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International Notes: Stojakovic, Miller, Samanic, Petrusev, Wright

September 15th, 2024 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA stars Peja Stojakovic and Reggie Miller are among the new members of the FIBA Hall of Fame, according to Eurohoops. The Class of 2024 was inducted Saturday at a ceremony in Singapore on the night before the FIBA Intercontinental Cup Final.

Stojakovic played for five teams during his 12 NBA seasons, but he’s best known for his time with the Kings in the early 2000s. The three-time All-Star won a championship with Dallas in 2011 and is also a member of the Greek Hall of Fame. Miller is one of the best shooters in NBA history and was named to the league’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

“If I had to say something to the young kids who are starting to play basketball, it’s this: whatever you are, no matter the circumstances you are in, don’t be discouraged,” Stojakovic told the crowd. “If you really love the game, keep working hard because probably someone is watching.”

The other new Hall of Fame members are Miao Lijie (China), Danira Nakic-Bilic (Croatia), Kirk Penney (New Zealand), Romain Sato (Central African Republic) and Skaidrite Smildzina-Budovska (Latvia). Dan Peterson (USA), who coached extensively in Italy, was also recognized.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Fenerbahce has parted ways with former NBA big man Luka Samanic, but will retain his rights through the end of the upcoming season, another Eurohoops story states. Samanic signed a one-year deal in August, but left the team to return home to Croatia in a mutual decision. Fenerbahce added Khem Birch this week as his replacement.
There’s no chance that Filip Petrusev will be returning to Crvena Zvezda this season, BasketNews relays. Petrusev, who had brief appearances with the Sixers and Kings last season, is under contract with Olimpiacos. There was a report earlier this month that he might be loaned out to Crvena Zvezda, but team president Nebojsa Covic quashed that speculation. “This saga has been ongoing for months,” he said. “There was interest from both sides, but Petrusev is an Olympiacos player. These rumors have gone too far. As of now, Zvezda remains with the current roster.”
Moses Wright, who spent time in the NBA during the 2021/22 season, may be headed to Cyprus, according to a BasketNews report. He’s also interested in becoming a citizen and playing for the national team.

And-Ones: Watson, First-Rounders, Trade Targets, Punter

September 13th, 2024 at 6:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Suns head coach Earl Watson is joining Steve Lavin‘s coaching staff at the University of San Diego, sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). It’s a reunion for the two sides — Watson played under Lavin in college at UCLA.

Watson, who played 13 NBA seasons as a defensive-minded point guard, was an assistant with Phoenix before being named interim and then full-time head coach. He was fired at the start of the 2017/18 season. The 45-year-old was an assistant coach under Nick Nurse with Toronto from 2021-23.

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

Which NBA teams hold the most valuable future first-round picks? Bobby Marks of ESPN explores that topic (subscriber link), ranking the Spurs No. 1, followed by the Thunder, Nets, Jazz and Rockets. As Marks writes, San Antonio doesn’t have the most picks among those teams, but the selections they do control could be very valuable — in 2025, they control their own pick, the Hawks’ first-rounder (unprotected), a top-10 protected first from Chicago, and a top-14 protected first from Charlotte, the latter of which seems unlikely to convey.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report lists one “realistic” trade target for every NBA team. According to Pincus, Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin would make sense as a target for the Hawks and Nets, while Jazz center Walker Kessler could be a logical fit for Indiana.
Former Tennessee star Kevin Punter has thrived in Europe since he went undrafted in 2016. In an interview posted by his Spanish club FC Barcelona (Twitter video link), Punter said he used to dream of playing in the NBA. Now? He’s not sure. “When I was younger, my dream was to play the NBA,” Punter said (hat tip to Eurohoops). “That’s all you know growing up, when you play in America. That is all we talk about. That is all you watch. That was my dream. Is it my dream now? To be honest with you, I don’t know. It used to be, but as you get older, a lot of things change, a lot of things become different. You realize a lot of certain things that have nothing to do with basketball.” The 31-year-old said he had serious contract talks with the Raptors in 2023.

Former NBA Guard Mitchell Wiggins Dies At 64

September 13th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA guard Mitchell Wiggins passed away this week at age 64 following an illness, his daughter Agney announced on social media, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscriber link). The National Basketball Retired Players Association confirmed the news (via Twitter).

The 23rd overall pick of the 1983 draft, Wiggins played for the Bulls, Rockets and Sixers during the course of his six NBA seasons, averaging 10.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.6 APG in 389 games (20.8 MPG). In 1987, he was banned from the league for two-plus seasons for testing positive for cocaine, per Sam Goldaper of The New York Times.

After his NBA career ended in 1991/92, Wiggins starred for teams in Greece. He also played in France and the Philippines outside of the United States.

Wiggins, who won a silver medal at the 1982 FIBA world championships with Team USA, met his future wife Marita Payne while the two attended Florida State. She won a pair of silver medals in sprinting for Canada at the 1984 Olympics. They had six children together, with their youngest son being Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 pick of the 2014 draft.

Andrew missed extended time during the past two seasons, particularly in 2022/23, for undisclosed personal reasons. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported in April 2023 (Twitter link) that Andrew’s absence was due to Mitchell’s health.

We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Wiggins’ family and friends.

International Notes: Marjanovic, Musa, Petrusev, Collet

September 12th, 2024 at 9:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA center Boban Marjanovic is receiving interest from Turkish club Besiktas, according to a report from Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops).

Marjanovic, 36, has spent the past nine seasons in the NBA and reportedly continues to seek a new opportunity in the league. However, he’s no stranger to European competition, having played in Serbia, Russia, and Lithuania from 2006-15 before making the move across the Atlantic.

The big man led the EuroLeague in rebounding and was named to the All-EuroLeague first team in 2015 during his last season overseas as a member of Crvena Zvezda. He also won a Serbian League (KLS) title that year.

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

Former first-round pick Dzanan Musa, who has been with Real Madrid since 2022, said he turned down NBA interest this offseason in order to stick with the Spanish club, as Kevin Martorano of Sportando relays. “I am very happy in Madrid and to stay here I turned down some offers from the NBA,” Musa told Ricardo Gonzalez of AS.com. “I never closed that door completely, but I would not leave here for any reason. I am a winner, I want to play to win.” Musa, 25, appeared in 49 games for Brooklyn from 2018-20.
Greek club Olympiacos had been expected to loan out former Sixers big man Filip Petrusev to Crvena Zvezda this season, but Petrusev appears likely to stick with Olympiacos for now as a result of injuries to centers Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov, Martorano writes for Sportando. Crvena Zvezda assistant Giannis Sfairopoulos said Petrusev isn’t in the Serbian team’s plans at the moment, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.
After coaching the French national team for 15 years and winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, Vincent Collet has – as expected – stepped down from the position, transitioning to an advisory role on the French Federation of Basketball, per a press release. Under Collet, France also won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and took home a pair of World Cup bronze medals in 2014 and 2019.
After returning to Europe this offseason, will Cedi Osman, Omer Yurtseven, and Furkan Korkmaz eventually find their way back to the NBA? Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (subscription required) spoke to NBA sources about the odds of each player returning stateside in 2025 or further down the road.

Hamidou Diallo Reportedly Joins Chinese Team

September 11th, 2024 at 5:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent swingman Hamidou Diallo has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association, per CHN Hoops (Instagram link; hat tip to Dario Skerletic of Sportando).

The 45th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Diallo began his NBA career in Oklahoma City, where he played a modest role during two-and-a-half seasons with the Thunder, averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game across 129 outings (11 starts). He also won the Slam Dunk Contest at the league’s 2019 All-Star Weekend.

The Thunder traded the 6’5″ wing to the Pistons midway through the 2020/21 season and he established himself as a more regular rotation piece in Detroit, putting up 10.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG on 51.9% shooting in 134 games (20.4 MPG).

Diallo signed on with the Wizards ahead of the 2023/24 season, but was quickly waived and joined the club’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. He cameoed with Washington proper on a 10-day deal midway through the season before returning to Capital City.

Last season with the Go-Go, Diallo posted impressive stats of 20.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in the NBAGL regular season.

Khem Birch Signs With Fenerbahce

September 11th, 2024 at 7:37am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran free agent center Khem Birch has signed a one-year contract with Fenerbahce, the Turkish club announced on Wednesday in a press release.

Birch, who last competed in the EuroLeague in 2016/17 with Olympiacos, spent six years in the NBA from 2017-23 before returning to Europe last season to play for Girona Basket in Spain.

Birch represented Canada in the Paris Olympics this summer and there was some speculation that his contributions on an international stage – he earned more minutes than Raptors center Kelly Olynyk in games against Australia and France – might lead to a return to the NBA. However, it appears the 31-year-old will remain overseas for at least the 2024/25 season.

In 282 total regular season games for the Magic and Raptors in the NBA, Birch averaged 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 17.1 minutes per contest. He registered averages of 8.8 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 12 Liga ACB outings (23.3 MPG) for Girona last season.

Birch will replace another former NBA big man, Luka Samanic, in Fenerbahce’s frontcourt. The team announced on Tuesday (via Twitter) that Samanic had left the team for personal reasons and returned to his home country of Croatia.

It’s unclear whether Samanic will return to Fenerbahce at some point or whether the two sides will part ways for good after finalizing a one-year deal in August. The former NBA first-round pick spent much of last season with the Jazz, appearing in 43 games for Utah and averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 9.4 MPG before becoming a free agent this summer.

Montrezl Harrell To Sign With Australian Team

September 10th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent big man Montrezl Harrell is headed to Australia, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reports.

Harrell has agreed to a short-term deal with the Adelaide 36ers. The 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year will be an injury replacement for another former NBA forward, Jarell Martin.

Martin is still recovering from a patellar tendon injury and isn’t expected to be available until later in the year, according to Uluc. While Harrell could stick with the 36ers after Martin returns, the team would need to deactivate a local player to make that happen, Uluc adds.

Harrell played eight seasons in the NBA, most recently with the 76ers during the 2022/23 regular season. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game that year.

Harrell was waived by Philadelphia in October 2023. He underwent knee surgery last August after he suffered a torn ACL and medial meniscus tear earlier that summer.

The 30-year-old’s best season in the NBA was with the Clippers during the 2019/20 campaign, where he averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. In 515 career regular season outings, Harrell has averaged 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.5 minutes.

Before reaching a deal with Harrell, Adelaide also considered former NBA players Justin Jackson and Thon Maker, sources tell Uluc.

Davis Bertans Signs With Dubai BC

September 10th, 2024 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA forward Davis Bertans has signed with Dubai Basketball Club, the team announced on social media (Instagram link).

Rumors circulated over the weekend that Bertans was on the verge of heading back overseas and joining Dubai on a multiyear deal that will include NBA outs. The newly formed franchise, which is entering its first season, will compete in the ABA (Adriatic) League in 2024/25.

“Davis Bertans clearly brings exceptional basketball talent to the table,” head coach Jurica Golemac said in a statement. “As an eight-season NBA player with substantial European experience, his arrival underscores the commitment and ambition of our project, while also greatly enhancing the credibility of our newly established franchise.”

The 42nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Bertans played in his home country of Latvia in addition to Slovenia, Serbia, and Spain from 2007-16 before eventually making the move stateside. The 6’10” forward began his career with the Spurs, then enjoyed a breakout 2019/20 season in Washington that earned him a five-year, $80MM contract from the Wizards as a free agent in the summer of 2020.

However, Bertans’ production and playing time dipped following the signing of that contract, and he was eventually traded to Dallas in 2022’s Kristaps Porzingis deal before being salary-dumped to Oklahoma City during the 2023 draft when the Thunder moved up for Cason Wallace. Bertans was subsequently sent to Charlotte as the primary salary-matching piece in the Gordon Hayward trade at the 2024 deadline, then was waived by the Hornets earlier this offseason.

Over the course of his eight NBA seasons, Bertans established himself as an extremely dangerous outside shooter, making 39.6% of his career three-point attempts. While his combination of size and floor-spacing ability had value, the 31-year-old didn’t bring a whole lot else to the table. He averaged 7.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game across 475 career regular season contests (41 starts).

Bertans had been planning to work out for the Warriors in the hopes of receiving an opportunity to compete for a roster spot, but will forgo that opportunity in favor of guaranteed money in Dubai.

Cedi Osman: “Easy Choice” To Sign With Panathinaikos

September 8th, 2024 at 3:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Turkish forward Cedi Osman, who has spent the past seven seasons in the NBA (six with Cleveland, one with San Antonio), said it wasn’t a difficult decision to sign a one-year contract with defending EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos, per Eurohoops.

“It was a long process, but, obviously, it was an easy choice for me,” Osman said of joining the Greek club. “I have known Panathinaikos for a lot of years. I played against them as a kid. And Ergin [Ataman] was my coach since I was a kid. There were links with other teams, but it was not a really hard choice for me.”

According to Osman, “a couple” of NBA teams expressed interest in his services during free agency. Eurohoops previously reported that the Lakers offered Osman a training camp deal, and it’s not surprising he declined — it likely would have been non-guaranteed, and L.A. already has 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts.

“At the end of the day, I had to keep going,” Osman said. “I came to a team with seven EuroLeague titles, that has won the EuroLeague and Greek league championships last year.”

Osman, 29, averaged 6.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.7 APG on .479/.389/.673 shooting in 72 games with the Spurs last season (17.6 MPG). He holds career averages of 9.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 2.0 APG on .432/.357/.711 shooting over 476 regular season contests, including 186 starts (22.7 MPG).

Panathinaikos big man Matthias Lessort, who helped France claim a silver medal at the Olympics, said he was excited to have Osman on the roster. Lessort’s draft rights are controlled by the Knicks.

“Cedi Osman is a great player; he can create and shoot, contribute defensively, and of course, having a player of that caliber is very good for the team,” Lessort told Vuk-Milos Petrovic of Basketball Sphere. “Panathinaikos is a great team, and I hope he comes ready to impose himself and help.”

International Notes: Fournier, Gafford, Smailagic, Karaman

September 8th, 2024 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Evan Fournier is ready to get started with Olympiacos after spending 12 years in the NBA, per a Eurohoops story. The 32-year-old guard made the decision to play in Europe after helping France win a silver medal at the Olympics. During a press conference this week, Fournier confirmed that he received an offer from Washington, but he didn’t want to settle for being a mentor and a part-time player.

“I had contacts with some contenders during the summer, before the Olympics,” he told reporters. “I had an offer from the Wizards, but that wasn’t something I wanted for my career right now. I came to Olympiacos to experience strong emotions, play in big games, and be part of a special project. This was the opportunity at the right time and by far the best option for me.”

Fournier added that he grew up as a fan of Olympiacos and is happy to be able to join the Greek team. He spent time with JSF Nanterre and Poitiers Basket 86 before coming to the NBA, so he’s familiar with the European style of play, and he said at the news conference that it’s actually harder to score in the EuroLeague than it is in the NBA. He also stated that he received encouragement from Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, a former teammate, about returning to Europe.

“Vucevic and I have been discussing it all the time lately,” Fournier said. “He is from Montenegro and is a fan of Red Star, and he was asking me a lot of questions about my transition here. He loves European basketball as well. If he doesn’t (make) the playoffs, he will come see me play here.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford received an offer to join Luka Doncic on the Slovenian national team, Matej Erjavec, president of the Basketball Federation of Slovenia, revealed in an interview with Ekipa. Gafford was approached with the possibility after a game last season and asked for some time to consider it. “When he called us a few days later, he said that this summer was simply not going to work, as he had ordered individual exercises, programs, personal trainers and some other matters,” Erjavec said. “(But) he is definitely interested in the future.”
Former NBA player Alen Smailagic cited extortion, blackmail and financial fraud as reasons he chose to leave Serbia and sign with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania, per BasketNews. Smailagic has filed criminal charges against two people regarding a contract his parents signed in 2019 after his first season with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League.
Turkish player Ilkan Karaman, who was selected in the 2012 NBA draft, has died at age 34 after being struck by a car while standing on the sidewalk, according to BasketNews. Karaman was taken by the Nets with the 57th pick in 2012. His draft rights were traded to Cleveland in 2014 and to Milwaukee in 2020, but he never played in the NBA.