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Rockets Notes: Eason, Durant, Playing Time, Owens, Sengun

September 10th, 2025 at 9:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Many people around the league believe the Rockets will work out a long-term extension with Tari Eason before finalizing a new deal with Kevin Durant, according to William Guillory of The Athletic.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported that Durant and the Rockets are expected to reach an extension agreement at some point.

Eason has an expiring contract — the Rockets exercised a $5.68MM club option on the final year of his rookie deal for 2025/26. The fourth-year forward averaged a career-high 12.0 points and 1.7 steals per game while making 57 appearances last season.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

  • In the same story, Guillory opines about a pleasant dilemma: Does Houston have too many good players? Guillory believes coach Ime Udoka will have a difficult time figuring out how to divvy up minutes among so many players capable of heavy minutes on a good team.
  • Mark Owens, a Houston-area boxing trainer, has become a vital asset to the Rockets — the team’s director of performance, Willie Cruz, describes Owens as “an extension of our strength coaches.” Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle (subscription required) profiles how Owens, who served a federal prison term, turned his life around and helped the Rockets become one of the more physical teams in the league.
  • Former Sixers forward Furkan Korkmaz is playing alongside Rockets center Alperen Sengun for Turkey in the EuroBasket tournament. Korkmaz called Sengun, not Joel Embiid, the best center he’s played with in his career. “He’s a special kid and every day he’s trying to give his maximum,” he said in a video posted by Eurohoops Turkey.
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Alperen Sengun Leads Turkey Into EuroBasket Semifinals

September 9th, 2025 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

Turkey advanced to the EuroBasket semifinals on Tuesday by defeating Poland by a score of 91-77 in the tournament’s first quarterfinal matchup.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who entered the day as Turkey’s top scorer, once again led the way for the team by putting up 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in just under 31 minutes of action. It was the first EuroBasket triple-double for Sengun after he came within one assist of achieving the feat during group play vs. Czechia — he’s the youngest player to ever register a triple-double in a EuroBasket game, per FIBA.

With 151 points, 76 rebounds, and 50 assists through seven games, Sengun is the first player in the last 30 years to compile at least 150 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists in a single EuroBasket tournament, tweets Armando Caporaso of Sportando.

Cedi Osman, (10 points and a team-best +18 on/off mark), Shane Larkin (13 points, five assists), and Furkan Korkmaz (10 points) are among the former NBA players who also played key roles in Tuesday’s victory for the Turkish national team. Osman sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter, but head coach Ergin Ataman said after the game that he hopes the forward will be able to play on Friday, as Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com relays.

Veteran guard/forward Mateusz Ponitka and former Raptor Jordan Loyd were Poland’s leading scorers, with 19 points apiece.

The Turkish team is now 7-0 at EuroBasket 2025 and is on track for its best result since 2001 — and maybe ever. Turkey, which hosted the 2001 tournament, won silver that year, but hasn’t finished higher than eighth since then and has only ever made the top four of the European championships one other time (fourth place in 1949).

Turkey will face the winner of today’s Lithuania vs. Greece game in the semifinals on Friday.

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28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025

August 27th, 2025 at 7:07am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.

However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.

The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.

At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.

By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.

Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:

Group A

Czechia (Czech Republic)

  • Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
  • Former NBA players: None

Estonia

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Henri Drell

Latvia

Portugal

  • Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
  • Former NBA players: None

Serbia

Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Turkey

Group B

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Lithuania

Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.

Montenegro

Sweden

  • Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
  • Former NBA players: None

Group C

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
  • Former NBA players: None

Cyprus

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Spain

Group D

Belgium

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

France

France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Iceland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel

  • Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Poland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd

Slovenia

  • Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
  • Former NBA players: None
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Turkey Announces EuroBasket Roster Headlined By Sengun

August 24th, 2025 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Turkey has become the latest team to finalize its roster for EuroBasket 2025, announcing its 12-man squad on Sunday ahead of the start of the tournament this week.

The roster features two current NBA players, including one – Rockets center Alperen Sengun – who is coming off a season in which he earned his first All-Star nod and averaged a double-double (19.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG). Second-year Sixers forward Adem Bona, the 41st overall pick in last year’s draft, will also suit up for Turkey.

Beyond Sengun and Bona, the Turkish national team includes a handful of former NBAers whose names will be familiar to fans. Here are the 12 players who will represent Turkey at EuroBasket:

Bitim, Korkmaz, Larkin, Osman, and Yurtseven all have NBA experience, with Osman (476 regular season games) and Korkmaz (328) each having spent seven seasons in the league, though neither played in the NBA in 2024/25.

Turkey will carry some momentum into EuroBasket, having won each of its past three exhibition games ahead of the tournament, beating Czechia, Lithuania, and Montenegro. The Turkish club will be part of Group A, which also features Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Serbia, and Czechia. Their tournament tips off on Wednesday against the Latvians.

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International Notes: Marjanovic, Korkmaz, Samanic, Batum

December 30th, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA center Boban Marjanovic, who began the 2024/25 season with Fenerbahce in Turkey, is taking his talents to China after being released by his EuroLeague club, according to a report from Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops). That report states that Marjanovic is joining the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Marjanovic, who averaged just 8.7 minutes per game over the course of 331 regular season NBA appearances across nine seasons, also played a limited role with Fenerbahce, logging 10.0 MPG in six EuroLeague outings and 12.3 MPG in seven Turkish League contests. Fenerbahce decided against exercising its rest-of-season option on the 7’4″ center, making him a free agent.

Marjanovic has no shortage of international basketball experience, having played in Serbia, Russia, and Lithuania before making the move to the NBA in 2015. However, this will be the first time that he has played for a team in China.

Here are a few more items of interest from around the international basketball world:

  • Turkish wing Furkan Korkmaz, who spent seven NBA seasons in Philadelphia, has returned to his native country, signing with Bahcesehir, according to an announcement from the club (Twitter link). Korkmaz began this season with AS Monaco, but recent reporting indicated that he planned to transfer ahead of the EuroLeague’s deadline. In addition to competing domestically in Turkey, Bahcesehir currently has a 10-2 record in EuroCup play.
  • Former NBA forward/center Luka Samanic has officially signed with Baskonia, as expected, the Spanish team announced today in a press release. It has been an eventful few months for Samanic, who initially signed with Fenerbahce after finishing the 2023/24 season with the Jazz, but didn’t play for the Turkish team, instead returning to his home country of Croatia and playing with KK Cibona this fall. Now he’s back in the EuroLeague.
  • Speaking to Grant Asfeth of RG.org about his decision to retire from the French national team, veteran Clippers forward Nicolas Batum explained that he felt the program was in good hands with all the young talent coming up behind him, led by rising star Victor Wembanyama. “I could retire peacefully from the national team. I don’t have to play every summer because there’s a new generation coming up,” Batum said. “Good guys are coming in the next draft. I feel like I’ve done my job for the country. I tried to inspire the young guys. They tell me they watched me when they were younger, and I like that. My son is eight, and he’s a fan of this generation now. It’s great for the country.”
  • Aris Barkas of Eurohoops explores what the NBA’s rumored foray into European basketball might look like, reporting that Paris Basketball is among the clubs the NBA is targeting for its new league, while EuroLeague powerhouse Real Madrid has also been in contact with the NBA.
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International Notes: Gabriel, Korkmaz, Marjanovic, T. Williams

December 23rd, 2024 at 9:06am CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA big man Wenyen Gabriel is headed to Panathinaikos after the team agreed to pay a $350K buyout fee to Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. In his first EuroLeague season, Gabriel is averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per game with the Israeli team while shooting 54% from the floor. He could make his debut in Greece as early as Friday.

Coach Ergin Ataman confirmed on Sunday that Panathinaikos was looking for roster help after losing Mathias Lessort, a member of the French Olympic team, to a fractured fibula that will sideline him for at least four months.

“We have three to four candidates,” Ataman said. “Gabriel is one of them, but he’s a Maccabi player, and we don’t know if Maccabi will let him go. Our GM [Sani Becirovic] is working, and I hope [Monday] we’ll have an answer from one of our candidates. At this point, we need a player urgently.”

Gabriel played for seven teams during his five years in the NBA and appeared in five games with Memphis last season. He was also part of the South Sudan team during the Olympics.

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • Furkan Korkmaz, who signed with AS Monaco this summer after seven NBA seasons, plans to transfer before the EuroLeague’s Wednesday deadline, Urbonas states in a separate story. Sources tell Urbonas that Korkmaz is considering options both in and outside of the EuroLeague. His production has been limited by a leg injury that forced him to miss the first month of the season. In an interview with Urbonas last month, Korkmaz indicated that he had interest in playing in his native Turkey.
  • Long-time NBA center Boban Marjanovic is looking for a new team after being released by Fenerbahce, Urbonas adds in another piece. The one-year contract Marjanovic signed this summer included a termination option that had to be exercised by January. The team recently elected to retain former NBA big man Khem Birch, who had the same clause in his deal. Marjanovic is exploring his options, which may include leaving the EuroLeague, Urbonas adds.
  • Trevion Williams has signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv after leaving ALBA Berlin, according to EuroHoops. The former Purdue star spent time in the G League and was among the players selected by the Suns’ new affiliate in the June expansion draft.
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International Notes: McGruder, Pokusevski, Abu Dhabi, International Stars, Korkmaz

October 5th, 2024 at 11:39am CST by Earnest Marshall

Former NBA guard Rodney McGruder has signed with Italian club Reyer Venezia, according to a release from the team (hat tip to Sportando).

McGruder appeared in 317 games (132 starts) from 2016-23, registering career averages of 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest. He played most extensively for the Heat during that time, making 112 of his starts in a Miami uniform. In his first season in the league, McGruder finished in eighth in Rookie of the Year voting after starting in 65 of the Heat’s games. He dealt with an injury the following year but opened the 2018/19 season as a full-time starter for Miami, averaging over 10 PPG and shooting just under 40.0% on three-pointers through the New Year.

However, McGruder fell out of the rotation that year and was eventually cut at the end of the season as it became clear the Heat wouldn’t make the postseason. He was waived in order to make room for back-end roster shuffling moves, including the conversion of Duncan Robinson from a two-way deal to a standard contract.

McGruder then played for the Clippers for one season before spending the subsequent three years of his career with the Pistons. Detroit appreciated him as a veteran leader, but opted not to re-sign him in 2023. He landed on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Warriors last offseason but didn’t ultimately make the team. McGruder then played for Olimpia Milano in Italy last season.

We have more international notes:

  • Former first-rounder Aleksej Pokusevski returned to Europe this offseason, signing with Partizan Belgrade after spending four seasons in the NBA with the Thunder and Hornets. According to Eurohoops, he’s open to an NBA return in the future but is thankful to be with a club that’s helping him develop further. “I think I’ve already gotten better, and that was one of the main reasons I came here,” Pokusevski said. “Overall, we’ve gotten better as a team, we’ve grown closer, and I think it’s going to be a good season for us.” He averaged 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in 168 career games (65 starts).
  • Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Abu Dhabi’s chairman of Department of Culture and Tourism, has been a driving force of the NBA’s high-profile preseason games in United Arab Emirates, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. The league is deepening its relationship with the Middle East, which is continuing to be a more viable business partner for the NBA, Windhorst explains in a piece highlighting the growing relationship between the two sides.
  • Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo have requested to NBA commissioner Adam Silver that the NBA host games in their respective home countries of Slovenia, Serbia and Greece, according to Sportando. “It’s a difficult task because hosting these games requires an incredible amount of resources and, frankly, it doesn’t make financial sense as a one-off event,” Silver said, per Sportando. “It works in places like Mexico City, Paris or here in Abu Dhabi because it is part of a long-term initiative. I really appreciate the enthusiasm of the fans in Serbia, Slovenia and Greece, as well as the efforts of players like Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Doncic to bring NBA games to their countries. But it is not easy to organize. We will continue to explore this possibility, even though the cost of organizing these events increases every year. I want to find a way to honor these great players”
  • After signing with AS Monaco this offseason, Furkan Korkmaz suffered a leg injury, according to BasketNews. He’s expected to miss multiple weeks as a result of the ailment.
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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.
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Furkan Korkmaz Signs With AS Monaco

August 7th, 2024 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

After spending the past seven seasons in the NBA, Furkan Korkmaz is returning to Europe, having signed a contract with AS Monaco Basket, according to a press release from the team. The deal includes one guaranteed season, with a second-year option.

The 26th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Korkmaz was initially a draft-and-stash prospect who made the move to the NBA in 2017. Across seven seasons with the Sixers, he averaged 6.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 16.6 minutes per game across 328 total outings (49 starts). He posted a career shooting line of .406/.356/.761.

Korkmaz’s time in Philadelphia came to an end in February, when he was traded to Indiana as part of the three-team deal that sent Buddy Hield to the 76ers. He was immediately waived by Indiana and has been a free agent since then. Earlier this week, he sent a belated farewell message (via Twitter) to the fans in Philadelphia.

“Thank you to the Sixers organization, to the amazing fans, and to my coaches and teammates,” he wrote. “Your support and love have been incredible. I’ve made incredible friendships along the way, and I’m grateful for every moment spent on and off the court. We’ve shared so many good and tough times together. Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love, you will always hold a special place in my heart.

“Thank you for the memories and the journey. Now, a new chapter begins in my career.”

Korkmaz, who was born in Istanbul, is no stranger to international basketball, having played for Anadolu Efes, Pertevniyal, and Banvit in his home country of Turkey between 2013-17.

He’ll be joining an AS Monaco club that’s coming off an impressive season in 2023/24 — the team went 29-5 in the LNB Elite (France’s top league) and had a 23-11 record in EuroLeague competition. Monaco won a championship in France, but was knocked off by the lower-seeded Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague playoffs.

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International Notes: Burke, Gates, Korkmaz, Kagame

July 28th, 2024 at 4:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran guard Trey Burke, who has spent nine seasons in the NBA, signed on with Puerto Rican club Mets de Guaynabo, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

The former All-Rookie First Teamer out of Michigan played for the Jazz, Wizards, Knicks, Mavericks and Sixers from 2013-22, posting averages of 9.6 points, 3.1 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 steals per game across 498 total regular season contests .

Burke has been tooling around the G League for the past two years, first with the Stockton Kings and then with the Mexico City Capitanes. In 10 Showcase Cup contests with the Capitanes last season, the 6’1″ vet posted averages of 21.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per night, with a shooting line of .465/.429/.864.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Former Pelicans small forward Kaiser Gates has inked a contract with Spanish club Joventut Badalona, according to a press release from the team. After going undrafted out of Xavier in 2018, the 6’7″ wing mostly played in the G League for the affiliates of the Bulls, Celtics, and Nets. He also suited up for Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem in 2021/22. Gates was briefly on a two-way deal with New Orleans during the ’23/24 season, though he appeared in just one game before being waived.
  • Former Sixers swingman Furkan Korkmaz could be nearing a deal with French club AS Monaco Basket, reports Kevin Martorano of Sportando. After suiting up for multiple pro teams in his native Turkey, the 6’7″ swingman was selected with the No. 26 pick by Philadelphia in 2016. He was finally dealt to the Pacers at the February trade deadline, as part of a three-team deal to acquire Buddy Hield. Indiana cut him a day after the trade.
  • As the NBA has looked to broaden its brand recently, it appears to have gotten into business with a man seen by many as a dictator, per Mark Fainaru-Wada of ESPN. Rwandan president Paul Kagame, considered guilty of major human rights violations by the U.S. State Department, negotiated a new $104MM basketball facility for the country as part of the league’s growing NBA Africa business. “The conversations that we’ve had with Paul Kagame have all been about improving the lives of Rwandan people,” league deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said of the relationship. “How can we create, how can we inspire and connect people through the game of basketball to make Rwandan peoples’ lives better.”
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