International Notes: Lyles, Nunn, Canada, EuroCup, NBA Europe
Relaying a report from the Spanish outlet Marca, Dimitris Minaretzis of Eurohoops says forward Trey Lyles appears increasingly likely to leave Real Madrid this offseason on the heels of a big year with the Spanish club.
While Madrid remains interested in re-signing Lyles, they’re facing significant competition from other clubs in Europe who may be in position to make more lucrative offers. Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Dubai BC, and Hapoel Tel Aviv are said to be among the teams with an eye on Lyles, who spent 10 years in the NBA with Utah, Denver, San Antonio, Detroit, and Sacramento from 2015-25.
As we noted when we checked in last month on Lyles’ market, a return to the NBA remains possible for the Canadian, who is still just 30 years old. However, if no favorable opportunities arise stateside for the veteran forward, it looks like he’ll have no shortage of potential destinations to choose from in Europe.
Here are a few more items of interest from around the international basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn is expected to become a naturalized player for Qatar ahead of the 2027 World Cup, per a Sport24 report (hat tip to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando). Since last playing in the NBA in 2023, Nunn has emerged as a star in Europe, winning a EuroLeague title with Panathinaikos in 2024 and earning EuroLeague MVP honors in 2025.
- The Canadian national team won a gold medal at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup for the first time, defeating Team USA in Sunday’s final by a score of 67-65. Point guard Javion Tyndale, who had 18 points and eight assists in the gold medal game, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, per FIBA.
- The EuroCup – which is Europe’s second-tier continental league behind the EuroLeague – will expand from 20 teams to 32 teams for the 2026/27 season, per a press release. According to the announcement, the participating teams and those awarded long-term licenses will be confirmed soon.
- Former star big man Pau Gasol explained on Tuesday, per Mundo Deportivo, why he believes NBA Europe will become a reality and why he views the NBA’s model as a necessary to grow the sport of basketball in Europe. Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops shares a few of the key quotes from Gasol.
And-Ones: Lyles, Brooks, Lottery, Extensions, Peterson
Veteran forward Trey Lyles, who spent 10 years in the NBA with Utah, Denver, San Antonio, Detroit, and Sacramento from 2015-25, is drawing significant interest from European teams on the heels of a successful season in Spain, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Relaying reporting from Sport5, Maggi says Real Madrid hopes to re-sign Lyles but is worried about being outbid by rival suitors, including perhaps Fenerbahce and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Lyles, 30, helped Real Madrid reach this year’s EuroLeague championship game by averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.9 minutes per game across 36 outings in Europe’s top league. He posted an excellent shooting line of .515/.443/.792.
According to Maggi, the expectation is that Lyles would prioritize a return to the NBA over offers from EuroLeague teams if a favorable opportunity arises stateside.
Here are a few more odds and ends from across the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Armoni Brooks, who made 84 regular season appearances for three teams from 2021-24, is set to join ASVEL in France on a two-year deal, according to Matteo Andreani and Andrea Calzoni of BasketInside (Twitter link). Relatedly, Joey Buss and Jesse Buss – former part-owners and basketball operations executives of the Lakers who were let go by the team last year – are candidates to invest in the French club, as Aris Barkas of Eurohoops details.
- With the NBA’s “3-2-1” lottery reform plan appearing increasingly likely to be approved, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps evaluates the pros and cons of the plan. One added benefit, according to Bontemps, is that the lottery drawing itself is expected to be aired live beginning in 2027. The NBA has typically conducted the lottery behind the scenes and then unveiled the results after the fact in a more viewer-friendly TV broadcast, but the format change could make the drawing itself less confusing to follow live.
- Bobby Marks of ESPN takes a closer look at 20 of this offseason’s top extension candidates, including superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and Stephen Curry of the Warriors, and predicts whether or not they’ll end up signing new contracts in the coming months.
- Does Darryn Peterson‘s explanation that high doses of creatine caused his cramping issues at Kansas pass muster? Sarah Todd of The Deseret News speaks to medical experts to make sense of Peterson’s remarks and to get an idea of what NBA teams will be looking for when they evaluate the top prospect’s health.
Trey Lyles Signs With Real Madrid
September 10: Lyles has officially signed with Real Madrid, according to a press release from the team.
September 4: Free agent big man Trey Lyles is finalizing a contract with Real Madrid, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The news of Lyles landing with the EuroLeague powerhouse was first reported by Javier Maestro of Spanish outlet Encestando.
Agent Rich Paul confirms to Marc Stein of The Stein Line that Lyles is signing with Real Madrid (Twitter link). Lyles’ one-year deal will be worth $3MM and will feature an NBA out clause, per Grant Afseth of RG.org.
A 10-year NBA veteran, Lyles has spent the past three-plus seasons in Sacramento. In 69 appearances with the Kings last season, the 6’9″ power forward averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 34.0% from three-point range in 19.6 minutes per game.
Lyles, who has also been used as a small-ball center in recent years, apparently didn’t attract much NBA interest on the open market this offseason, which is a little surprising given his solid-if-unspectacular track record as a contributing role player.
While Lyles was linked to the Heat last month, Miami re-signed Dru Smith shortly thereafter, seemingly ending any further speculation on that front.
Despite playing 10 years in the league, Lyles is still only 29 years old — he turns 30 in a couple of months. The 6’9″ Canadian played one college season at Kentucky prior to being selected 12th overall back in 2015.
Lyles has largely been a rotation regular reserve throughout his career, holding averages of 7.6 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 650 regular season contests, including 131 starts (18.4 MPG). His career shooting slash line is .441/.347/.741.
Lyles spent two years apiece with Denver, Utah and San Antonio at the start of his career. He also had a six-month stint with Detroit during the 2021/22 campaign. This will be Lyles’ first European stop, Urbonas notes.
Real Madrid won both the regular season and playoffs of Spain’s top domestic league (Liga ACB) last season, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the EuroLeague playoffs. The team’s roster features several former NBA players, including Chuma Okeke, Theo Maledon and Mario Hezonja, among others.
Free Agent Notes: Giddey, Lyles, Bacot, Gallinari
The Bulls‘ have increased their offer to restricted free agent guard Josh Giddey since they reportedly proposed a four-year deal worth $20MM annually the start of free agency, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (YouTube link). However, it remains well below the price that Giddey and his camp are reportedly seeking.
“He was offered four years, $80 million when free agency started,” Marks said. “That number has gone up to four years, $88MM.”
As Marks points out, that $22MM-per-year figure would be at the low end of the spectrum for starting point guards. Giddey’s representatives have reportedly been seeking $30MM annually since they discussed a potential rookie scale extension with the Bulls last fall. While Giddey may not ultimately get that sort of commitment from Chicago, Marks believes the team should be willing to further increase its offer if it views the 22-year-old as an important long-term building block.
“If you think that he’s your point guard of the future, then you sign him to what point guard money is,” Marks said. “And I’m not saying you sign him to Immanuel Quickley money at $32.5MM (per year) or five years, $160MM. But you sign him in that $26-28MM (per year range) and you do it for three years or four years. And if it’s four years, $100MM or four years, $110MM, it’s still good value going forward.”
Some sort of resolution is expected within the next few weeks for Giddey and the Bulls, since training camps open by the end of the month and October 1 is the deadline for a restricted free agent to accept his qualifying offer.
Here are a few more notes on free agents from around the basketball world:
- While the exact terms are unclear, veteran forward Trey Lyles has an NBA out clause in his new deal with Real Madrid that “ensures he retains flexibility should an opportunity arise to return during the 2025/26 season,” Grant Afseth writes for RG.org. Before agreeing to sign a one-year contract reportedly worth $3MM with the Spanish club, Lyles drew interest from the Heat, Kings, and other EuroLeague teams, including Fenerbahce, sources tell Afseth.
- Speaking of Fenerbahce, the Turkish club has signed former North Carolina standout Armando Bacot to a one-year contract, according to a press release. Bacot, who inked an Exhibit 10 contract with the Grizzlies and then played for the Memphis Hustle last season after going undrafted out of UNC, will be paid more than $1MM on his deal with Fenerbahce, per Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 (Twitter link).
- Although Danilo Gallinari has stated his intention to retire from the Italian national team after this year’s EuroBasket tournament, the longtime NBA forward is leaving his options open when it comes to extending his professional career beyond this summer, as Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops relays. “I said anything is possible,” Gallinari replied when asked about the possibility of playing in the EuroLeague again. “I’m not thinking about anything. I didn’t think about anything yet. I didn’t make any plans, so we’ll see.” The 37-year-old, who has made 777 career regular season appearances, recently expressed some interest in the idea of joining an NBA team as a veteran leader.
Heat Sign Dru Smith To Three-Year Contract
10:00pm: Smith has officially re-signed with Miami, per a team press release.
5:49pm: Restricted free agent guard Dru Smith will remain with the Heat on a three-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The deal has a total value of $7.9MM, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), which suggests it’ll be worth the veteran’s minimum ($7,898,151). A source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the first year of the deal is fully guaranteed, while the final two seasons carry conditional guarantees (Twitter link).
Miami opened a roster spot to sign Smith by trading Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn on Friday. Unloading Highsmith’s $5.6MM salary enabled the Heat to add Smith and stay under the cap, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
The 27-year-old guard appeared to be on his way to a standard contract with a strong start to last season, but he suffered an Achilles tear in December. Even though he remained inactive, the team kept him on a two-way contract for the rest of the season.
Heat officials are optimistic that Smith will be fully recovered from the injury in time for the October 22 season opener or shortly afterward, Jackson adds in a full story on the signing.
Appearing in 14 games last season, Smith averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 19.1 minutes per night with .508/.533/.750 shooting numbers. His improvement as a three-point shooter led to his expanded role, and Jackson points out that he logged double-digit minutes in eight straight games before the injury and played the entire fourth quarter in five of his last seven games.
Smith began his career with Miami in 2022 on a two-way contract, then went to Brooklyn later that season on a two-way deal after being waived. He returned to the Heat in the summer of 2023 and was converted to a standard contract before the start of the season. However, that campaign was cut short by his first untimely injury, as he suffered a third-degree ACL sprain in November.
Miami extended a qualifying offer to Smith in June, but league rules prevented him from signing another two-way contract with the team.
A report earlier today suggested that the Heat had interest in adding size to their roster, with an eye on free agents Trey Lyles and Kai Jones. Jones reportedly made a good impression during workouts in Miami this week.
Jackson believes Smith’s signing will put an end to any pursuit of Lyles or Jones. The Heat don’t have much depth in the frontcourt, but Jackson states that the need might be addressed with a trade rather than another free agent signing.
The Heat are back to 14 players with standard contracts and won’t be able to add a 15th player until later in the season without moving back into tax territory.
Jackson notes that Smith, newly re-signed Davion Mitchell and first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis are all natural point guards. However, they could all come off the bench if coach Erik Spoelstra decides to use Tyler Herro and Norman Powell as his starting backcourt.
Heat Reportedly Eyeing Big Men, Including Trey Lyles
After sending Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love to Utah in a three-team deal last month, the Heat traded Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn on Friday in a salary-dump move. Those transactions have left Miami thin in the frontcourt, with Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic figuring to receive the bulk of the minutes at the four and five.
According to Grant Afseth of FastbreakJournal.com, Miami is exploring ways to add at least one more big man ahead of the 2025/26 season, with free agents Trey Lyles and Kai Jones among the players the team has expressed interest in. Jones impressed the Heat with his “energy and activity” during his workouts this week, sources tell Afseth.
A ten-year NBA veteran who was a lottery pick (12th overall) back in 2015, Lyles has spent the past three-plus seasons in Sacramento. In 69 appearances with the Kings last season, the 6’9″ power forward averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 34.0% from three-point range in 19.6 minutes per game.
Jones, meanwhile, played 40 games for the Clippers and Mavericks in ’24/25, averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG while shooting 79.8% from the field in 11.7 MPG. The 24-year-old center was the 19th pick of the 2021 draft.
As Afseth observes, Lyles and Jones provide different skill sets, with the former being a more proven depth piece and the latter offering more athleticism and upside. But either player could theoretically help the Heat as they prepare for the upcoming season.
In addition to moving below the luxury tax line, trading Highsmith also created an opening on the standard roster. Lyles or Jones could fill that 14th spot (Miami is unlikely to add a 15th man to open the season due to its proximity to the tax), but Afseth states multiple times that the Heat are considering other options as well.
Knicks Notes: Achiuwa, Tucker, Payne, Shamet, Free Agents, Brown
Coming off a frustrating season in terms of playing time, Knicks big man Precious Achiuwa “started to see the game a lot differently” in January, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link).
Bondy notes that Achiuwa was never able to win the full trust of former head coach Tom Thibodeau, dating back to his arrival in a trade with Toronto last season. Thibodeau inserted former Knick Jericho Sims into the starting lineup instead of Achiuwa when Karl-Anthony Towns was injured, and Achiuwa saw his minutes drop even more when Mitchell Robinson returned in March.
Bondy points out that Achiuwa got off to a strong start during the preseason, but wasn’t able to claim a regular role after missing the first 21 games of the regular season with a hamstring strain.
“You don’t want to start off the season hurt,” Achiuwa said. “And I was kind of having a really good preseason. So getting hurt right there kind of throws you off your rhythm. You get back, you’re trying to get back your rhythm. And then you’re battling getting your rhythm with inconsistencies in terms of playing time, playing style. It took a while for me. But it was tough.”
Achiuwa is exploring his options as he prepares for free agency at the end of the month. Bondy believes the chances of him staying in New York may have improved slightly due to the coaching change, but the team’s salary cap situation makes a return uncertain.
“Going to take a little bit of time from my end to think about that stuff,” Achiuwa said regarding free agency. “But that’s something that’s important. So when that time comes, I have people who I pay money to handle that type of stuff, who have those type of conversations. So we’ll see how that goes.”
There’s more from New York:
- The Knicks are almost certain to decline their $3.5MM option on P.J. Tucker for next season, Bondy adds in the same piece, but that doesn’t mean he won’t re-sign. Although Tucker barely played after joining the team in March, he established himself as a strong locker room leader. Bondy notes that free agent guards Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet are both close friends of Mikal Bridges, increasing the chances that they’ll return. Bondy identifies Al Horford, Nicolas Batum and Chris Paul as potential low-cost additions in free agency.
- In a mailbag column, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic points to Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard as another possible free agent target. Edwards acknowledges that Kennard is likely to receive better offers than the $5.7MM he could get from New York, but adds that his status as a CAA client could give the Knicks an advantage. Edwards also names Horford as an MLE target, along with Spencer Dinwiddie and Trey Lyles.
- Former Sacramento head coach Mike Brown conducted his interview with the Knicks on Wednesday, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Injury Notes: Giannis, Avdija, K. Murray, Celtics, Knicks
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo went from questionable to doubtful to out for Sunday’s game against New Orleans, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (All Twitter links). The two-time MVP is dealing with left shoulder tendinopathy.
It’s worth noting that Milwaukee was on the second end of a back-to-back and officially clinched a playoff spot in the East on Saturday. That’s not to suggest that Antetokounmpo’s injury isn’t legitimate, but there’s also no reason to rush him back when the team has already secured a playoff berth.
Antetokounmpo, who has made the All-NBA First Team each of the past six seasons, will need to play in one of the Bucks’ final four games to qualify for major postseason awards. He has been playing some of his basketball of the season recently, averaging 36.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 13.7 assists and 1.7 steals on .638/.500/.838 shooting over the past three games, all victories (39.3 minutes per contest).
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija is another player who’s been on a tear to close out 2024/25, averaging 26.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals on .520/.457/.817 shooting over his past 13 games (36.6 MPG). However, he recently sustained a sprained right thumb and was ruled out of Sunday’s victory over San Antonio, the team announced (Twitter links). Sacramento’s win over Cleveland on Sunday has officially eliminated Portland from play-in contention, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. That means the Blazers will have a lottery pick for the fourth straight year.
- Keegan Murray has been quite durable over his first three NBA seasons, playing 80 games as a rookie in ’22/23 and 77 in ’23/24. He missed his fourth game of ’24/25 on Sunday due to back soreness, per James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link). Trey Lyles started at forward in Murray’s place during the Kings‘ victory, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The fourth overall pick of the 2022 draft, Murray will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.
- The Celtics played without Jayson Tatum (left ankle sprain) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) on Sunday, but they still made quick work of the 17-win Wizards, Brian Robb writes in a pair of stories for MassLive.com. Tatum was initially listed as questionable before being ruled out, while Porzingis was a late scratch.
- As expected, the Knicks had Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride back in action for Sunday’s contest vs. Phoenix, as Ian Begley of SNY.tv relays (Twitter links). Brunson had missed the past 15 games with a right ankle sprain, whereas McBride had missed the past eight with a left groin injury.
Kings Discussed Deal For John Collins
Jazz big man John Collins continues to be frequently mentioned as a possible target for the Kings. Reporting last week cast doubt on Sacramento’s ability to make a deal for Nets forward Cameron Johnson, but Collins is someone who might fit the roster at a lower cost.
As has been previously reported, the Kings made Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles, and draft compensation available as they sought out roster upgrades. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports that before the De’Aaron Fox news broke earlier this week, the Kings discussed various frameworks of trades that would have netted Collins.
It’s unknown how Fox’s availability affects the Kings’ interest in Collins, and NBA insider Marc Stein says it’s also unclear how far talks between the two teams progressed before the Kings opened up offers for Fox.
However, James Ham of ESPN1320 reported on “The Kings Beat” podcast (YouTube link) that the Kings basically had a deal done for Collins, going so far as to tell their players, before pulling out.
“I saw some rumors, but I definitely didn’t hear that,” Collins said of Sacramento, per The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen. “Whatever Sacramento is doing, that’s, you know, their prerogative, if it involves me or not. Obviously, I would have found out. But I’m kind of happy I just didn’t have that news — sorry, nothing against Sacramento — just kind of happy I didn’t have that news hit my phone. I’ve just got to continue to be the best professional I can be and continue playing basketball.“
For what it’s worth, a package of Huerter ($16.8MM) and Lyles ($8MM) would work as a match for Collins’ $26.5MM salary. Collins is averaging 18.1 points (his most since 2019/20), 8.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game with an impressive .531/.446/.869 shooting line this season.
“It’s a Catch-22. It’s something that I try not to think about because I would get lost in it. And that’s why I just say I’m just happy that I found a nice group of guys here who can talk me through all of the trade rumors. You know what I mean?” Collins said. “Because this is not an easy thing mentally, to think about whether, it might be a better situation or worse situation, and whatever situation is out there, it’s not my current one. So it’s hard for me to think about that and focus.“
Latest On Cameron Johnson
Confirming recent reporting from ESPN, Jake Fischer writes at The Stein Line (Substack link) that Brooklyn’s asking price for forward Cameron Johnson is indeed high and that the team doesn’t feel compelled to move him by February 6.
According to Fischer, in their conversations with certain teams about Johnson, the Nets have sought as many as two first-round picks to go along with a young player. It remains to be seen whether any team will meet that price. If not, the question will be whether Brooklyn ultimately decides to make an in-season deal for a slightly more modest return or opts to hang onto Johnson into the offseason.
Here are a few more updates from Fischer on one of the NBA’s top trade candidates:
- Following up on a report from The Athletic identifying the Cavaliers as a team with interest in trading for Johnson, Fischer says that interest appears “preliminary at best.” While Fischer confirms that Cleveland inquired on Johnson, he’s not sure the Cavs have the assets to appeal to Brooklyn, since they can only trade one first-round pick and it wouldn’t convey until 2031. People around the league believe the Cavs are more likely to make a minor move that reduces their luxury tax bill, Fischer notes.
- Fischer is prepared to cross the Thunder off of the list of suitors for Johnson after having reported himself last month that Oklahoma City was keeping an eye on the Nets sharpshooter. While there’s still some chatter around the league about the potential fit between Johnson and OKC, there has been no “credible evidence” that the Thunder have talked to Brooklyn about a deal, Fischer explains. Like the Cavaliers, the Thunder seem reluctant to make a significant move that shakes up their roster and risks disrupting their chemistry, given their success so far this season, Fischer adds.
- The Pacers and Kings are among the teams to continue to watch as possible suitors for Johnson. One Western Conference executive who spoke to Fischer believes a Sacramento package of Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles, and a first-round pick is viewed by some people around the league as the early benchmark to beat. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Nets would accept that offer if it’s the best one they have at the deadline, but it sounds like it might be the best one they have so far.