Luis Scola Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Scola, Nicholson Expected To Continue Playing In China

August 10th, 2018 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA power forwards Luis Scola and Andrew Nicholson are expected to continue their playing careers in China, according to a pair of reports relayed by Sportando.

Scola, who initially signed with the Shanxi Brave Dragons last July, is signing with the Shanghai Sharks for the 2018/19 Chinese Basketball Association season, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The news comes on the heels of Trevor Booker‘s announcement that he’d be joining Shanxi, presumably taking over Scola’s old role.

In his first CBA season, Scola averaged 27.8 PPG, 13.7 RPG, and 3.4 APG in 37 games for the Brave Dragons, though the team only managed a 16-22 record. Scola, a longtime NBA big man who played for the Rockets, Suns, Pacers, Raptors, and Nets from 2007 to 2017, will be joining a Sharks team that was led by Jimmer Fredette (36.9 PPG) last season.

As for Nicholson, he’s expected to sign with the Fujian Sturgeons after playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in 2017/18, according to a Chinese report passed along by Sportando.

Nicholson, who teamed with fellow NBA vets Yi Jianlian and Donald Sloan last season for Guangdong, recorded 22.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 46 CBA contests. The Tigers advanced to the CBA semifinals before being eliminated by the Liaoning Flying Leopards.

A former Magic first-round pick, Nicholson appeared in 285 total NBA regular season games from 2012 to 2017 with Orlando, Washington, and Brooklyn before making the leap to China last September.

Luis Scola Signs With Chinese Team

July 9th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran forward Luis Scola will play in China next season, according to a tweet from Sportando. The 37-year-old has signed a contract with the Shanxi Brave Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association.

A 10-year NBA veteran, Scola played 36 games for the Nets last season, averaging 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in about 13 minutes per night. He was waived by Brooklyn on February 27th.

An Argentinian star and a veteran of international basketball, Scola was part of the gold-medal winners at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He also played for the Rockets, Suns, Pacers and Raptors.

And-Ones: Scola, Gay, India, Bird, Combine

May 10th, 2017 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Luis Scola‘s first and only season in Brooklyn came to an early end in February when the Nets waived him shortly after the trade deadline. At the time, it seemed like the lottery-bound Nets were giving the veteran big man a chance to catch on with another team on the buyout market, but Scola has remained unsigned since then, and admitted last month that his NBA career could be over.

Speaking this week about his future, Scola suggested that he doesn’t want to retire, but admitted he doesn’t have a ton left in the tank. According to the 37-year-old, he’s not overly eager to sign with a team in Argentina, and if he were to head to Europe, it’d be “tough” for him to play for a team besides Baskonia in Spain (link via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). Baskonia employed several other former Nets this past season, including Chase Budinger, Andrea Bargnani, Tornike Shengelia, and Shane Larkin.

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

Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders suggests that the Celtics, Thunder, and Clippers could be logical landing spots for Rudy Gay, who will opt out of his contract with the Kings this summer.
Looking to expand its international reach, the NBA opened a new basketball academy in India on Tuesday, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com details. The academy will train top male and female scholarship players from the country, and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum tells Youngmisuk that he feels like India could be “the next China” for the NBA. “There are some elite prospects here who we think have an opportunity,” Tatum said of India. “One of the reasons why it is so important is that we are going to give them exposure to world-class NBA-type coaching and training and development to make sure they are given the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
In the wake of the resignation from his role as the Pacers‘ president of basketball operations, is Larry Bird done in the NBA? Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com takes a look at what’s next for the Hall-of-Famer and longtime executive.
With this year’s NBA draft combine getting underway in Chicago, Adam Zagoria of FanRagSports.com identifies five key combine-related storylines to watch in the next few days.

Scola Doesn’t See Himself Returning To NBA

April 29th, 2017 at 3:16pm CST by Austin Kent

In an interview with TSN 1050 Toronto, former Raptors forward Luis Scola said that he doesn’t see himself playing another season in the NBA. The 36-year-old didn’t rule it out altogether, however.

Over the course of 10 seasons, the big man established himself as a consistently underrated threat, his best year as a pro being the 2010/11 campaign in which he averaged 18.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Rockets.

In 2016/17, Scola played sparingly for the Nets, an anticlimatic cap on an effective, if unspectacular NBA career.

Although he never earned any All-Star appearances, the big man rode a deft shooting stroke to solid career per-36 numbers and even an Olympic gold medal when he teamed with Manu Ginobili to lead Argentina in 2004.

Alas, given the ever changing NBA landscape, especially for relatively slow big men, Scola seems pretty convinced that he won’t be back playing professional basketball stateside.

“I like to play, it’s just that the NBA became too difficult for me,” Scola said, age no doubt also being a factor for the man who didn’t arrive in the NBA until age 27. “The roles that are out there for me just aren’t as appealing, I don’t enjoy them as much.“

Nets Waive Luis Scola

February 27th, 2017 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have waived veteran big man Luis Scola, the team announced today in a press release. The move, which opens up a spot on Brooklyn’s roster, will allow Scola to retain playoff eligibility if he joins a new team, since he was waived prior to March 1.

“We appreciate everything Luis has done for our team this year,” GM Sean Marks said in a statement (Twitter link). “His approach and dedication to the game will continue to serve as lasting models for our young players. While we would have loved for Luis to be with us for the remainder of the season, we felt that he deserved the opportunity to contribute to a playoff contender.”

Scola, who will turn 37 in April, inked a one-year, $5.5MM deal with the Nets last summer. In 36 games this season, his numbers are not far off his career averages on a per-minute basis. However, he has played a career-low 12.8 minutes per contest, resulting in career worsts in several other categories, including PPG (5.1) and RPG (3.9).

As Bobby Marks of The Vertical explains (via Twitter), Scola’s $5.5MM contract featured $500K in incentives which will be removed from his cap charge. Assuming Scola clears waivers, he’ll be free to sign with any team, while the Nets will be on the hook for his salary.

It remains to be seen how Brooklyn will use its newly-opened roster spot, but adding a young player on a 10-day contract would make sense.

New York Notes: Motiejunas, LeVert, Knicks, Rose

December 25th, 2016 at 6:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Donatas Motiejunas would have been a huge addition for the Nets if the Rockets hadn’t matched his offer sheet, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Having another 7-footer on the court would have helped a team that ranks last in points allowed and scoring margin. Motiejunas could also have provided a fourth scorer in the starting lineup. The Nets have given more than 800 combined front line minutes to Justin Hamilton and Luis Scola, neither of whom is having a productive season. After matching the four-year, $37MM offer sheet, Houston worked out a separate deal with Motiejunas, then waived him after his physical. That made him a restricted free agent, but he’s not permitted to sign with Brooklyn for a full year after the offer sheet was matched.

The Nets still have nearly $17.8MM in cap room and seem like obvious candidates to make some roster moves before the February 23rd trade deadline. “Will we be active? I think we’ll be strategic,’’ GM Sean Marks said. “We’re not just going to jump on something.”

There’s more news today out of New York:

Nets rookie Caris LeVert can expect to see his minutes expanded as the season wears on, according to NetsDaily. LeVert had nine points and seven rebounds in Friday’s loss to Cleveland and is making an impression on coach Kenny Atkinson. “I love how hard he plays. Good for him to see a few shots go down,” Atkinson said. “That’s a positive we get out of this game.”
The Knicks‘ winning record isn’t impressive because it was built against lower-level teams, charges Marc Berman of The New York Post. With today’s loss to the Celtics, New York is now 16-14, but just 3-10 against teams that are .500 or better. “That’s the jump we got to make,’’ shooting guard Courtney Lee said. “Just learn from it and put it all together so when we play those losing teams we’re supposed to take of, we do that, but then the plus-.500 teams we got to start taking care of that, too.”
Derrick Rose is hoping to remain healthy for the rest of the season after recovering from back spasms, Berman writes in a separate story. After appearing in 66 games with the Bulls last season, Rose has been able to play in 25 of the Knicks’ first 30 contests. “I feel good,” he said. “Not feeling my back anymore. My body is healthy — just trying to find a rhythm, just trying to play my game, either a floater or try to finish at the rim or me trying to dunk. I feel all three elements are my game.”

Players With Incentive Bonuses For 2016/17

November 7th, 2016 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

According to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, there are 33 players around the NBA who can potentially earn incentive bonuses this season based on their own durability or performance, or based on how their team performs. Although Marks doesn’t identify all 33 players who have incentives included in their 2016/17 contracts, he discusses over half of them, passing along a number of interesting tidbits about those potential bonuses. Here are some of the highlights:

Minutes/games played bonuses:

NBA bonuses are deemed either “likely” or “unlikely,” using the previous season’s statistics as a benchmark, so if a player didn’t appear in many games during the previous year, a team can include a games-played benchmark and call it an unlikely incentive. For instance, John Henson‘s contract with the Bucks features incentives if he plays 60 games or 75 games this season. He appeared in just 57 contests in 2015/16, so neither of those marks is viewed as likely.

Miles Plumlee (Bucks), Luis Scola (Nets), Greivis Vasquez (Nets), and Deron Williams (Mavericks) are among the other players who have incentives in their deals for games played or started.

Individual statistic bonuses:

The Trail Blazers got creative with Maurice Harkless‘ new contract this summer, including an incentive bonus in the deal that can be triggered based if he keeps his three-point percentage above a certain level. Jeremy Lin, meanwhile, not only has a three-point percentage incentive, but also has bonuses linked to assists, turnovers, and threes and free throws attempted per 36 minutes.

Individual achievement bonuses:

Players like Bismack Biyombo (Magic), Evan Fournier (Magic), and Will Barton (Nuggets) have incentives related to their individual performances as well, but they’re related to awards and honors, rather than raw statistics. Biyombo gets a bonus if he makes the NBA’s All-Defensive team, Fournier gets some extra money for an All-Star appearance, and Barton would get $250K if he wins the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Of course, some of these incentives are more realistic than others. For instance, Thaddeus Young (Pacers) probably shouldn’t be counting on the $500K incentive bonus that he’d earn if he wins the league’s MVP award.

Team performance bonuses:

Several players, including Fournier, Jon Leuer (Pistons), and Joe Ingles (Jazz) have bonuses related to their teams making the playoffs. Many of those postseason incentives are tied to another condition. For example, for Taj Gibson to earn his bonus from the Bulls, he must appear in at least 60 games, play in at least 75% of Chicago’s playoff games, and average 25 or more minutes per game during the regular season.

Some players also have incentives linked to their teams’ win total, and once again, some are more attainable than others. For example, Nikola Mirotic could earn an extra $800K, but he’d need the Bulls to win 65+ games, so there’s a good chance his shot at that bonus will disappear about halfway through the season.

Be sure to check out the full breakdown from Marks for many more details on players who could earn incentive bonuses in 2016/17.

Atlantic Rumors: Raptors, Crowder, Embiid

September 29th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors coach Dwane Casey admits he will not be able to replace Bismack Biyombo with just one player, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun reports. Biyombo signed a four-year, $72MM contract with the Magic, leaving the Raptors without an obvious backup to center Jonas Valanciunas. Potential candidates include Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam and Lucas Nogueira. Jared Sullinger could also see time there, Ganter adds. “Somebody in that group is going to step up and protect the paint,” Casey told Ganter. “It’s going to be not just on the bigs, but on the guards and wings to make sure they contain the ball and do a better job of not letting the ball get to the paint, so we don’t put as much pressure on our rim protection and our rim defense.”

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Celtics small forward Jae Crowder believes the high right ankle sprain he suffered in March caused his shooting numbers to take a tumble late last season, Taylor C. Snow of Celtics.com reports. Crowder shots 45.3% from the field and 35.4& from 3-point range during the first 65 games and 32.9% and 24.0%, respectively, following his injury. “My ankle was more fatigued than I really realized,” Crowder told Snow. “The way the season ended really gave me a chip on my shoulder to get better and to get in the lab and work and get better at the things I needed to work on.”
Sixers coach Brett Brown is practically giddy over the play of oft-injured Joel Embiid in training camp, Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com writes. Embiid has missed the last two seasons with right foot injuries but the center has shown great desire to get out on the court even while battling flu-like symptoms, Seltzer adds. “You just continually see how much he loves basketball,” Brown said to Seltzer. “He really loves playing basketball. He doesn’t like being pulled out. He wants to play.”
Veteran power forward Luis Scola, who signed a one-year, $5.5MM contract with the Nets this offseason, has taken a leadership role during training camp, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports. New coach Kenny Atkinson offered high praise of Scola’s early impact. “I don’t think you can overstate it, everything he brings to the table, how he’s shown our young guys how to work, how to be professional, how to play the game, intelligence, composure,” Atkinson said. “I know it’s early, but he’s been everything, as advertised.”

Atlantic Notes: Dudley, Nets, LeVert, Poeltl

September 25th, 2016 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Jared Dudley was interested in joining the Celtics in free agency this summer, but the team didn’t reach out to him, relays Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Dudley, who averaged 7.9 points per game and shot 42% from 3-point range last season with the Wizards, has ties to the area as a Boston College alumnus. Instead, he accepted a three-year, $30MM offer from Phoenix. “Boston never contacted me, but I made it known I was interested in them,” Dudley said. He added that the Celtics may not have believed they had a role for him because they want to give playing time to first-round pick Jaylen Brown.

There’s more news this morning from the Atlantic Division:

Power forward shapes up as the Nets‘ best position battle heading into training camp, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Free agent additions Trevor Booker and Luis Scola will compete for time at the position, along with second-year player Chris McCullough. “A good thing about our situation, I think we have versatile bigs,” said new coach Kenny Atkinson. “I don’t think [of] Scola simply as a four. I’m thinking of Luis Scola as a four and five. I’d even say that with Trevor Booker. Trevor Booker, why can’t he take another step as a player with more responsibility and the talent he has? We look at these guys, we’re looking upside.”
The Nets plan to be very patient with the health of rookie Caris LeVert, Lewis adds in the same piece. The first-round pick out of Michigan has broken his left foot multiple times and is still recovering from a Jones fracture. LeVert wasn’t able to use a treadmill until July and is limited to strengthening exercises as camp opens. “We’ll be progressing him slowly and building him in,’’ said GM Sean Marks. “He hasn’t played in six months, so it’s been intermittent for the last couple years with him. … He has a long, long road ahead of him.”
Jakob Poeltl should be part of the Raptors‘ rotation at the start of the season, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. In the site’s season preview for Toronto, Hamilton calls Poeltl the team’s best offseason acquisition, citing his footwork, rebounding instincts and international experience.

Eastern Notes: Ainge, Kuzminskas, George, Scola

July 24th, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

President of basketball operations Danny Ainge was able to quickly rebuild the Celtics by maximizing the return for his stars when the team got too old, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Ainge sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets for a package of draft picks and traded Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks instead of letting him become a free agent. This summer’s signing of Al Horford accelerated the building process, and Hamilton believes it makes the Celtics legitimate contenders in the East. Boston is also set up well for the future, with only Horford, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas under contract for 2017/18. Even if the Celtics pick up their team option on Marcus Smart, they may have more than $50MM to spend on free agents next July.

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

Mindaugas Kuzminskas provides enough offense to become a rotation player for the Knicks, according to Trevor Magnotti of Upside and Motor. The 6’9″ Lithuanian forward signed with New York earlier this month after playing in Europe for the past five seasons. Knicks president Phil Jackson said the team wanted to find a mobile small forward who could shoot from distance. That describes Kuzminskas, who gets most of his points on cuts to the basket, but is also a streaky shooter from 3-point range. However, there are questions about his defense, which Magnotti warns might limit his playing time until he proves he can contribute on that end.
Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski says Paul George is playing the best basketball of his life two years after the broken leg that had many concerned about his career, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. The Pacers‘ star, who had 18 points in Friday’s exhibition win over Argentina, said he had to put that scary incident out of his mind to be effective again. “It’s behind me,” George said. “I don’t play the game expecting to get hurt. I know it’s a possibility. But there’s no thought in my mind I’m going to get hurt. I play this game because I love it. I just play hard.”
Newly signed Nets power forward Luis Scola will be Argentina’s flag bearer at the Summer Olympics, according to the Associated Press. “I had the chance to play four Olympics, to play 10 years in the NBA, to carry the flag for my country, win an Olympic gold medal,’’ Scola said. “I mean, different things that happened along those days that I couldn’t even dream of those because it would be too wild to dream.”