International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Isaiah Wong Signs With Gran Canaria

August 2nd, 2025 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA guard Isaiah Wong has left Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania and signed with Gran Canaria in Spain, the club formally announced in a press release.

The 55th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Wong spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with Indiana, then was on a two-way deal with Charlotte for over two months in 2024/25.

The 6’3″ guard only appeared in one game as a Pacer, but averaged 6.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 13.3 minutes per game across 20 appearances for the Hornets last season. He made 39.4% of his three-point attempts, though he shot just 38.9% on two-pointers.

Wong played well last season at the G League level, averaging 20.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 3.8 APG with a .454/.388/.804 shooting line in 14 total outings for the Salt Lake City Stars and Greensboro Swarm. However, after being waived by Charlotte in February, the former Miami Hurricanes standout finished the season with Zalgiris Kaunas in the EuroLeague.

Wong will be joining a Gran Canaria squad that finished 19-15 in Liga ACB play last season. The team placed seventh in the standings and was eliminated in the first round of the postseason by Valencia Basket.

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Javon Freeman-Liberty Signs With Brisbane Bullets

August 1st, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Javon Freeman-Liberty has joined the Brisbane Bullets in Australia’s National Basketball League, reports ESPN’s Olgun Uluc (via Twitter). He will head overseas on a one-year deal.

Freeman-Liberty played 22 games for the Raptors in the 2023/24 season, averaging 7.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per night. The 25-year-old spent last year with the Windy City Bulls G League team, for whom he averaged 19.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 35.6% on 7.9 three-point attempts per game.

A 6’4″ guard, Freeman-Liberty is coming off a strong Summer League with the Bulls that saw him average 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in five contests.

The Bullets came in eighth in the NBL last season out of 10 teams and are hoping that the addition of Freeman-Liberty can help boost them up the standings.

“To add a talent of Javon’s caliber to our roster at this stage is really exciting,” said head coach Stu Lash, according to the NBL website. “He’s a hungry player who’s ready to take the next step in his development as a professional. His toughness, ferocity, and willingness to compete make him a natural fit for what we value at the Brisbane Bullets.”

Skylar Mays Signs With KK Buducnost

August 1st, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Skylar Mays has signed with the Montenegrin team KK Buducnost, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando. The team officially announced the deal in a press release.

Mays played four seasons in the NBA, with the majority of his time coming with the Hawks. He last played in the NBA in 2023/24, suiting up for 21 games with the Trail Blazers and 17 with the Lakers. Across 105 career appearances, he holds career averages of 4.3 points and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 34.5% from three and 85.9% from the free throw line.

Mays played 19 games with the Iowa Wolves G League team last season, averaging 12.5 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 39% from three. He also spent time with EuroLeague champion Fenerbahce last year, averaging 3.7 PPG in 10.1 MPG during league play.

Mays will join a Buducnost roster that boasts former NBA players Juwan Morgan and Yogi Ferrell.

Precious Achiuwa Reportedly Drawing Interest From Panathinaikos

August 1st, 2025 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Having failed to land Jonas Valanciunas last month, the Greek club Panathinaikos remains on the lookout for frontcourt help and reportedly has NBA free agent big man Precious Achiuwa on its radar.

Kevin Martorano of Sportando shares the details, citing a report from Vasilis Papatheodorou of SDNA, who says Achiuwa is on Panathinaikos’ short list of potential targets.

Achiuwa, who will turn 26 in September, has spent the past season-and-a-half with the Knicks after being traded from Toronto to New York along with OG Anunoby in December 2023. In 57 games in 2024/25, he averaged 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 20.5 minutes per contest, with a .502/.278/.594 shooting line.

Achiuwa is a bit undersized for a center and isn’t a threat as an outside shooter, but he’s an athletic, high-energy player who rebounds well and is a versatile, switchable defender. Still, he remains unsigned a month into free agency and a reunion with the Knicks appears off the table after New York signed Guerschon Yabusele to take his spot on the depth chart.

There’s no indication yet that there’s serious mutual interest between Achiuwa and Panathinaikos, but this is the first real rumor we’ve heard about him in several weeks, so it’s worth keeping an eye on.

JaVale McGee Signs With Illawarra Hawks

August 1st, 2025 at 12:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA center JaVale McGee has reached an agreement on a one-year deal with the Illawara Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League, sources tell Olgun Uluc of ESPN.com. The team has officially confirmed the deal (Twitter link).

McGee, 37, appeared in 909 NBA regular season games from 2008-24, spending time with nine different teams across 16 seasons in the league. He’s a three-time NBA champion, having won titles with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and the Lakers in 2020, and also won gold with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

McGee last played in the NBA during the 2023/24 season, when he averaged 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game across 46 appearances off the bench for the Kings. The big man didn’t catch on with another NBA team for ’24/25 and eventually signed joined Vaqueros de Bayamón. He averaged 17.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game for the Puerto Rican club, Uluc notes.

According to Uluc, longtime Illawara center Sam Froling is in the process of recovering from an Achilles injury, so the Hawks were in need of frontcourt depth for the coming season. Illawara is Australia’s reigning champion, having defeated Melbourne United in the 2025 NBL Finals.

Devonte’ Graham Signs With Crvena Zvezda

August 1st, 2025 at 10:18am CST by Arthur Hill

August 1: Graham has officially signed with Crvena Zvezda, the team announced today (via Twitter).

July 27: After playing last season in the G League, Devonte’ Graham is nearing an agreement with Crvena Zvezda, according to Eurohoops, which cites an original report from Sport Klub. The 30-year-old point guard has been in talks with the Belgrade team “for some time.”

Graham was in training camp last fall with Portland on an Exhibit 9 contract, but he was waived before the season began. The 6’1″ guard joined the South Bay Lakers in December, but only appeared in five games, averaging 10.8 points and 4.4 assists. He was traded to the Rip City Remix in February, but didn’t suit up for them.

Taken with the 34th pick in the 2018 draft, Graham looked like a future star in Charlotte when he averaged 18.2 points and 7.5 assists in his second NBA season. However, he was never able to duplicate those numbers and was traded to New Orleans in 2021 and San Antonio in 2023.

The Spurs sent him back to Charlotte last summer, along with a second-round pick that was used to take Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Hornets waived Graham the same day.

He appeared in 336 regular season NBA games, making 171 starts and posting career averages of 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

If Graham signs with Crvena Zvezda, it will mark his first time playing overseas.

Blazers’ Camara, Thunder’s Mitchell Won’t Play In EuroBasket

July 31st, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Toumani Camara and Ajay Mitchell won’t participate in EuroBasket for the Belgian national team, according to Eurohoops.net.

An announcement from the Belgium Basketball Federation provided more clarity on their decisions:

“Ajay Mitchell will not participate in the European Championship with the Belgian Lions. After a long and demanding season and a foot injury, he has decided to rest and recover for the new NBA season. He remains motivated to play for Belgium and looks forward to the opportunities that will arise in the coming years.

“Toumani Camara is also eager to play for the national team. However, this summer is not the ideal time to join the Belgian Lions, as he is focused on taking an important next step in his NBA career.”

Camara could be motivated by his NBA contract status. He’s one of the biggest bargains in the league. The Trail Blazers’ forward will make $2,221,677 in the upcoming season and the club holds an option for the 2026/27 season.

Camara is a prime candidate for a lucrative extension to wipe out the final year of that contract. He started 78 games last season, averaging 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Camara’s defensive versatility is his biggest strength. He was named to All-Defensive Second Team.

Mitchell earned All-Rookie Second Team honors for the league champion Thunder despite appearing in only 36 games. He missed 46 contests due to toe surgery. The 6’5″ shooting guard averaged 6.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.8 APG and 0.7 SPG across 16.6 MPG.

Their absences will leave Belgium without a current NBA player for the upcoming tournament.

International Notes: EuroLeague, Lamb, George, Roberson

July 31st, 2025 at 2:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejūnas is trying to talk the NBA and FIBA out of forming a new European league, he told The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov.

“We don’t need a new league. We are doing really good,” Motiejunas said. “The league is growing. We’re happy to go and do it together with NBA and continuously use their power to grow the basketball in Europe. So we’re open to that.”

Motiejunas held what he described as a positive meeting with NBA and FIBA reps and indicated another meeting would be held in September.

“They have a really strong image. They can help with TV deals,” Motiejunas said of a potential partnership with the NBA. “They can help with sponsorship. We can grow the pie bigger if we go and work together. This is always the same message. We need to care about the basketball, the basketball fan, and if we can monetize the game better — and we believe that with the NBA, we can do it better — that’s the strength that we could get them to bring in, and then it comes from that.

“But we have a huge fan base. We have 25 years of history. This is what we said to them. Why not sit down and see how we go and make decisions together, rather than just creating a new league and for them to start over? This is basically our message.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum have been holding meetings to discuss a new overseas league with potential stakeholders.

We have more international news:

Former NBA forward Anthony Lamb has signed a two-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to a team press release. Lamb played last season for Italy’s Trento, averaging 15.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In EuroCup games, Lamb averaged 13.7 points and shot 40% from beyond the arc. Lamb played 62 games (four starts) for the Warriors during the 2022/23 season and averaged 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per contest. He played for the New Zealand Breakers the following season and averaged 19.5 points per game until he injured his Achilles tendon.
Wizards forward Kyshawn George, who is entering his second NBA season, will play for Canada in the FIBA AmeriCup in late August, Libaan Osman of the Toronto Star tweets. George is expected to have a featured role in the tournament, Osman adds. The 24th pick of the 2024 draft played 68 games with Washington in his rookie season, including 38 starts. He averaged 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.5 minutes.
Former NBA forward Andre Roberson is departing the EuroLeague and signing with Zenit St. Petersburg, according to Sportando. Roberson averaged 8.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with ASVEL Villeurbanne. Robertson, 33, appeared in 307 NBA games but hasn’t been in the league since a five-game stint with Brooklyn during the 2020/21 season.

And-Ones: Hollis-Jefferson, LeBron, Sophomores, G. Arenas

July 31st, 2025 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

After recently going viral on NBA Twitter for a tweet in which he made his case for an NBA roster spot, veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson spoke to Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype about his quest to get back into the league.

“I feel like, given the time I was in the NBA, I think it was very important for me to self-reflect and think about all the things that I could have done differently that kind of shaped me into the person I am today,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “I was just sitting there the other day thinking about it. I was thinking about it all, man. Just where I’m at, how far I’ve come, the growth, the experiences, everything that I’ve been through.

“… It was one of those days where your wheels are turning. And I said, man, I should be in the NBA, dude. I know everyone knows how hard I work, how much I care about basketball, but that’s really where it stemmed from.”

A first-round pick in 2015, Hollis-Jefferson appeared in 305 regular season games for three teams from 2015-21. While he has been out of the NBA for four years, he has continued to compete in professional leagues around the world, spending time in Turkey, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the Philippines, and Lebanon.

Still just 30 years old, Hollis-Jefferson says a desire to be closer to home is a big part of the reason why he’d love to make it back to the NBA.

“Just wanting to be on that big stage and really, really wanting to be closer to home, to be closest to my kids,” he said. “It’s one thing for them to take a max five-hour flight to, say, California, versus a 20-hour travel day to Asia or somewhere else.”

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

Despite some speculation that a recent meeting between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter, and Nikola Jokic‘s agent Misko Raznatovic was a recruiting trip, they were actually discussing plans for an international basketball league that is being spearheaded by Carter, multiple sources tell Ben Horney, Daniel Roberts, and Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com identifies the 10 most interesting second-year NBA players he’ll be watching in 2025/26. Woo’s list includes first-year standouts, like reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, players recovering from major injuries, such as Thunder guard Nikola Topic and Sixers guard Jared McCain, and youngsters who will be in line for major role increases as sophomores, including Rockets guard Reed Sheppard.
Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was among six people arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of hosting illegal high-stakes poker games at a mansion in Los Angeles owned by Arenas, according to a report from The Associated Press. The press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office detailing the specifics of the case can be found right here.
A man has been found guilty for second-degree murder in the killing of former NBA forward Adreian Payne, per Silas Morgan and Cristobal Reyes of The Orlando Sentinel (susbcription required). Lawrence Alexander Dority, who shot and killed Payne in May 2022, claimed that he thought the 31-year-old was reaching for a gun and cited self-defense, but Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigators concluded Payne didn’t have a weapon on him and that he didn’t pose a threat to Dority, who is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29.

Jonathan Kuminga Rumors: AfroBasket, Suns, Kings, Trade Talks

July 31st, 2025 at 7:37am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With Jonathan Kuminga‘s negotiations in restricted free agency seemingly set to drag on into August, the Warriors forward will likely have his international commitments affected by the stalemate.

As Marc Stein of The Stein Line details (via Twitter), the ongoing talks between Kuminga’s representatives and Golden State are expected to prevent him from suiting up for the Democratic Republic of Congo in this year’s AfroBasket competition, which tips off on August 12 in Angola. Kuminga had initially been listed on the team’s roster ahead of the tournament.

The primary reported suitors for Kuminga at this juncture are a pair of the Warriors’ Pacific Division rivals, the Suns and the Kings.

While Phoenix has legitimate interest in Kuminga, it’s unclear whether the club has the sort of young talent or draft assets to get a deal done. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix (Twitter link) reports that second-year Suns forward Ryan Dunn has never been discussed in trade talks and insists that he will not be included.

Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, meanwhile, hears that Kuminga is intrigued by the possibility of playing for the Kings.

“He wants to go (to Sacramento),” Spears said during an NBA Today appearance on Wednesday (Twitter video link). “The Kings are offering a starting spot, power forward, next to Keegan Murray, next to [Domantas] Sabonis. He’s talked on a zoom call with Scott Perry, the GM; B.J. Armstrong, the assistant GM; and also with their head coach [Doug Christie]. So he’s in, he wants to go there.”

Spears also shared some details on what a Suns offer for Kuminga might look like. “I heard they’re offering Royce O’Neale and four seconds and Nick Richards,” he said.

For what it’s worth, Phoenix only currently controls three second-round picks.

ESPN’s Shams Charania also appeared on NBA Today on Wednesday (Twitter video link) and suggested that Sacramento has been open to including a protected first-round pick in its sign-and-trade offer for Kuminga. Charania added that both the Kings and Suns have been willing to go up to about $90MM over four years for the 22-year-old. For now, Golden State has rejected sign-and-trade proposals from both teams.

“(The Warriors) want a good player, they also want an unprotected first-round pick, a good first-round pick,” Charania said. “The Sacramento Kings, I’m told, have actually offered a first-round pick in those conversations – it’s been a conditional first-round pick – as well as a potential rotation player. But the Warriors have wanted to the Sacramento Kings to give them an unprotected – fully – first-round pick.”

Phoenix doesn’t presently have the ability to trade a first-round pick.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.