International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

International Notes: Anderson, Embiid, Bacon, Stephenson

April 29th, 2023 at 2:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson is considered likely to be naturalized in time to play for the Chinese national team during this summer’s World Cup, sources tell Mike Chan of The South China Morning Post.

As Chan writes, Anderson’s maternal great-grandfather was born in China, making him one-eighth Chinese. Last summer, Anderson and his mother reconnected with some of their long-lost Chinese relatives in a village in Shenzhen.

There’s a catch, however: According to Chinese law, Anderson would have to renounce his United States citizenship to become naturalized in China, as the country doesn’t allow dual citizenship. Anderson did not respond to Chan’s request for comment and was noncommittal about his decision at the end of the season.

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On the other hand, it seems unlikely that Sixers center Joel Embiid will compete in the 2023 World Cup, at least for France, according to French outlet L’Equipe. “Joel hasn’t made a decision, but it seems difficult for him to be able to play this summer,” French national team head coach Vincent Collet said (hat tip to Eurohoops). “But that does not call into question the fact that he can play with us next year. He is going to get married this summer, and it really falls into the wrong period, during the preparation of all the teams.” As Eurohoops notes, Embiid is a citizen of three different countries: his native Cameroon, France, and the U.S.
Panathinaikos, a Greek club that competes in the EuroLeague, is expected to part ways with former NBA player Dwayne Bacon after he was suspended two games for disciplinary reasons, according to Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops (Twitter link). Bacon, 27, played for AS Monaco last season. The former second-round pick’s last NBA campaign was in 2020/21 with Orlando.
Veteran guard Lance Stephenson has signed with Puerto Rican side Leones de Ponce, the team announced in a press release. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files was the first to report the news. Stephenson finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists in his debut Friday night, Agness writes. The 32-year-old played 46 games for the Hawks and Pacers last season, but an NBA opportunity for ’22/23 didn’t materialize.

Wolves Notes: Edwards, McDaniels, Reid, Gobert, Finch, Connelly

April 27th, 2023 at 2:41pm CST by Rory Maher

As former first-round picks entering their fourth seasons, Timberwolves wings Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels will be eligible for rookie scale extensions this summer. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly didn’t hesitate when asked if the team would commit to the two young players, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

When the Wolves are permitted to have extension discussions with Edwards and McDaniels, both players will have “really, really nice offers with a lot of money in their inbox,” Connelly said.

Edwards is highly likely to receive a rookie scale max extension after emerging as the team’s best player in 2022/23, while McDaniels could potentially get a nine-figure offer himself — particularly with the addition of a fifth year on non-max rookie extensions — following a career season.

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Edwards’ attorney released a statement saying the guard intends to fight the “baseless” assault charges he’s facing in Denver, Hine writes for The Star Tribune. “With the game over, Anthony’s exit from the court was partially obstructed by a chair, which he moved and set down three steps later,” attorney Harvey Steinberg said via Klutch Sports, Edwards’ agency. “As video of the incident confirms, Anthony did not swing the chair at anyone and of course did not intend to hurt anyone. Despite these innocent facts, the Denver Police Department inexplicably chose to charge Anthony with two counts of misdemeanor assault. Anthony intends to vigorously defend against these baseless charges.”
Both Connelly and head coach Chris Finch said that bringing back reserve big man Naz Reid will be a top priority for the Wolves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Reid will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. The 23-year-old averaged career highs in points per game (11.5), rebounds (4.9) and field goal percentage (53.7%), but missed the end of the regular season and postseason after fracturing his left wrist, which required surgery.
Center Rudy Gobert has been a mainstay for the French national team in international play, but he says he’s not sure if he’ll compete in the World Cup, which starts in late August, per Krawczynski (Twitter link). The three-time Defensive Player of the Year added that he wants to “come back like I want to have the best year of my career next season. I know that this summer I’m going to put myself in position that I’ve never put myself in before.”
It certainly sounds like Finch’s job will be safe entering next season, as Connelly called the coach and his staff “elite,” tweets Krawczynski. As for the rumors linking Connelly to the Wizards‘ front office opening, he says he’s “pretty committed to the Minnesota Timberwolves right now” and is focused on advancing in the playoffs and building for the future (Twitter video link via SneakerReporter, who covers the Wolves).

And-Ones: Biggest Issue, Awards, Baldwin, Faried, Campazzo

April 23rd, 2023 at 9:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

What’s the biggest issue facing the NBA? Not surprisingly, a poll of players conducted by Josh Robbins and Sam Amick of The Athletic placed the officiating at the top of the list. Out of 70 participants, 25.8 percent called out the officials for a variety of reasons.

“Ref accountability. It’s the (big) thing right now. Because there is none,” one poll respondent said. “There’s just not a system set up for it. And it’s been real shaky, I think, this year. Just something to keep them accountable. I don’t know if I want to take their money. But something to get them to have some type of, ‘I can’t f–k this up’ mentality.”

Load management was a close second in the poll. Rules skewed in favor of offensive players also ranked high on the list.

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The NBA will reveal the winner of the Most Improved Player award on Monday, the league’s communications department tweets. Lauri Markkanen, Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the three finalists. The Rookie of the Year will be revealed on Tuesday, with Paolo Banchero considered the heavy favorite.
Former NBA player Wade Baldwin IV has signed a two-year contract extension with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to Eurohoops.net. He averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds this season. Baldwin played 56 career NBA games, most recently with Portland during the 2018/19 season.
Reyer Venezia is interested in signing big man Kenneth Faried for the Italian playoffs, according to Sportando. Faried spent this season playing in Mexico with Soles de Mexicali. Faried has been out of the NBA since he played a combined 37 games for Brooklyn and Houston during the 2018/19 season.
Another former NBA player, Facundo Campazzo, is joining Real Madrid next season, Sportando relays. Campazzo joined Serbia’s Crvena Zvezda after being waived by the Mavericks in late November. He appeared in eight games with Dallas this season.

And-Ones: Koufos, Mental Health, Analytics Awards, Match Fixing

April 20th, 2023 at 4:32pm CST by Rory Maher

The London Lions have parted ways with veteran center Kosta Koufos, the team announced in a press release (hat tip to Eurohoops.net).

“We would like to thank Kosta for his contributions to the Club, both on and off the court,” Lions GM Brett Burman said. “Aside from being a dominant interior presence, Kosta was a mentor and locker room connector. He came in and represented the Club and the BBL, and the City of London to the highest standard. He left a huge impression on the basketball footprint here, and we thank him for his impact… We wish him and his family all the best.”

The 23rd overall pick of the 2008 draft, Koufos played 11 NBA seasons with Utah, Minnesota, Denver, Memphis and Sacramento. His last season in the league was 2018/19 with the Kings.

The 34-year-old had a solid showing with the Lions, leading the British Basketball League in rebounds per game (9.1) during the regular season while chipping in 12.1 points and 1.1 blocks (sixth-best in the BBL). Koufos has also played for CSKA Moscow, Olympiacos and G League Ignite in recent years after his NBA departure.

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Joe Vardon of The Athletic examines why the NBA got serious about mental health, noting that DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love were at the forefront of discussing their mental health struggles in 2018. According to Vardon, since 2019/20 the league has required teams to have a “formal relationship” with an in-market therapist or psychologist, a psychiatrist for medication, action plans for emergencies, and a “playbook” featuring health and wellness exercises. “People think (NBA players) can just pump fame, or pump money, or pump Twitter followers into their lives and it’s going to just fix everything,” Love told Vardon. “But unfortunately, brains and souls just don’t work like that. If you have a chemical imbalance, that’s not going to help it.”
Seth Partnow of The Athletic polled 17 members of the advanced analytics community — some who work for teams and some who don’t — to see who they would choose for the NBA’s annual regular season awards. Those polled tended to favor peak performance rather than durability, with stars like Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James and Anthony Davis making the informal All-NBA teams despite only playing between 47 and 58 regular season games.
The Chinese Basketball Association disqualified the Shanghai Sharks and Jiangsu Dragons from the postseason amid match-fixing allegations, according to ESPN.com. The Dragons were up four points with 1:36 remaining in the finale of their three-game series, but subsequently committed five straight questionable turnovers to help the Sharks build a 10-point lead, with Shanghai ultimately winning 108-104. The teams were fined $5MM apiece and their GMs and head coaches will be suspended for up to five years. The Sharks also allegedly lost Game 2 on purpose so former All-Defensive guard Eric Bledsoe could return for Game 3 — he had been suspended prior to the playoffs. Both Bledsoe and Michael Beasley — another former NBA player who was injured for most of the season and didn’t play in the games — denied being part of the match-fixing. Beasley said he mutually and amicably agreed to leave the team in part because it “failed to provide me with the necessary assistance and accommodations to properly address my injury,” per ESPN.

Raptors’ Anunoby Becomes Part-Owner Of London Lions

April 19th, 2023 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward OG Anunoby has invested in the London Lions of the British Basketball League, becoming a part-owner of the team, the club announced in a press release.

While the BBL hasn’t historically been considered one of Europe’s top-basketball leagues, it has been growing in popularity in recent years.

The Lions have been one of the league’s most successful franchises during that time, winning the BBL Cup in the 10-team league in both 2019 and 2023 and reaching the postseason final in three of the BBL’s last four full seasons. The 30-4 Lions will enter this year’s playoffs as the league’s top seed.

“It’s great to see everything that is going on in British basketball right now, which is why I am really excited to join the London Lions,” Anunoby said in a statement. “I just want to do my part as a role model to all the young hoopers in London and across the entire UK. I look forward to visiting the team in the off-season and can’t wait to help build with the organisation.”

It’s not unprecedented for international NBA players to invest in professional teams in their home countries. Yao Ming (Shanghai Sharks) and Tony Parker (ASVEL Basket) are among the NBA stars who have done so over the years. They controlled – or still control, in Parker’s case – majority shares of those teams, while Anunoby will have a minority stake in the Lions.

Anunoby, whose four-year, $72MM contract with the Raptors is guaranteed through next season with a player option for 2024/25, was born in London.

And-Ones: Expansion, Luwawu-Cabarrot, NBL, Kemp

April 15th, 2023 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

The idea of expanding the NBA beyond its current 30 teams is a popular one that the league is widely expected to consider more seriously within the next few years. However, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, some top team executives around the NBA are worried about the extent to which the league’s talent pool could be diluted by adding more teams. That’s a concern shared by commissioner Adam Silver.

“The dilution point doesn’t get as much attention,” Silver said. “It always fascinates me that in a league of what most people would acknowledge are the 450 best players in the world or close to it, despite enormous amount of basketball being played on a global basis, that even once you take that pool—450 players—there are only so many true difference-makers who without one or possibly two, or maybe even three of those players, you don’t have a realistic chance of winning the championship. And so the more teams you add, the more diluted, potentially, the talent will be around the league.

“… On the other hand, this is a sport that is an Olympic sport. It’s truly played on every corner of the planet. And so I think over time … you have this enormous new pool of top-notch talent that’s constantly coming into the league,” Silver continued. “So do I think the league from a competitive standpoint could absorb two more teams? Absolutely. We’re not there yet. … But overall, my biggest concern is not an impact it would have on competitive balance.”

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Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot‘s contract with Olimpia Milano in Italy has ended, making the former NBA swingman a free agent once again, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.net. Luwawu-Cabarrot has appeared in 328 regular season NBA games since 2016, including 52 with Atlanta in 2021/22. He was in camp with Phoenix last fall.
A.J. Johnson, a potential 2024 NBA lottery pick, decommitted from Texas in order to sign with the Illawara Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Johnson is the highest-profile U.S. prospect since LaMelo Ball to forgo college basketball in favor of the NBL’s Next Stars program, Wojnarowski and Givony note.
Former Seattle SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp has been charged with first-degree assault related to a shooting incident in Tacoma, Washington in March. ESPN has the story.
Under the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Players Association will receive 50% of team fines, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The current CBA splits player fines between the league and union, but team fines – like the $750K penalty assessed to the Mavericks this week – go only to the NBA.

And-Ones: Jenkins, Rivers, Perry, Attendance, Incentives, More

April 11th, 2023 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Taylor Jenkins of the Grizzlies and Doc Rivers of the Sixers were named the NBA’s March/April Coaches of the Month for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Jenkins’ 14-8 record in March and April was the West’s second-best mark behind the Lakers (14-6). The Grizzlies’ head coach perhaps earned extra marks for dealing with some Ja Morant-related drama and Brandon Clarke‘s season-ending injury during that time.

Meanwhile, no NBA team won more games in March and April than Rivers’ Sixers, who went 15-7 to lock up the No. 3 seed in the East.

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Reggie Perry, a 2020 second-round pick who appeared in 36 games for the Nets, Trail Blazers, and Pacers from 2020-22, has signed with South Korea’s LG Sakers, the team announced on Instagram (hat tip to Sportando). Perry is headed overseas after spending most of the 2022/23 season with the Raptors 905 in the G League.
The NBA announced in a press release that the league set a new single-season record for total attendance in 2022/23, establishing new high water marks for both league-wide attendance (22,234,502) and average attendance per game (18,077). Both of those records were previously set in 2017/18.
In a pair of tweets, Bobby Marks of ESPN identifies several of the players who earned bonus money by achieving regular season incentives, led by Knicks forward Julius Randle ($2.4MM) and Celtics wing Jaylen Brown ($2.1MM)
Is the concept of “voter fatigue” a myth? For the most part, yes, as Howard Beck explains in an interesting piece for GQ Sports.
Agent Raymond Brothers – who represents Markelle Fultz, Immanuel Quickley, and Precious Achiuwa, among others – has left Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports and returned to his former agency, IAM Sports, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brothers said in a statement that he holds Roc Nation in the “highest regard” and wishes them well.

DeMarcus Cousins To Play In Puerto Rico

April 11th, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins has agreed to sign with the Guaynabo Mets, a team in the Puerto Rican league, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains, Cousins is still hoping to return to the NBA, but will spend the spring in Puero Rico in the hopes of showing that he still has plenty left in the tank. He reportedly turned down overtures from Taiwanese teams in the fall.

A four-time All-Star, Cousins has career averages of 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, but has been slowed in recent years by a series of leg injuries. He has bounced around the NBA during that time, playing for multiple teams in 2020/21 and again in ’21/22. The big man hasn’t been on a roster at all this season, despite working out for the Lakers in January.

Cousins, 32, averaged 9.0 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 48 appearances (15.0 MPG) last season for the Nuggets and Bucks and said in the fall that he believes he still has plenty to contribute to an NBA team. He stated more recently that he has had trouble getting a “real answer” for why he has remained unsigned all season.

The regular season schedule for Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional ends in June and last year’s playoffs concluded in August, so Cousins would be able to finish the season with the Mets even if he gets an invite to an NBA training camp. He’ll have some work to do to help get his new team out of an early-season hole — the Mets are just 1-8 so far this spring.

And-Ones: Load Management, CBA, Chiozza, Muhammad

April 5th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Both the NBA and the NBPA acknowledged during their recent Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations that players missing time due to load management is an issue for the league, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, who hears that it was a topic of much discussion during those negotiations. However, as Holmes details in an extensive Insider-only feature, neither side could come up with a silver bullet to solve the problem, which many view as “unfixable.”

As Holmes outlines, there are plenty of team officials who have advocated for a reduction of the NBA’s 82-game regular season schedule, which would perhaps be the most logical fix. Even having teams play just 72 games instead of 82 would allow the league to eliminate many of the back-to-back sets that often lead to players sitting out on either the first or second night. However, cutting back the 82-game schedule is widely viewed as a non-starter, given the lost revenue it would create.

Within his story on load management, Holmes also provides some new details on the 65-game minimum that the new CBA is implementing for players to qualify for postseason awards.

According to Holmes, players would have to log at least 20 minutes in at least 63 of those games for them to count toward the minimum. Sources tell ESPN that players would be permitted to play between 15-20 minutes in two games and still have them count toward the minimum of 65. These may be the “conditions” that Adrian Wojnarowski alluded to last weekend in his first report on the new CBA.

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Veteran guard Chris Chiozza has signed with Spanish team UCAM Murcia, according to an announcement from the club. Chiozza, who has appeared in 91 total NBA games for four teams since 2019, spent most of 2022/23 with the Long Island Nets in the G League. His new contract in Spain is a rest-of-season deal.
Former NBA lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad has joined the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando, passing along a report from Chinese outlet CGTN Sports Scene (Twitter link). Muhammad signed a G League contract earlier this season as he attempted to make his way back to the NBA — he has since inked deals to play in Lebanon and now China.
The NBA is hoping that its G League team in Mexico City is a first step toward opening up a pathway for more Latin American players to make it to the NBA, according to Ricardo Torres of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

And-Ones: Ollie, Postseason Awards, Briscoe, Abu Dhabi

March 26th, 2023 at 10:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Longtime NBA guard and former Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie is leaving his position as head coach of the Overtime Elite development team, Adam Zagoria tweets.

Ollie has been the Elite’s coach for two seasons. He issued a statement which read in part, “With OTE having a strong foundation in place, now is the right time to step away from my position. I’m looking forward to focusing on myself, my family and the next chapter in my career. I feel very confident that those standards will be sustained for years to come as they continue to build.”

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Some of the bigger postseason awards are still in doubt, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. While Nikola Jokic was considered the strong frontrunner for the Most Valuable Player award, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are now very much in the running for the honor. The same goes for the Rookie of the Year race. Paolo Banchero seemingly had it wrapped up but Walker Kessler and Jalen Williams have made a big impact on their teams despite playing far fewer minutes than Banchero.
Former NBA agent Charles Briscoe, who represented Dwight Howard among his clients, is among four men charged with schemes to defraud four professional basketball players of more than $13MM, the U.S. Department of Justice announced (story via Mike Vorkunov and other members of The Athletic staff). Briscoe is no longer certified by the Players Association and has not represented clients since last year. He is also being sued in Delaware state court for allegedly making false representations to secure funding for his startup sports agency.
The Mavericks are now scheduled to play two exhibition games in Abu Dhabi against the Timberwolves early next season, one more than initially reported, Marc Stein writes in a Substack article. It’s part of a growing NBA presence in Abu Dhabi. USA Basketball recently confirmed that it plans to train and play in Abu Dhabi, with a full complement of NBA players, prior to this summer’s FIBA World Cup in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.