing today in a press release that it has signed the three-year NBA veteran. According to the announcement from the Serbian club, Brown will arrive in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Brown, a second-round pick in 2015 out of Stanford, spent his first two NBA seasons with the Lakers, Pelicans, and Magic before signing a two-way contract with the Timberwolves last summer. The 6’7″ forward only appeared in one game for Minnesota, but had a strong year in the G League, averaging 18.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 3.6 APG with a .459/.402/.797 shooting line in 45 contests for the Iowa Wolves.

When the Timberwolves opted not to bring him back, Brown joined the Sixers for training camp and the preseason, but was waived along with a few other Philadelphia camp invitees before the regular season got underway.

Brown is the second 2017/18 two-way player who has joined KK Partizan this year — former Hornets guard Marcus Paige signed with the club in July and has averaged 14.0 PPG and 5.0 APG in his first four games in Serbia this fall.

And-Ones: Hansbrough, Early, T. Ennis

October 22nd, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA lottery pick Tyler Hansbrough will reportedly continue his professional career in China, with Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reporting that the veteran forward has reached an agreement with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls.

Hansbrough, who played seven NBA seasons for the Pacers, Raptors, and Hornets after being drafted 13th overall out of UNC in 2009, last appeared in the league during the 2015/16 season. The 32-year-old spent the 2017/18 campaign in China as well, falling just short of a double-double on the season (20.8 PPG and 9.9 RPG) with Guangzhou.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world, including a couple more notes from overseas:

Former Knicks forward Cleanthony Early signed with Rebeldes del Enriquillo, a club in the Dominican Republic, as Nicola Lupo of Sportando relays. Early appeared in 56 NBA games for the Knicks from 2014 to 2016.
Tyler Ennis – a 2014 first-rounder who spent time with four NBA teams, including the Lakers – signed with Turkish club Fenerbahce this summer, but will be sidelined for several months after suffering a fractured right tibia. Ennis underwent surgery to repair the injury, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando).
A growing number of teams in the NBA and G League are adding female assistant coaches to their staffs, with the Greensboro Swarm – the Hornets‘ NBAGL affiliate – among them. That trend is “great for the NBA,” according to Hornets head coach James Borrego, who arrived in Charlotte this offseason after serving on the Spurs‘ staff for years. “It speaks to our league, the diversity, the openness, the inclusion and I’m proud to be part of that, part of a league that’s open to that,” Borrego told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “I’ve been around Becky Hammon for a number of years now. These are bright women that belong in our league.”
After playing in the NBA for 13 seasons, Antonio Davis battled depression and mental health issues following his retirement. Now, as Branden Peters of The Athletic details, Davis is serving as the director for the NBA’s “Off the Court” program, a program aimed at helping players transition to the next phase of their life when their playing careers end.

Derrick Walton To Play In Lithuania

October 18th, 2018 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

After being waived by the Bulls over the weekend, guard Derrick Walton has lined up his next opportunity, with Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas announcing today (via Twitter) that it has officially added Walton to its backcourt (hat tip to Sportando).

Walton, 23, signed a two-way contract with the Heat last year and appeared in 16 games for the NBA squad, playing limited minutes. He saw more extensive action for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate, recording 16.1 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG with a .442/.377/.902 shooting line in 27 games for the club.

Although the Heat initially tendered Walton a two-way qualifying offer, they withdrew that QO in July, clearing the way for the former Michigan point guard to sign a camp deal with the Bulls. However, he didn’t make the team’s regular season roster.

Walton joins a lengthy list of veterans who will play overseas in 2018/19 after seeing NBA action last season.