International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Jokic, Malone, Spending Power, Jordan, Uniforms

May 19th, 2025 at 1:24pm CST by Rory Maher

After Sunday’s lopsided Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City, Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic was asked whether or not he intends to suit up for Serbia at the EuroBasket tournament this summer, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays. Jokic helped the Serbian national team win a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

“I think the Olympics made me even better. Playing for your country, with other rules, with different players,” he said. “I need to decide. … I need to talk with the coaches and some of the main players. And we will see. But for now, for the next couple of days, there will be a lot of beer probably.”

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

Michael Malone, the former head coach of the Nuggets who was fired with three games left in the regular season, is joining ESPN for its coverage of the Western Conference Finals, according to The Associated Press. The series tips off on Tuesday, with top-seeded Oklahoma City hosting Minnesota. Malone will be featured on both the pregame and halftime shows.
Which NBA teams will have the most spending power this offseason? Which will have the least? Danny Leroux of The Athletic breaks each team into categories, with the Nets having by far the most projected cap space at $58MM. The Spurs are among the group who project to have access to the full (aka non-taxpayer) mid-level exception, the Pacers could have the taxpayer MLE, and the Cavaliers are expected to be over the second tax apron. Leroux also gives a brief rundown of the types of moves each club could consider with respect to their financial situation.
A uniform worn by Bulls legend Michael Jordan during the 1992/93 season was recently sold at auction for $2.6MM, per Dan Hajducky of ESPN.com. Jordan, who wore the red uniform during road games, led the league in scoring for the seventh straight time and led Chicago to its third consecutive title in ’92/93. The former Hornets owner is joining NBC Sports as a special contributor when the NBA returns to the network this fall.
The NBA has informed teams that city edition uniforms will not be worn during the conference finals or finals, a league source tell Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). The city edition uniforms were evidently only permitted for the first two rounds of the playoffs. Indiana faces New York in the Eastern final.

International Notes: P. Gasol, Bogut, Nunn, Shorts, Biberovic

May 18th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA stars Pau Gasol and Andrew Bogut were welcomed into the FIBA Hall of Fame Saturday night in Bahrain, according to Eurohoops. In addition to their NBA accomplishments, both players had extensive experience in international competitions, with Gasol being Spain’s all-time scoring leader in EuroBasket and Bogut representing Australia in three Summer Olympics.

Gasol, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023, used his speech to reflect on his time with the Spanish national team and share memories of former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant.

“None was more important than my brother, Kobe,” Gasol told the crowd. “Our connection went far beyond that. He was unique. He challenged me to leave it all on the court every day to make us NBA champions. I’ll never forget how he welcomed me onto the team. We built something special. It wasn’t easy. Trust, accountability, unwavering commitment, and pure determination. I miss him and (his daughter) Gigi terribly.”

Other notable members of this year’s class include former Duke and Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski, three-time gold medalist Dawn Staley and WNBA career assists leader Ticha Penicheiro of Portugal.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Kendrick Nunn is mulling over offers to represent Greece or Turkey at this year’s EuroBasket tournament, according to George Adamopolous of EuroHoops. The former NBA guard, who plays for Panathinaikos in Greece, is the reigning EuroLeague MVP. “There were offers that came on the table to play either for the Greek national team or the Turkish national team,” Nunn said. “It’s still in the air. I haven’t made a decision yet to be honest. I still have time.”
T.J. Shorts, who has received interest from the Grizzlies, has earned back-to-back MVP honors in the French League, per EuroHoops. The Paris Basketball point guard averaged 16.9 points and 8.0 assists per game in his first season in the league, shooting 59.1% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range. Shorts, 27, will be a free agent this summer.
Fenerbahce swingman Tarik Biberovic, whose rights are controlled by the Grizzlies, is pondering a move to the NBA and is getting encouragement from teammate Marko Guduric, EuroHoops relays in another piece. “If I’m Fener, I’m obviously trying to keep Tarik,” Guduric said, “but for him, personally, it’s going to be his decision and of his family, whatever is best for them. I told him, if there is an opportunity, maybe you should try.”

Kristaps Porzingis Discusses Mysterious Illness

May 17th, 2025 at 10:04am CST by Rory Maher

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who is under contract for $30.7MM next season before hitting free agency in 2026, struggled mightily in the playoffs due to the lingering effects of a mysterious illness he contracted in February.

It seemed like Porzingis was mostly recovered late in the regular season, but he was particularly ineffective in Boston’s second-round loss to New York, averaging just 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds on .240/.222/.647 shooting in 15.5 minutes per game. Those numbers are a precipitous drop compared to what he posted in the regular season: 19.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.5 BPG on .483/.412/.809 shooting in 45 contests (28.8 MPG).

After the Celtics were eliminated on Friday night, Porzingis admitted he still doesn’t have any solid answers about what has been causing the “energy zaps” and stamina “ebbs and flows” over the past two-plus months.

“I’m not sure,” Porzingis said, per Brian Robb of MassLive. “I mean, doctors are trying to help as much as possible. It was just some lingering fatigue, some effects.

“It was just extremely weird, and many symptoms that were kind of super weird. So I think nobody has a clear answer. I’ll see how I go from here. Maybe I do some extra testing and some extra stuff and see if we find something. If not, maybe just a reset. Reset for my whole system and that will give my energy levels hopefully back up.”

Porzingis, who played 11 minutes on Friday, said he would have fallen asleep immediately if he had laid down in the locker room after the game, according to Adam Himmselbach of The Boston Globe.

“(It was) super, super frustrating. As frustrating as you can imagine. Just to not be able to help this team more, especially with (Jayson Tatum) going out,” Porzingis said (story via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst). “Not being too much of a help just hurts deep inside.”

“… I tried to give what I had. It wasn’t much, as you could see,” he added, per Himmelsbach.

According to Robb, Porzingis never considered sitting out after he was medically cleared by doctors, who tested his heart, among other organs. He also still plans to play for Latvia at this summer’s EuroBasket.

“The main thing for me now is just to let my system get into a normal state,” Porzingis said. “Get my energy back up and then I’ll start to look into some things maybe outside of basketball at first, and then the European Championships later in the summer, so I’m excited about that.

“So this summer I expect a nice bounce-back for myself and then heading into the next season.”

And-Ones: East/West, Stephenson, East Finals, World Cup

May 15th, 2025 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The stunning events that occurred on Monday, namely Dallas and San Antonio moving up to No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft lottery and Celtics star Jayson Tatum tearing his Achilles tendon, will reverberate through the NBA for years to come. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, there was already a significant divide in star power between the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference — now there could be a “chasm.”

“The West just keeps getting richer,” one league executive told Bontemps. “How come everybody keeps going to the West? For the veteran players, you could say it’s better weather, going to California, better organizations. But they’ve also just gotten really lucky.

“It seems like every time there’s one of these generational talents — Victor (Wembanyama), Zion (Williamson), Anthony Davis — they just end up in the West. It’s just bad luck … it is what it is.”

Aside from Indiana, New York and Cleveland, Tatum’s injury means there are suddenly major question marks in the East, which could make teams more aggressive on the trade market. There’s a possibility that Giannis Antetokounmpo could be traded to the West as well.

“Cooper Flagg is going to the West for the next 10 years, Giannis could be headed West, Tatum is out of the mix for a year and the Celtics likely are, too,” a scout said. “Good for East teams who are trying to make the Finals.”

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former NBA swingman Lance Stephenson is signing a contract to play in the BIG3 for the 3×3 league’s upcoming season, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Stephenson, who played for eight NBA teams across 10 seasons from 2010-22, spent most of his professional career in Indiana. He last played in the G League for the Iowa Wolves in 2023/24.
While the Pacers don’t yet know which team they’ll be facing, the Eastern Conference Finals schedule has been announced (Twitter link via Michael Preston). The series will begin on May 21, with games played every other day until a potential Game 7 on June 2.
FIBA has announced the draw for the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, officially confirming the groups for the Africa, Americas, Asian, and European events. Team USA will be in group A of the Americas qualifiers, alongside the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and a to-be-determined fourth team that makes it through the pre-qualifiers.
FIBA is looking to engage the NCAA about a possible letter of clearance system for international players who want to leave their teams for a college program, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links). As Givony points out, international teams already have the ability to block a player from leaving if he’s under contract, so it’s unclear why the NCAA would agree to a change that would give European teams more leeway to prevent a young prospect from moving stateside.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Flagg, NIL, Combine, Lakhin, International Prospects

May 12th, 2025 at 3:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Cooper Flagg is as close to a lock to go number one in the 2025 draft as any non-Victor Wembanyama prospect can be, writes Sam Vecenie for The Athletic. In breaking down Flagg’s potential fit with all of this year’s lottery teams, Vecenie illustrates how the 18-year-old’s well-rounded skill set on both sides of the ball will allow him to slot in seamlessly with just about every team construction.

In his breakdown, Vecenie writes that the Pelicans and Raptors are the only rosters in the lottery that could make for a questionable fit, given that the two teams are already primarily built around a plethora of wings and forwards.

Still, Vecenie emphasizes that questions around fit are secondary to adding the level of talent Flagg promises, so even those two teams shouldn’t hesitate to take the 6’8″ forward if the opportunity presents itself. However, that scenario might necessitate a trade involving one or more of the incumbent forwards already rostered.

Sixers Rumors: Oubre, Drummond, Gordon, Grimes, Yabusele, Bona

May 11th, 2025 at 6:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers should plan on having Kelly Oubre, Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon on their books this summer, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Oubre, Drummond, and Gordon all hold player options for next season, but are considered likely to exercise them before the June 29 deadline.

That doesn’t necessarily mean all three players will still be on Philadelphia’s roster when the 2025/26 season tips off, since any of them could be traded after opting in. But it does mean the Sixers will have to account for their respective cap hits this offseason — Oubre’s option is worth $8.38MM, Drummond’s is for $5MM, and Gordon’s would pay him $3.47MM.

Assuming all three players pick up their options, the amount of guaranteed money on Philadelphia’s cap for next season would increase to approximately $166MM for seven players. That figure doesn’t include the cap hold for their first-round pick – which they may or may not keep, depending on the lottery results – or new deals for free agents like Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele.

Next season’s luxury tax line projects to be at $187.9MM.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

The 76ers are projecting confidence that they’ll be able to re-sign Grimes, according to Stein and Fischer. Grimes will be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason after failing to come to terms on a rookie scale extension with Dallas last fall. The Mavericks didn’t get up to $10MM per year with their offer at that time, per Stein and Fischer, but the 25-year-old looks like a good bet to get a deal exceeding that annual salary this summer after a breakout 2024/25 season that included a 21.9 PPG scoring average in 28 games as a Sixer.
League sources also continue to tell Stein and Fischer that Philadelphia hopes to re-sign Yabusele and made moves at the trade deadline (namely, dealing Caleb Martin) to create more financial flexibility to retain him. Yabusele’s Non-Bird rights won’t allow for much of a raise, so the Sixers will likely have to dip into their mid-level exception to make a competitive offer.
Speaking to TRT Spor, Ergin Ataman, the head coach of the Turkish national team indicated that the plan is for Sixers big man Adem Bona to participate in the EuroBasket tournament this summer (hat tip to Eurohoops). “Last week, our sporting director Alper Yilmaz visited him, and Adem is very enthusiastic about playing for the national team,” Ataman said of the 22-year-old, who is coming off his rookie season in Philadelphia. “He’ll be coming for the European championship.”
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey appeared on the Rights To Ricky Sanchez podcast (YouTube link) this week to discuss a number of Sixers-related topics, including the team’s lottery pick, Joel Embiid‘s knee injury, and more.

And-Ones: Wright, Rookie Extensions, All-Interview Team, More

May 10th, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Colorado guard McKinley Wright IV, who appeared in 32 NBA regular season games for Minnesota and Dallas from 2021-23, has been named the Most Valuable Player for the ABA League (formerly known as the Adriatic League) in Europe.

Wright has spent the last two seasons playing for KK Buducnost and led the Montenegrin team to a 26-4 record and a No. 1 seed in ABA competition this season. The 26-year-old, known as a solid perimeter defender, averaged team bests of 12.8 points and 4.9 assists in 22.5 minutes per game, with an excellent shooting line of .545/.370/.848.

Wright now has the honor of sharing a career accomplishment with future Hall of Famer Nikola Jokic, who was named the MVP of the ABA League in 2014/15, his age-20 season, when he played for Mega Basket in Serbia.

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

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report considers the likelihood of a new deal for each of the 22 players eligible for rookie scale extensions this offseason. Pincus forecasts maximum-salary extensions for Magic forward Paolo Banchero and Thunder teammates Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, while predicting that Pistons big man Jalen Duren (four years, $112MM) will get the fourth-most lucrative deal among that group, ahead of Hawks guard Dyson Daniels and Nuggets guard Christian Braun (four years, $94MM each).
The Professional Basketball Writers Association officially named its first and second “All-Interview” teams for the 2024/25 season this week, recognizing the players who are “consistently thoughtful, insightful and engaging with the media.” As the PBWA details in a press release, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell, and Draymond Green made the first team, with Tyrese Haliburton, Mike Conley, Bam Adebayo, Josh Hart, and Damian Lillard making up the second team.
Amid reports that Shaquille O’Neal will be part of a new ownership group taking control of Napoli Basket, the Italian team issued a statement shooting down those rumors and referring to them as unfounded.
2025 has been the year of the NBA playoff comeback so far. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Jeff Zillgitt and Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today take a closer look at how teams keep coming back from deficits of 20 or more points this spring.

And-Ones: Vezenkov, Metu, Bad Contracts, Front Offices, More

May 8th, 2025 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA forward Sasha Vezenkov, who spent the 2023/24 season with the Kings, is enjoying a hugely successful return to Europe this season. Vezenkov finished as the runner-up in EuroLeague MVP voting after averaging 20.2 points per game for Olympiacos and has now been named the EuroLeague Playoffs MVP for his performance in the Greek team’s quarterfinal series vs. Real Madrid, according to a press release.

It’s the first time the EuroLeague has named a Playoffs MVP — the award doesn’t encompass the league’s Final Four, which will be played later this month. Vezenkov, who gave up a fully guaranteed $6.7MM salary with the Raptors last summer in order to head back overseas, will be looking to lead Olympiacos to a win over AS Monaco on May 23 in the semifinals and – ultimately – to a EuroLeague championship.

In other European basketball news, Barcelona is parting ways with former NBA big man Chimezie Metu, who tore his Achilles in March, per a Mundo Deportivo report (hat tip to Sportando).

After appearing in 260 regular season games for four NBA teams from 2018-24, Metu played a key role for Barça this season prior to the injury, averaging 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game across 24 EuroLeague outings.

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

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report identifies five star players he believes have negative trade value due to their massive contracts, including a pair of Sixers (Joel Embiid and Paul George) and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. Interestingly, Pincus gives Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen an honorable mention, noting that one Eastern Conference executive referred to Markkanen’s deal (four years, $196MM) as the worst in the league. That’s “probably hyperbolic,” Pincus writes, though he notes that several teams view the contract as a major overpay.
In an article open to non-subscribers, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) hands out his front office awards – the “Yossis” – for the 2024/25 NBA season. Gozlan recognizes the Thunder for their overall salary cap management, the Knicks for their creative cap machinations in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, and the Hawks for most improving their long-term outlook over the past year, while also handing out a few other awards.
Even before home teams opened the second round by losing their first six games, the impact of home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs was on the decline, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. According to Vorkunov, home teams won at least 60 percent of their games in 56 of the NBA’s first 78 postseasons, but that hasn’t happened since 2018 — and home teams have lost 10 of 15 Game Sevens since 2021. So far this spring, teams have a home record of just 26-24 in the playoffs.

Fenerbahce’s Hayes-Davis, Biberovic Drawing NBA Interest

May 5th, 2025 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Forward Nigel Hayes-Davis and swingman Tarik Biberovic, who both play for Fenerbahce in Turkey, are receiving interest from NBA clubs, the team’s general manager Derya Yannier said during an interview with TRT Sports Star (Twitter video link; hat tip to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando).

“There is very serious interest from the NBA for Nigel Hayes-Davis and Tarik Biberovic,” Yannier said. “I hope they continue with us, but if they say, ‘I want to try in the NBA,’ we won’t stand in their way.”

Hayes-Davis, 30, had a brief NBA stint during the 2017/18 season, when he suited up for the Lakers, Raptors, and Kings. The former Wisconsin standout has been playing overseas since then in Turkey, Lithuania, and Spain and has been a member of Fenerbahce since 2022. He has averaged a team-best 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game across 37 EuroLeague appearances this season, with a .461/.412/.897 shooting line.

Hayes-Davis was also said to be drawing NBA interest last offseason and was a member of the Select Team that scrimmaged against the U.S. Olympic roster prior to the Paris games. He ultimately signed a new contract with Fenerbahce. While that deal was said to be for three years, it sounds like it includes an NBA opt-out clause.

As for Biberovic, the 6’7″ wing was selected 56th overall in the 2023 NBA draft by the Grizzlies, who still control his NBA rights. So if he wants to make the move stateside, he would have to negotiate exclusively with Memphis, barring a trade.

The 24-year-old has been one of Fenerbahce’s most reliable shooters in recent years. In 2024/25, he averaged 10.5 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 35 EuroLeague outings (22.7 MPG), with a 43.8% mark on 5.0 three-point attempts per contest. Biberovic is on a long-term deal with the Turkish club, but the contracts includes NBA outs after each season.

Fenerbahce has qualified for the EuroLeague Final Four and leads Turkey’s domestic league with a 25-2 regular season record, so the team will be vying for a pair of titles this spring.

Magic Notes: Offseason Plan, Banchero, F. Wagner, Bitadze

May 3rd, 2025 at 9:34am CST by Rory Maher

After finishing with a losing record for four straight seasons, the Magic went 47-35 and made the playoffs a year ago, eventually losing a tight seven-game series against Cleveland.

Entering 2024/25, Orlando added veteran wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency, but long-term injuries to key players — including Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner and Jalen Suggs — played a significant role in the team’s middling 41-41 record. The Magic advanced as the No. 7 seed via the play-in tournament, but once again lost in the first round, this time in five games to the defending champion Celtics.

As Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel writes, the Magic finished with the second-best defensive rating in the NBA during the regular season, but had the fourth-worst offense, including the worst three-point percentage. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman says Orlando is ready to transition to a “win-now” phase entering ’25/26.

“What we need is proven shot-making, proven offensive play, someone that’s going to come in and help augment our weakness,” Weltman said. “Clearly, we need to get better offensively. Clearly, we need to shoot the ball better. Those are the goals and that’s the lens we need to look at as we enter the offseason.

“I don’t think anything’s off the table. Veteran help, proven offensive help is what we’re going to be looking for.”

Most of the Magic’s roster is under contract for next season, Beede observes, and the team won’t have the cap room necessary to be a major player in what’s viewed as a relatively weak free-agent class. That means the front office will have to make trades to add the types of players it’s looking for, which Weltman acknowledged.

“Most of our roster upgrades are going to have to come more through swapping than just adding,” Weltman said. “The reason we’ve been a good team the last couple of years — and I do believe we are a good team — is because we’ve got an elite defensive backbone.

“And as we look to improve our offense, we have to be very cognizant of not unraveling the DNA of our team. That’s what we have to balance this summer.”

Here’s more on the Magic:

In addition to his end-of-season media session, Weltman also discussed the Magic’s season, the inactive trade deadline, and the team’s offseason plan on Mike Bianchi’s “Open Mike” radio show.
Following the first-round elimination, Banchero reflected on how his season played out, according to Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “Kind of how I evaluated the team’s season, it was a little disappointing for me and my season,” Banchero said. “Just going down with the injury and then coming back and having to work my way into shape and battle through those times. But I was happy with how I was able to kind of respond and finish strong. I didn’t let some of those early tough times discourage me. I kept going and, like the team, I wanted to finish strong, and do whatever I could to help us get to the postseason. We were able to do that.”
Banchero, a former No. 1 overall pick and All-Star, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. He made it clear he’s ready to sign a long-term deal with Orlando, Beede adds in the same story. “I love it here,” Banchero said about Orlando. “… It’s a place that I love spending time, my family loves spending time here, and I couldn’t be more happy to be a part of the Orlando Magic. I look forward to spending a lot more years here.”
While Franz Wagner isn’t sure whether or not he’ll suit up for Germany at this summer’s EuroBasket, center Goga Bitadze says he’s definitely going to represent his home country of Georgia at the tournament, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “I take that very seriously,” Bitadze said. “I’m going to prepare for that and got to stay in shape all summer. Hopefully, we win a lot of games with the national team.”