International Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ricky Rubio Signs With Joventut Badalona

July 22nd, 2025 at 7:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ricky Rubio isn’t retiring after all. He has signed a contract with Spain’s Joventut Badalona, according to an announcement from the team.

Rubio ended his NBA career in January 2024 and returned to his home country of Spain, where he finished that season with Barcelona. He didn’t play for Barcelona this past season after taking a hiatus for mental health reasons.

Rubio indicated in June after posting a thank-you message on social media that he was still deciding whether to play again.

“Everything is open. I might play again – why not? – or I might not, and that wouldn’t be a bad idea either,” Rubio said. “It’s something I’d like to consider in the near future. For now, I just wanted to say thank you and also see how it affects me as a person, and if it gives me energy to move in one direction or another.”

Playing for Joventut Badalona represents a full circle move. Rubio started his pro career with the organization in 2005 and remained there until he signed with Barcelona in 2009.

Rubio was the fifth pick of the NBA draft in 2009 and came stateside two years later. He played for Minnesota, Utah, Phoenix and Cleveland over the course of 12 seasons, averaging 10.8 points and 7.4 assists in 698 career games.

International Notes: Cancar, Metu, Magnay, Young, Fall

July 22nd, 2025 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Olimpia Milano has officially confirmed its multiyear deal with veteran forward Vlatko Cancar, announcing the signing in a press release.

Reporting near the start of the month indicated that Cancar was on the verge of finalizing a two-year deal with Olimpia Milano, with the longtime Nugget confirming days later that he would be headed to Italy for the 2025/26 season.

The 49th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Cancar came stateside to join the Nuggets in 2019. Across six years and 143 regular season games with the team, the 6’8″ forward averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per night.

Here are a few more updates from around the international basketball world:

Veteran center Chimezie Metu was said earlier this month to be nearing a deal with the Turkish team Feneberbahce, but those talks broke down in the final stages, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. According to Urbonas, Metu had arrived in Istanbul and was prepared to sign with the reigning EuroLeague champions before the deal fell through. While Urbonas doesn’t provide specifics, it’s worth noting Metu is making his way back from an Achilles tear that he sustained in March and his agreement with Fenerbahce reportedly hinged in part on how his recovery was going.
Despite reportedly drawing some interest from the Grizzlies, the team he played for at the Las Vegas Summer League, Australian big man Will Magnay is returning to the Tasmania JackJumpers for the 2025/26 season, the team announced in a press release. “Summer League was an amazing and really valuable opportunity for me; I loved the experience. But I’m now excited to get home and get after it with the new group,” Magnay said in a statement.
The Perth Wildcats are pursuing free agent guard Jahmir Young, sources tell Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Young finished the 2024/25 season on a two-way contract with the Bulls and scored 40 points on 13-of-18 shooting in a Summer League game for Chicago last Wednesday, but was waived on Saturday to make room for newcomer Yuki Kawamura.
The New Zealand Breakers have parted ways with veteran center Tacko Fall, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). A former Celtic and Cavalier, Fall averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game for the Breakers in 18 outings last season.

Former Thunder Wing Alex Abrines Announces Retirement

July 22nd, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

Spanish guard/forward Alex Abrines has decided to end his playing career, announcing his retirement on Tuesday in a social media post (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando).

Abrines, who will turn 32 next month, was the 32nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft and came stateside three years later. He played for the Thunder from 2016-19, appearing in 174 regular season games across three seasons and averaging 5.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per game, with a .387/.368/.880 shooting line.

Abrines missed time during his third and final year in Oklahoma City for personal reasons and was eventually waived in February 2019, ending his time in the NBA. He later spoke about struggling with his mental health during his time in the league.

Abrines’ NBA run was sandwiched by two extended stints with FC Barcelona. He played for the Spanish club from 2012-16 and again from 2019-25, winning three Spanish League (Liga ACB) championships and three Spanish Cup titles. The 6’5″ swingman also played extensively for Spain’s national team, winning an Olympic bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

“Thank you, Barça! Culers, the time has come to say goodbye,” Albrines wrote in his farewell message (translated from Catalan). “The most complicated moment for me has arrived after so many years of proudly defending this shirt. I have been through a lot and, although I will miss many things, many places and many people, I know that my life path must continue in another direction.

“After an intense professional life in which I have burned through stages very quickly, it is time to live the life I want to live, to choose my path. And this is none other than wanting to spend more time with my family and my loved ones.”

Lamar Stevens Signs With Paris Basketball

July 22nd, 2025 at 7:20am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward Lamar Stevens has signed with Paris Basketball, the team announced today in a press release.

Stevens, who went undrafted out of Penn State in 2020, will be competing in Europe for the first time after spending his first five professional seasons in the NBA and G League. He has made 220 total regular season appearances for Cleveland, Boston, and Memphis, averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game during that stretch, with a .463/.287/.726 shooting line.

Stevens spent much of last season with the Motor City Cruise in the G League before catching on with the Grizzlies after the All-Star break, first on a pair of 10-day deals and then on a rest-of-season contract.

The 28-year-old had a very limited role in his first 16 outings with Memphis, logging 118 total minutes, but got extended run in the team’s regular season finale — he scored a career-high 31 points on 14-of-25 shooting in 36 minutes in a blowout win over Dallas on the final day of the season before becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Stevens will be joining a Paris Basketball squad that is coming off the most successful season in its seven-year history. The club won its first domestic championship in France’s top basketball league (LNB Élite) in 2024/25 and made the postseason in its first year in the EuroLeague.

Summer League Standout David Jones-Garcia Turns Down Olympiacos Offer

July 21st, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

David Jones-Garcia turned down a three-year offer from Olympiacos and let all other European suitors know he’s committed to continuing his NBA career, Dusty Garza of SpursReport tweets.

A report from Eurohoops.net confirms Jones-Garcia’s decision to pursue NBA opportunities.

Interest in Jones-Garcia, who doesn’t currently have an NBA deal, grew after some standout performances in the Las Vegas Summer League for the Spurs. The swingman averaged 21.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.8 APG and 1.2 SPG while shooting 52.9% from deep in five contests (24.9 MPG) this month.

After going undrafted out of Memphis in 2024, Jones-Garcia signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia last July but was waived in September. He also spent about a month-and-a-half on a two-way contract with the Jazz prior to being released on January 1.

The 23-year-old wing didn’t appear in any NBA games with Utah last season. However, he was one of the top performers in the G League, finishing runner-up in voting for NBAGL Rookie of the Year.

Jones-Garcia, who is from the Dominican Republic, was named to the All-California Classic Summer League team earlier this month after averaging 22.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 47.1% from three-point range in three games for San Antonio.

Jonas Valanciunas ‘Fully Committed’ To Honoring Nuggets Contract

July 21st, 2025 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

After having avoided directly addressing his contract situation in recent weeks, Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas offered clarity on his plans for the 2025/26 season in remarks to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com on Monday.

“I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me,” Valanciunas said. “The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very exciting to me, but that will have to wait. I am fully committed to honoring my contract with the Nuggets this season and will give it my all to compete for a championship.”

The Nuggets reached a trade agreement with the Kings on July 1 to acquire Valanciunas in exchange for Dario Saric, solidifying their backup center spot behind Nikola Jokic by landing a player they had reportedly coveted in recent years.

However, the Lithuanian big man’s future became a hot topic of discussion a couple days later when word broke that he was close to accepting a three-year contract offer from the Greek team Panathinaikos.

While it initially appeared that a buyout might be in the works for Valanciunas, the Nuggets made it clear they wanted him to play in Denver in 2025/26. They officially pulled the trigger on the trade on July 13, with general manager Ben Tenzer telling reporters this past Friday that the Nuggets had had “great conversations” with the center and his camp and that Valanciunas had expressed excitement about the upcoming season.

In order to play for Panathinaikos or any other non-NBA club, Valanciunas would have to secure his release from his current contract and then get a letter of clearance from FIBA. With the Nuggets unwilling to buy him out, his only option to force the issue would have been to hold out and not report to his new team. His comments today indicate he won’t be taking that route.

Valanciunas’ contract will pay him $10.4MM in 2025/26 and includes a non-guaranteed $10MM salary for the ’26/27 season. He’s expected to play a significant role as part of a revamped second unit in Denver that will also include recently added free agents Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Potential For New Form Of Draft-And-Stash Prospects

July 20th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The rise of older European players in collegiate basketball has created an interesting draft eligibility question for the NBA to figure out, writes The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov.

As Vorkunov details, a small section of said international NCAA players this year were already 22 years old and therefore automatically eligible for the draft. This led to the question of what would happen should one of those players be selected in the draft but still wish to play in college, which may now meet the NBA’s definition of a professional sport due to recent rulings about player payments from programs.

Vorkunov notes that according to the CBA, a league is professional if it pays players beyond living expenses, which is soon to be the case with the NCAA.

“Playing intercollegiate basketball will be considered under the provisions of Article X, Section 5 of the CBA to be signing a player contract with a non-NBA professional basketball team,” the league said in a memo before the draft.

This ruling would allow those players to become collegiate draft-and-stashes if they chose – in collaboration with the teams that selected them – to remain in school. The team would hold onto the players’ draft rights indefinitely without the player losing collegiate eligibility, similar to a player remaining overseas after being drafted.

However, this matter has not been decided outright. The league and the National Basketball Players Association will need to work together to determine how to handle this new wrinkle.

There are only a few players to whom this currently applies, according to Vorkunov, who cites Mihailo Petrovic (Illinois), Ilias Kamardine (Ole Miss), and Sananda Fru (Louisville) as examples. Currently, such players are allowed to play in college while being considered free agents. This would allow them to leave college mid-season to sign with a team if the opportunity arose, a situation that has not occurred since 2007, when Randolph Morris went left school to sign with the Knicks after having gone undrafted while not signing with an agent two years earlier.

The lack of clarity on the future of these players illustrates the complications of rapidly changing rules governing player payments in the NCAA in regard to how they impact draft eligibility.

Olympiacos Reportedly Eyeing David Jones-Garcia

July 19th, 2025 at 11:37am CST by Rory Maher

Olympiacos is discussing a contract with Spurs Summer League standout David Jones-Garcia, according to Greek reporter Tolis Kotzias (hat tip to Sportando).

After going undrafted out of Memphis in 2024, Jones-Garcia signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia last July but was waived in September, before the 2024/25 season began. He also spent about a month-and-a-half on a two-way contract with the Jazz prior to being released on January 1.

The 23-year-old wing didn’t appear in any NBA games with Utah last season. However, he was one of the top performers in the G League, finishing runner-up in voting for NBAGL Rookie of the Year.

Jones-Garcia, who is from the Dominican Republic, was named to the All-California Classic Summer League team earlier this month after averaging 22.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 47.1% from three-point range in three games for San Antonio.

The guard/forward has continued to put up big numbers for the Spurs at the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 21.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.5 SPG while shooting 50.0% from deep in four contests (25.4 MPG).

Olympiacos, which features multiple ex-NBA players, including Sasha Vezenkov and Evan Fournier, competes in both the EuroLeague and Greece’s top basketball league, the GBL. Olympiacos won the GBL finals last season over rival Panathinaikos.

International Notes: Kabengele, Simonovic, Forbes, Theis, Hall

July 19th, 2025 at 8:38am CST by Rory Maher

As it prepares for its first EuroLeague season, Dubai Basketball continues to aggressively pursue former NBA players. According to an official press release (Twitter link), the latest player to join the team’s ranks is Mfiondu Kabengele, who played parts of three seasons with the Clippers, Cavaliers and Celtics from 2019-23.

Kabengele, 27, has spent the past two seasons in Europe with AEK Athens in Greece and Reyer Venezia in Italy. In 47 EuroCup and LBA games with the Italian club last season, the Canadian big man averaged team highs of 15.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .564/.318/.704.

Kabengele is a former first-round pick, having been selected No. 27 overall in the 2019 draft after two college seasons at Florida State. He signed a two-year contract with Dubai, according to Eurohoops.

Here are a few more international items of interest:

Former second-rounder Marko Simonovic, who spent two years with Chicago from 2021-23, will be switching teams for the 2025/26 campaign but will remain in Turkey. After suiting up for Bahçeşehir Koleji last season and averaging a combined 7.8 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 45 appearances (17.1 MPG), the Montenegrin center has inked a new deal with Türk Telekom, the team announced (via Twitter).
Bryn Forbes, a seven-year NBA veteran who has been a free agent since February 2023, is signing with Greek club Aris Thessaloniki, sources tell Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops. Known for his outside shooting ability, the 31-year-old guard played for San Antonio, Milwaukee, Denver and Minnesota from 2016-23. Forbes was arrested in San Antonio in February 2024 on a charge of assaulting a family member by choking/strangulation, which is considered a third-degree felony. He was also arrested in February 2023 following a domestic violence incident, though that case was later dismissed after he successfully applied for a pre-trial diversion program, which requires an admission of guilt among several other criteria, per Andrew Moore of KENS 5 News.
According to Mozzart Sport, German big man Daniel Theis has drawn interest from Partizan Belgrade but is considered likely to stay with AS Monaco (hat tip to Eurohoops). The 33-year-old center is reportedly on Real Madrid’s radar as well. Theis played for New Orleans last season prior to being traded to — and released by — Oklahoma City in February. The eight-year NBA veteran finished out 2024/25 with Monaco.
Donta Hall‘s three-year contract with Olympiacos is now official, according to a press release from the Greek EuroLeague team. You can find more details on that agreement right here.

Chuma Okeke Expected To Sign With Real Madrid

July 18th, 2025 at 4:31pm CST by Eli Cohen

Chuma Okeke is finalizing a deal to join Real Madrid, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

Okeke, a former Auburn standout who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Magic after being drafted with the No. 16 pick in 2019, appeared in seven games with the Sixers last season and five with the Cavaliers, including three in the playoffs.

The 26-year-old spent the majority of the year with the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester, where he averaged 17.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per contest.

Orazio Cauchi of Basket News, who first reported that Okeke and Real Madrid were in advanced talks, says the 6’6″ wing is expected to primarily helm the power forward spot for the Spanish club.

Assuming a deal is finalized, Okeke would join former NBA players Facundo Campazzo, Theo Maledon, Mario Hezonja, Edy Tavares, Usman Garuba, Bruno Fernando, and Xavier Rathan-Mayes on Madrid’s roster.