Kendrick Nunn Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Silver, Gasol, Burke, Nunn

June 6th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Commissioner Adam Silver says the NBA’s efforts to launch a new league in Europe with the help of the FIBA governing organization are ongoing, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Given the massive amount of logistics required by leagues on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to make this dream a reality, Silver warns that nothing is imminent, but that doesn’t mean progress isn’t happening.

“We’re at least a couple years away from launching,” Silver says. “It would be an enormous undertaking. And while we want to move forward at a deliberate pace, we also want to make sure that we’re consulting with all the appropriate stakeholders, meaning the existing league, its teams, European players, media companies, marketing partners.”

The goal is for the new league to feature 16 teams, and Silver said that the NBA has been in touch with the EuroLeague and specific teams within it for partnerships. Silver says there’s a desire for some amount of collaboration with the existing league, and that the 2028 Olympics will be a good measuring stick for progress.

“That might be a good launching pad for an announcement around a new competition,” he teased. But, in the end, patience is going to be the most important thing. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

We have more from around the world of hoops:

As someone with a wealth of experience in both the NBA and EuroLeague, Pau Gasol is intrigued by the idea of the NBA expanding into Europe, writes the Eurohoops team. Like Silver, he understands it’ll be a lengthy process, but expressed cautious excitement about what such a collaboration could offer. “I see an initiative to improve the European basketball model, and it’s an opportunity for our sport to grow. We’ll see how it shapes up and how it progresses,” Gasol said, per Dídac Piferrer of MARCA. However, he cautions that European basketball needs to become more stable before such a venture can be successful. “The European basketball model must evolve and improve. Economically, it’s not sustainable, and the vast majority of teams are losing money,” he added.
With Doris Burke‘s place in ESPN’s announcer rotation unclear beyond the NBA Finals, Pacers’ head coach Rick Carlisle has voiced his support for the longtime broadcaster, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Carlisle praised Burke for the role she has played in laying down a foundation for future female broadcasters, and was disappointed that the rumors of her uncertain future cast a shadow over Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with all that stuff, but I just want to say thank you to Doris for the example that she has put forth for young women like my daughter and all these people who are changing the game,” Carlisle said. “She has changed the game, and that’s the reason that she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a couple years ago.”
Former Laker and Heat guard Kendrick Nunn has received the EuroLeague Players Association’s Players’ Choice Awards MVP for his play with Panathinaikos in Greece, per Eurohoops.net. Nunn averaged 21.2 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from three on 7.2 attempts per game as the team went 22-12 in EuroLeague competition and reached the Final Four of EuroLeague playoff competition. The veteran guard also won the EuroLeague’s official MVP award in April.

International Notes: P. Gasol, Bogut, Nunn, Shorts, Biberovic

May 18th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA stars Pau Gasol and Andrew Bogut were welcomed into the FIBA Hall of Fame Saturday night in Bahrain, according to Eurohoops. In addition to their NBA accomplishments, both players had extensive experience in international competitions, with Gasol being Spain’s all-time scoring leader in EuroBasket and Bogut representing Australia in three Summer Olympics.

Gasol, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023, used his speech to reflect on his time with the Spanish national team and share memories of former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant.

“None was more important than my brother, Kobe,” Gasol told the crowd. “Our connection went far beyond that. He was unique. He challenged me to leave it all on the court every day to make us NBA champions. I’ll never forget how he welcomed me onto the team. We built something special. It wasn’t easy. Trust, accountability, unwavering commitment, and pure determination. I miss him and (his daughter) Gigi terribly.”

Other notable members of this year’s class include former Duke and Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski, three-time gold medalist Dawn Staley and WNBA career assists leader Ticha Penicheiro of Portugal.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Kendrick Nunn is mulling over offers to represent Greece or Turkey at this year’s EuroBasket tournament, according to George Adamopolous of EuroHoops. The former NBA guard, who plays for Panathinaikos in Greece, is the reigning EuroLeague MVP. “There were offers that came on the table to play either for the Greek national team or the Turkish national team,” Nunn said. “It’s still in the air. I haven’t made a decision yet to be honest. I still have time.”
T.J. Shorts, who has received interest from the Grizzlies, has earned back-to-back MVP honors in the French League, per EuroHoops. The Paris Basketball point guard averaged 16.9 points and 8.0 assists per game in his first season in the league, shooting 59.1% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range. Shorts, 27, will be a free agent this summer.
Fenerbahce swingman Tarik Biberovic, whose rights are controlled by the Grizzlies, is pondering a move to the NBA and is getting encouragement from teammate Marko Guduric, EuroHoops relays in another piece. “If I’m Fener, I’m obviously trying to keep Tarik,” Guduric said, “but for him, personally, it’s going to be his decision and of his family, whatever is best for them. I told him, if there is an opportunity, maybe you should try.”

Former NBA Guard Kendrick Nunn Named EuroLeague MVP

April 21st, 2025 at 7:14am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Kendrick Nunn, who played in the NBA from 2019-23, has been named the EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player for the 2024/25 season, the league announced today in a press release.

Nunn, a member of Panathinaikos in Greece, beat out former EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov for the honor after averaging a league-leading 21.1 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.6 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game with a shooting line of .503/.426/.856 across 33 outings.

Nunn led Panathinaikos to a 22-12 record and a No. 3 finish in the 18-team league.

The EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player award is voted on by head coaches (35%), team captains (35%), media members (20%), and fans (10%). Vezenkov was the runner-up in the voting after returning to Europe last year to join Olympiacos following an NBA stint, while TJ Shorts of Paris Basketball finished third.

Nunn is the third American player to earn MVP honors in the history of the EuroLeague, joining Anthony Parker (2005 and 2006) and Mike James (2024).

Nunn, who appeared in 193 regular season games for the Heat, Lakers, and Wizards, recently signed a three-year contract extension with Panathinaikos that will make him the EuroLeague’s highest-paid player. That deal reportedly doesn’t include NBA out clauses, so the 29-year-old will remain overseas for the foreseeable future.

Panathinaikos will square off against Anadolu Efes in the first round of the EuroLeague playoffs, beginning on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

Kendrick Nunn, Cedi Osman Sign Extensions With Panathinaikos

April 9th, 2025 at 2:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA players Kendrick Nunn and Cedi Osman have signed extensions with defending EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos, team owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos announced today (story via BasketNews.com).

According to Giannakopoulos, Nunn has signed a three-year extension with the Greek powerhouse, while Osman’s deal covers two more years.

Greek outlet SDNA reported a couple weeks ago that Nunn had agreed to a three-year extension that will make him the highest-paid player in the EuroLeague, with an annual average salary of €4.5MM (hat tip to EuroHoops.net). Nunn’s contract does not feature NBA out clauses and is fully guaranteed, tweets Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.

The €4.5MM yearly figure is after taxes have been taken out, according to Urbonas (Twitter link). That’s approximately $4.9MM annually, Urbonas notes.

Nunn, who last played for the Wizards during the 2022/23 campaign, has become one of the best players in Europe, averaging 20.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 32 EuroLeague contests this season (31.1 MPG). The American guard has been extremely efficient offensively, posting a .503/.419/.846 shooting slash line in those appearances.

Osman, 30, played for San Antonio in ’23/24, but was unable to find an NBA deal to his liking over the summer, eventually signing with Panathinaikos in September. The following month, the Turkish forward sounded optimistic about returning to the NBA at some point, but his new extension will keep him under contract through 2027. It’s unclear if his deal contains out clauses.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Osman has averaged 7.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .444/.379/.812 shooting in 31 EuroLeague games in ’24/25 (18.2 MPG).

Panathinaikos has a stacked roster featuring several other former NBA players and EuroLeague veterans. The team is currently in third place in the league’s standings with a 21-12 record.

Panathinaikos also went 22-0 during the regular season in Greece’s top domestic league, with the playoffs coming up this week.

International Notes: Lee, Songaila, D-Lo, Walker

November 23rd, 2024 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA guard Saben Lee continues to bounce back and forth between European teams, with Manisa Basket officially confirming today that Lee has rejoined the Turkish club (Twitter link).

Lee, who appeared in 134 regular season games for the Pistons, Sixers, and Suns from 2020-24, signed with Manisa Basket this past offseason, but left last month to join Maccabi Tel Aviv. As Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com explains, Lee signed with the Israeli club under the condition that he would live and practice in Belgrade, Serbia, where Maccabi has been playing its EuroLeague games.

According to Urbonas, Lee felt pressured to move to Israel, where the team continues to play its domestic league contests, but wasn’t comfortable doing so due to the war in the region. Maccabi, meanwhile, was concerned that the guard’s absence from practices was negatively impacting the team’s rhythm. It led to the two sides parting ways and Lee returning to a Manisa club he was already familiar with.

We have a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

Lee isn’t the only Manisa Basket newcomer. According to Urbonas at BasketNews.com, former NBA forward/center Darius Songaila is expected to join Manisa’s coaching staff. Songaila, who played in the NBA and Europe from 2002-15, was a Spurs staffer from 2018-24, spending four of those seasons as an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich‘s staff.
Could D’Angelo Russell represent Lithuania in international basketball competition? After a report from Rokas Pakenas of 15min.lt suggested that Russell had informed the Lithuanian Basketball Federation of his interest, the Lakers guard posted an Instagram comment that said “Let’s make it happen.” As Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops notes, Russell’s wife is of Lithuanian descent, so there’s a possible path for the 28-year-old to become a naturalized citizen.
Veteran guard Lonnie Walker is beginning to hit his stride overseas, racking up 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting for Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday in a win over reigning EuroLeague champions Panathinaikos. After the game, Walker – whose contract includes an NBA out until February – praised one of his opponents, according to Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com. “Kendrick Nunn has been an extreme inspiration and motivation for me,” Walker said of the Panathinaikos star and his former Lakers teammate. “I love that guy to death. I’ve been with him since the Lakers, I’ve known him way before the Lakers. Somehow, the world continues to give us a full circle moment for a reason. He’s my guy, my brother, and I continue to watch what he does and imitate how he’s doing it in the EuroLeague. I want to follow that route as well.”

International Notes: Porter, Nnaji, Splitter, Parker, Nunn

July 17th, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

A federal judge has denied Jontay Porter‘s request to play for for Promitheas B.C. in Greece during the 2024/25 season, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Porter, who was permanently banned from the NBA in April for violating the league’s gambling rules, pleaded guilty last week to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for December 18 and he faces the possibility of 41-51 months in prison, based on sentencing guidelines.

The former Raptor had to forfeit his passport under the conditions of his pre-sentence release. He and his lawyers had filed a motion asking to modify the terms of his release to have the passport returned to him so that he could travel to and around Europe, live in Greece, and play professional basketball in the Greek League.

“The proposed modification would allow Mr. Porter to pursue a very fortunate — and quickly diminishing — opportunity to earn income through his primary skillset,” Porter’s lawyer Jeff Jensen wrote. “Mr. Porter, and more importantly his agent, believe such an opportunity is unlikely to arise again. As you may know, Mr. Porter was recently banned from the National Basketball Association.

“Mr. Porter’s primary skillset and means of earning a living involve playing professional basketball. He left college early in 2020 to enter the NBA Draft and has not yet finished earning credits towards his college degree. Since being banned from the NBA there have been no other opportunities available to continue his basketball career. Mr. Porter has a limited window to earn an income through professional basketball during his prime earning years as a professional athlete.”

Both Jensen and a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment after the motion was denied, per Vorkunov.

Here’s more from around the international basketball world:

Nigerian center James Nnaji, the No. 31 pick in the 2023 draft, had hoped to make the leap to the NBA this offseason after playing in Spain in 2023/24, according to Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (hat tip to Sportando). However, those plans changed when Nnaji underwent back surgery this spring, rendering him unavailable for Summer League play and ensuring that he’s not in the Hornets‘ short-term plans. As a result, Nnaji will remain with Barcelona for at least one more season, per Mundo Deportivo’s reporting.
Former NBA big man Tiago Splitter has been named the new head coach of Paris Basketball, the French team announced this week (via Twitter). Splitter, who played in the league from 2010-17 (primarily for the Spurs), became an NBA assistant coach in 2019. He spent four years on Brooklyn’s staff, then was an assistant under Rockets head coach Ime Udoka in 2023/24.
Neither Jabari Parker (Barcelona) nor Kendrick Nunn (Panathinaikos) exercised the NBA exit clause in his contract, according to reports from Mundo Deportivo (hat tip to Sportando) and BasketNews.com. With those opt-out deadlines now passed, Parker and Nunn – both former NBA players – are expected to remain with their respective teams in Europe for the 2024/25 season.

And-Ones: Barkley, Nunn, Ibaka, Africa

June 17th, 2024 at 1:56pm CST by Rory Maher

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley recently said he’s going to retire from TV at the conclusion of 2024/25, which could be the final season TNT holds the media rights to NBA games. Barkley has been an analyst on Inside the NBA since 2000.

While his comments certainly seemed genuine, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic believes Barkley will cover the NBA again in some fashion after next season ends, noting the 61-year-old has frequently talked about retirement in the past but he just signed a highly lucrative 10-year contract a couple years ago.

That long-term deal with TNT could complicate matters, but potential new (or returning) media rights holders like Amazon and NBC would love to have Barkley and the entire Inside the NBA crew on board, Marchand writes. A “more plausible” scenario, according to Marchand, would be ESPN giving Barkley a “sweetheart deal” he can’t refuse, perhaps offering to let him work less frequently while still covering the most important games, such as the NBA Finals.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn, who helped lead Panathinaikos to a EuroLeague championship in ’23/24, was arrested less than a day after helping his Greek club win a domestic title, according to Eurohoops. Nunn was detained after a verbal exchange with his wife, who declined to press charges, and has subsequently been released. The 28-year-old signed a two-year contract extension with Panathinaikos last month, but he hasn’t ruled out an NBA return, as his deal contains out clauses. Nunn last played for the Lakers and Wizards in ’22/23.
Big man Serge Ibaka, who played 14 NBA seasons from 2009-2023, says he’s undecided on what he’s going to do next season after spending the ’23/24 campaign with Bayern Munich in Germany, per Eurohoops. Ibaka was rumored to be signing a one-year deal with Real Madrid, but he denied that’s the case.
Tania Ganguli of The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the NBA’s investment in Africa, which includes the Basketball Africa League. The NBA has long believed the continent could be a key way to grow the popularity of the sport and add young talent to the league’s player pool, but commissioner Adam Silver wonders if enough money is being spent to support growth. “As much as we are investing in Africa, the opportunity is so enormous I worry that we’re under-investing,” Silver said in an interview. “There’s so much opportunity, but it’s not always easy to know how to deploy capital, which government you should be dealing with, who the honest brokers are. And so we’re learning as we go.”

International Notes: Caboclo, Brown, Nunn, Pre-Draft Camp

June 2nd, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Bruno Caboclo‘s future with KK Partizan could be in jeopardy after he recently left the team without permission to travel to Orlando, according to BasketNews.

The Serbian club announced sanctions on Caboclo for “setting a precedent” for his teammates, although the details weren’t released. Partizan will start a best-of-three playoff series with Crvena Zvezda on Monday.

The team said Caboclo “allegedly” traveled to Florida as part of his duties with the Brazilian national team, but a report from Mozzart Sport states that he was attending a child custody hearing. Caboclo reportedly asked for permission to attend the hearing nearly two weeks ago, but the request was denied because it conflicted with preparing for the playoffs.

The announcement from Partizan notes that the team has an option to keep Caboclo under contract, but no decision has been made. The 28-year-old forward has been playing overseas since his last NBA appearance during the 2020/21 season.

There’s more international news to pass along:

Former NBA point guard Lorenzo Brown has no intention of leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv, BasketNews adds in a separate story. Brown holds a Spanish passport that enables him to play for Spain’s national team, and there were rumors that he might consider signing with Real Madrid. “I have no idea what is happening and where these rumors come from. I read a lot, like all of you, but I fully intend to stay at Maccabi. I’m very comfortable here,” he said. “I think this is the best place I’ve ever played. I’m looking forward to the next season to start a new journey together with my teammates.”
Kendrick Nunn led Panathinaikos to the EuroLeague title, but he may not have joined the Greek team without an assist from NBA veteran Goran Dragic, Eurohoops relays. In an interview with Meridian Sport, Panathinaikos sporting director Sani Becirovic talked about the role Dragic played in recruiting Nunn. “Goran Dragic helped me a lot there. At the time, Kendrick was training with Zoran Dragic in Miami, so Goran allowed me to explain everything to him,” Becirovic said. “… It still wasn’t easy getting an important NBA player to leave Disneyland. That was the hardest.”
A few NBA players and a collection of assistant coaches are attending a pre-draft camp for international prospects in Treviso this weekend, according to Eurohoops. James Harden, Nikola Jovic, Vasilije Micic and Ivica Zubac made an appearance and signed autographs at adidas EuroCamp.

International Notes: Fournier, Lithuania, Canada, Nunn, Hayes-Davis

May 28th, 2024 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Pistons considered extremely unlikely to exercise their $19MM team option on Evan Fournier for the 2024/25 season, the French swingman is on track to become a free agent this summer. There has been some speculation that Fournier could return to Europe, where he began his professional career and where he could play a far more significant role than he has the past couple seasons.

It doesn’t sound like that’s Fournier’s Plan A, however. According to Dimitri Kucharczyk of BasketUSA (hat tip to RealGM), while Fournier’s representatives didn’t specifically address rumors linking him to French team ASVEL and Greek club Olympiacos, they indicated that the 31-year-old wants to continue playing in the NBA.

Before being traded to Detroit in February, Fournier had barely seen the court for over a year in New York, having been removed from the team’s rotation during the first half of the 2022/23 season. He saw regular playing time off the bench with the Pistons – 18.7 minutes per night across 29 appearances – but shot just 37.3% from the field and 27.0% from beyond the arc, well below his NBA career averages of 44.1% and 37.4%. That will hurt his stock as he seeks his next contract.

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

As Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops details, Lithuania’s preliminary roster for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament is headlined by a pair of NBA big men in Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas. However, there are some notable absences too, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, who points out (via Twitter) that former NBA forward Ignas Brazdeikis and projected NBA lottery pick Matas Buzelis aren’t in the mix this summer.
It has been a good spring for Canadian guards, with Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker among those who won playoff series. The latest gift for the Canadians’ Olympic medal aspirations, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, is guard Andrew Nembhard, who played some of the best basketball of his career to keep the Pacers competitive vs. Boston following Tyrese Haliburton‘s hamstring injury. Nembhard is a near-lock to be on Canada’s Olympic roster this summer, says Grange.
Greek team Panathinaikos won this year’s EuroLeague title, with former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn scoring 21 points in 24 minutes in the championship game. Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops takes a closer look at Nunn’s memorable year and considers whether the guard is more likely to continue on with Panathinaikos or exercise the NBA out in his contract to return stateside.
Former NBA forward Xavier Cooks, who spent the 2023/24 season in Japan after being waived by the Wizards in October, is returning to his home country of Australia, having signed a three-year contract with the Sydney Kings, per a press release.
Could a return to the NBA be in the cards for forward Nigel Hayes-Davis? The former Wisconsin standout, who appeared in nine NBA games back in 2017/18, is rumored to be seeking a return, with the Cavaliers among the teams who may have interest, tweets Soritis Vetakis of LiveSports and SDNA. Hayes-Davis has spent the last two seasons with Fenerbahce in Turkey and earned a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team this spring.

And-Ones: Ball Lawsuit, McCollum, Australia’s Olympic Team

May 21st, 2024 at 10:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LaMelo Ball and the Hornets are being sued by a North Carolina woman who claims Ball allegedly struck her son with his vehicle during an attempt to obtain Ball’s autograph, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday. The alleged incident occurred in October 2023, when the Hornets hosted a fan event at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

A number of fans, including the woman’s 11-year-old son, approached Ball’s vehicle at a traffic light. According to the lawsuit, when the light turned green, Ball drove “in a grossly negligent and reckless manner in that he accelerated his vehicle forward suddenly and without warning and struck” her son, “severely injuring him.” She claimed that Ball then left the scene.

The youngster suffered foot and back injuries due to the incident, according to the lawsuit.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The Pelicans’ CJ McCollum was chosen for the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award by the Pro Basketball Writers’ Association (Twitter link). The honor is presented annually by the PBWA to a player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community. McCollum was honored for his extensive community work in and around New Orleans, with a focus on education, social-justice reform and efforts to provide equitable resources and opportunities for youth.
The Australian National Team recently announced a 17-man roster that will take part in the official training camp in late June, before two games against China in Melbourne on July 2 and 4. The roster will then be pared to 12 players for the Paris Olympics. ESPN’s Olgun Uluc breaks down the roster player by player to determine who will make the cut. Josh Giddey, Jock Landale, Josh Green and Dante Exum are among the NBA players Uluc considers locks to make the squad.
Kendrick Nunn is thriving overseas but he has not ruled out an NBA return. Get the details here.