International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: All-In Teams, 2027 Draft, Extensions, Thanasis

August 6th, 2025 at 10:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

A trio of ambitious NBA teams have leveraged many of their future assets to go “all-in” on winning now, write Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.

Bontemps and Pelton note that the Nuggets, Bucks and Timberwolves are looking to make the most of what they see as their current title windows.

Denver has given up most of its draft equity to restructure its depth around three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic. Its 2025/26 roster does, on paper, represent an improvement over former president Calvin Booth‘s 2024/25 vintage.

Milwaukee, too, has taken some bold swings to build around two-time MVP forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, but questions abound about just how much this team can win without a second All-Star on the team — as well as $22.5MM in dead money being paid out to ex-Bucks guard Damian Lillard for each of the next five years.

Minnesota sacrificed many of its future draft assets to build its roster around 23-year-old All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

With buzz building about what could be a loaded 2026 draft class led by AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report takes stock of the next summer’s cohort. U19 World Cup gold medalist forward Tyran Stokes leads the way among 2027 prospects, followed closely by Eurocamp MVP guard Caleb Holt.
NBA rookie scale contract extensions, much like restricted free agent deals, have become more difficult to navigate of late. John Hollinger of The Athletic opines that a lack of incentives has thrown a wrench in players and teams reaching a consensus on deals. Contracts heavy on incentives used to be a way to bridge the gap between team and player, but not a single free agent deal or extension this offseason has featured incentives, which teams have avoided because they count toward the tax aprons.
Former Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo made his first in-game appearance since May 2024 during an exhibition match for Team Greece ahead of this year’s EuroBasket competition, according to Eurohoops. The 6’7″ forward, now a free agent, tore his Achilles tendon last spring. Across 12:34, Antetokounmpo scored six points while helping the Greek team fend off Belgium, 74-60, in Athens. Little brother Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out, but is traveling with the team and will play when the games start to count.

Richaun Holmes Expected To Sign With Panathinaikos

August 5th, 2025 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on overseas reports indicating that big man Richaun Holmes was nearing a deal with Panathinaikos (hat tip to Eurohoops), Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) cites sources who say Holmes has agreed to sign a contract with the Greek club that will make him one of the highest-paid players in Europe.

Holmes, 31, was the 37th overall pick in the 2015 draft out of Bowling Green and has spent the past decade in the NBA, suiting up for five different teams during that time. He had his best years in Sacramento, where he was the Kings’ full-time starting center and put up 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game across 61 outings in 2020/21.

Holmes has played a lesser role in recent years, including in 2024/25, when he made 31 appearances for the Wizards and averaged 7.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 17.2 minutes per night. His contract with Washington included a second season, but his $13.3MM salary for 2025/26 was almost entirely non-guaranteed and he was waived by the club last month.

After becoming an unrestricted free agent, Holmes drew interest from a handful of EuroLeague clubs, including Fenerbahce in Turkey. A report over the weekend stated he was mulling an offer from Panathinaikos while waiting to see if he’d be offered a guaranteed NBA contract. Today’s update suggests he didn’t get an NBA offer to his liking.

Assuming the deal doesn’t fall through before it’s officially finalized, the signing will wrap up a weeks-long saga for Panathinaikos — the Athens-based team targeted Jonas Valanciunas in early July and appeared to be on the verge of signing him to a three-year contract, but ultimately wasn’t able to pry him away from the Nuggets. Having missed out on Valanciunas, Panathinaikos continued to seek frontcourt help with an eye on NBA free agents, including Holmes and Precious Achiuwa.

Holmes will be looking to help lead Panathinaikos to a title or two in 2025/26 after the club fell just short this past season. The Greens went 22-0 during Greece’s regular season before losing to Olympiacos in the final. In the EuroLeague, Panathinaikos finished third with a 22-12 record but was defeated by Fenerbahce – the eventual champions – in the semifinals.

Jack McVeigh Signs With Cairns Taipans

August 5th, 2025 at 7:40am CST by Luke Adams

After spending the 2024/25 season on a two-way contract with the Rockets, Australian forward Jack McVeigh is heading back to his home country, having signed a two-year contract with the Cairns Taipans, according to an announcement from the team. The second year of the deal is a mutual option.

McVeigh, 29, competed for several seasons in Australia’s National Basketball League before making the leap to the NBA last summer. He appeared in just nine games for Houston as a rookie in 2024/25, but was a featured player for the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, making 34 total appearances for the club.

McVeigh averaged 16.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 30.7 minutes per game for the Vipers, posting a shooting line of .440/.370/.875.

The 6’8″ forward remained stateside in July and suited up for Atlanta’s Summer League squad, posting solid averages of 14.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG on .588/.455/1.000 shooting across four outings (22.8 MPG). Reporting over the weekend indicated that he was hoping to parlay that performance into another NBA opportunity, but it appears no appealing offers materialized.

McVeigh’s new contract is worth $2MM over two seasons, making him the highest-paid player in Taipans history, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN (Twitter links). As Uluc outlines, McVeigh will be one of the four highest earners in the NBL heading into the 2025/26 season, joining Bryce Cotton, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., and Xavier Cooks as players who are making at least $1MM annually.

Jeff Dowtin Jr. Signs With Maccabi Tel Aviv

August 5th, 2025 at 7:19am CST by Arthur Hill

August 5: Maccabi Tel Aviv has officially confirmed its deal with Dowtin, announcing in a press release that it’s actually a three-year contract. Based on Stein’s reporting (detailed below), it sounds like the contract will feature NBA outs.

August 4: Jeff Dowtin Jr. will sign a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, agent Bill Neff tells Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

The 28-year-old point guard received interest from several European clubs, Stein adds (Twitter link). He and the team will have a mutual option on the second season of his new deal.

Dowtin spent last season with the Sixers on a two-way contract after joining the team in March of 2024. He appeared in 41 NBA games, averaging 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 15.1 minutes per night with .487/.400/.733 shooting numbers.

Dowtin signed with Orlando after going undrafted out of Rhode Island in 2020, but he didn’t make his NBA debut until 2021 when Golden State claimed him off waivers. He played one game with Milwaukee on a 10-day contract the following season before returning to the Magic on a 10-day deal. He also spent time with Toronto before coming to Philadelphia.

Stein points out that Dowtin is the third member of last year’s Sixers team to wind up with Maccabi Tel Aviv (Twitter link). He joins Lonnie Walker IV, whose signing was announced earlier today, and Oshae Brissett, who was added to the Israeli team in July.

Brandon Boston Signs With Fenerbahce

August 4th, 2025 at 11:55am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

August 4: Boston’s deal with Fenerbahce is now official, the team announced in a press release.

August 3: Free agent wing Brandon Boston Jr. is putting the finishing touches on a new deal with Fenerbahce, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. According to Urbonas, Boston is close to signing a contract with the Turkish club.

Boston had previously been linked to Greek team Panathinaikos, who – like Fenerbahce – have been actively striving to recruit more NBA-caliber talent this summer.

Since being selected with the No. 51 overall pick out of Kentucky in 2021, Boston has split his four seasons in the NBA between the Clippers and, last year, the Pelicans.

The 6’7″ swingman enjoyed his biggest role yet during the 2024/25 season, albeit on a tanking team in New Orleans. Across 42 contests (10 starts), he averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.3 SPG, while slashing .436/.350/.788.

Boston began last season on a two-way contract before being promoted to the standard roster in February. Now that he has four years of NBA experience, the 23-year-old is no longer eligible to sign a two-way deal.

If the 23-year-old finalizes a deal with Fenerbahce, he’ll continue his career with the reigning EuroLeague champions, competing overseas for the first time. Fenerbahce’s 2025/26 roster also includes a handful of other NBA alums, including center Khem Birch and guard Wade Baldwin IV.

Maccabi Tel Aviv Announces Signing Of Lonnie Walker IV

August 4th, 2025 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Lonnie Walker IV, who finished last season with the Sixers, has officially joined Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Israeli club issued a statement on Monday announcing the three-year deal.

“We are extremely proud to welcome Lonnie Walker IV to our family,” general manager Claudio Coldebella said. “Bringing a talent of this caliber to Tel Aviv, a player that was drafted and tested in the NBA, is a strong and clear signal of our ambition to compete at the highest levels and excite our fans. Lonnie’s arrival is not an isolated move but the perfect fit of another valuable piece in the mosaic we are composing with vision and strategy.

“We are building a team with a clear identity, founded on talent, character, and ambition. The resilience he has demonstrated throughout his career fits perfectly with the work ethic and determination that are the pillars of the yellow-and-blue organization. His work ethic is the guarantee of an athlete who is never satisfied but who strives in every way to achieve his goals. Improve personally and help the entire group grow.”

Walker’s agreement with Maccabi Tel Aviv was first reported nearly two weeks ago. His contract reportedly has a total value of around $10MM and includes NBA exit clauses for 2026 and 2027 until July 15 of each year.

Walker spent part of last season in the EuroLeague with Zalgiris Kaunas after Boston waived him in October. He reportedly received a two-year offer from Hapoel Tel Aviv and drew interest from Real Madrid as well.

The 26-year-old shooting guard had a productive stretch after signing with Philadelphia in February. In 20 games, he averaged a career-high 12.4 points, along with 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while shooting 42% from the field and 35.4% from three-point range.

He became a free agent when the Sixers declined his $2.9MM option in late June.

“Lonnie is a great player with exceptional talent,” Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Oded Kattash said. “The experience he gained in the NBA and his familiarity with Europe and the EuroLeague will help us a lot. He is a competitive player with a big hunger for success. I am sure he will quickly connect to our DNA and lead us to success.”

International Notes: Napier, Markkanen, Williams, Birch

August 3rd, 2025 at 9:58pm CST by Eli Cohen

After winning a championship and being named 2025 Finals MVP of the German Bundesliga for Bayern Munich, Shabazz Napier is hitting free agency, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

The 34-year-old point guard averaged 10.3 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 41.1% on three-pointers during EuroLeague play.

Napier was the 24th pick in the 2014 draft and averaged 7.1 points and 2.5 assists during his six-year NBA career. He split time between the G League and EuroLeague throughout the 2022/23 season, playing 10 games for the Mexico City Capitanes and averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.9 steals while shooting 47.1% from three before joining Olimpia Milano, where he averaged 15.0 points and 3.9 assists and knocked down 45.6% of his threes.

Since then, he has bounced between Olimpia Milano and Crvena Zvezda before heading to Bayern this past season.

We have more from the world of international hoops:

Lauri Markkanen will lead Team Finland in EuroBasket as the lone NBA player on the roster, as the team at Eurohoops.net notes. He’s not the only NBA personnel, though, as Jazz assistant Sean Sheldon will serve as an assistant coach. The Finnish team will play Sweden, Great Britain, Montenegro, Lithuania, and Germany in the group stage, which starts on August 27.
Johnathan Williams III has signed a one-year deal with the London Lions, reports Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Williams spent two seasons in the NBA, from 2018-2020, splitting time between the Lakers and Wizards. He spent the previous three years in the Japanese league, playing last year for the Chiba Jets, for whom he averaged 11.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 17 games.
In case you missed it, Khem Birch has finalized his contract extension with Fenerbahce. The new deal is for one year as the Turkish powerhouse looks to defend its title. The 32-year-old center was named Finals MVP of the Basketball Super League playoffs last season.

Jack McVeigh Hopes To Continue NBA Journey

August 3rd, 2025 at 8:04pm CST by Eli Cohen

Unrestricted free agent Jack McVeigh is actively pursuing options that will keep him in the NBA, reports ESPN’s Olgun Uluc (via Twitter).

McVeigh, who spent last season on a two-way contract with the Rockets, played nine games at the NBA level, as well as 34 games with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He averaged 16.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest in the NBAGL while making 37% of his three-point attempts.

Last year was the first NBA experience for the 29-year-old, 6’8″ forward from Australia, who had played the previous six years with the Adelaide 36ers and Tasmania JackJumpers before coming stateside.

He played four games with the Rockets’ Summer League team this offseason, averaging 14.0 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 45.5% from three in 22.8 minutes per game.

Uluc adds that McVeigh is seriously considering offers to play in Europe as well and that he has received offers from multiple high-level EuroLeague teams.

Uluc also notes (via Twitter) that McVeigh has a strong set of options back in the NBL. The JackJumpers recently relinquished their rights of first refusal, which would allow him to sign with another Australian team if he decides to return home. The Cairns Taipans and Illawara Hawks are expected to be the top two suitors should McVeigh head back to the NBL.

Richaun Holmes Weighing Panathinaikos Offer, Hoping To Stay In NBA?

August 3rd, 2025 at 8:44am CST by Rory Maher

Free agent center Richaun Holmes was waived by the Wizards on July 14. At the end of July, reports indicated that his representatives were talking to Turkish club Fenerbahce, the reigning EuroLeague champions.

Evidently the talks with Fenerbahce weren’t fruitful, but Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops.net hears that Holmes now has a two-year offer on the table from 2024 EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos.

As Barbarousis explains, Holmes is reportedly still holding out hope of landing a guaranteed NBA contract. If that doesn’t happen in the near future, he’s expected to sign with the Greek powerhouse, which made an unsuccessful run at Jonas Valanciunas earlier this offseason.

The 37th pick of the 2015 draft after starring in college at Bowling Green, Holmes has spent the past 10 years in the NBA, suiting up for Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, Dallas and Washington. His most productive season was 2020/21, when he averaged 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game across 61 appearances for the Kings.

Holmes, who will turn 32 years old in October, holds career averages of 8.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 0.9 BPG in 19.1 MPG (489 games, including 178 starts). He averaged 7.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 0.7 BPG in 31 games for the Wizards in ’24/25 (17.2 MPG).

Khem Birch Signs One-Year Extension With Fenerbahce

August 3rd, 2025 at 8:35am CST by Eli Cohen

August 3: Birch’s one-year extension with Fenerbahce — which covers the 2025/26 season — is now official, according to a team press release.

August 1: Veteran center Khem Birch is nearing a contract extension with EuroLeague champions Fenerbahce Istanbul, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. Urbonas indicates that the deal would at least lock up Birch for next season, though it’s unclear if it would extend beyond that.

Birch was named the Turkish League Finals MVP this season after averaging 11.2 points and 5,2 rebounds per game during the Finals. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per night throughout EuroLeague play. BasketNews named him one of the best defenders in the EuroLeague.

After starting his career with Olympiacos in the Greek league, Birch played six seasons in the NBA, splitting his time between the Magic and the Raptors. He then returned overseas and has been playing in Europe since the 2023/24 season.

The Fenerbahce roster is loaded with players who have spent time in the NBA, including Nicolo Melli, Onuralp Bitim, Bonzie Colson, Devon Hall, and Wade Baldwin IV. The Turkish team will look to defend its domestic and EuroLeague titles this coming season.