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Pacific Notes: Lakers, Kuminga, DJJ, Suns, Micic

September 11th, 2025 at 6:42pm CST by Luke Adams

After stating in mid-July that he was “pretty confident” the Lakers weren’t interested in Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, Dan Woike of The Athletic confirms reporting from Marc Stein, writing that the Lakers appear more inclined to pursue an upgrade on the wing – including a player like Wiggins – in the wake of Luka Doncic‘s long-term commitment to the team. Doncic signed a three-year, maximum-salary extension with Los Angeles last month.

Although the Lakers seem more open to taking on contracts that run beyond the 2025/26 season in the right deal, they also may want to see how new additions like Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia look this fall before they cash in any of their limited trade assets, Woike cautions.

The Lakers can currently only trade one future first-round pick, either their 2031 or 2032 selection.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Checking in on where things stand between Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area says the restricted free agent forward continues to show little interest in Golden State’s two-year, $45MM offer that includes a second-year team option and requires him to waive his right to veto a trade. In Poole’s view, Kuminga signing his $7.98MM qualifying offer remains the most likely outcome.
  • An arbitrator has ruled that Derrick Jones Jr.‘s former agent, Aaron Turner, is entitled to his full 4% commission ($1.2MM) on the three-year, $30MM contract the veteran forward signed with the Clippers in 2024, per NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Jones made an agent change right around the time he entered free agency last summer.
  • Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays several of the most notable comments that former Suns point guard Vasilije Micic made during a recent appearance on the X&O’s Chat (YouTube link), including Micic’s impressions of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, and his thoughts on why Phoenix fell well short of its expectations. “Why didn’t they succeed?” the Serbian guard said in his native language. “It was a bit of everything. Issues with the coach, issues with working together, which I don’t even know what it was.”
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And-Ones: Horton-Tucker, NBC Promo, Micic, Unrivaled

September 8th, 2025 at 7:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Talen Horton-Tucker agreed to a contract with perennial Turkish power Fenerbahçe at the beginning of the month but he was given a 21-day window to continue to search for an NBA deal, according to Marc Stein in his latest Substack article for The Stein Line.

Horton-Tucker was unable to find a guaranteed contract in free agency last year but wound up spending the season with the Bulls. He made the team’s regular season roster after having signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal last September — he was the only player on an Exhibit 10 contract to have that deal become a standard non-guaranteed deal.

Horton-Tucker eventually had his contract guaranteed when the Bulls decided to keep him around beyond the league-wide salary guarantee date in January.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • During the Baltimore-Buffalo NFL game on Sunday night, NBC released a new NBA promo — one featuring the lineup of several of its announcers and analysts, in the same way that NBA teams announce their starters pregame, according to The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds. The spot promoted NBC’s opening night doubleheader on Oct. 21. NBC, which hasn’t aired NBA games since 2002, is once again an NBA partner after getting in on the league’s new 11-year, $76 billion series of broadcast deals with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.
  • Former NBA guard Vasilije Micic, who signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv this offseason, revealed six teams that pursued him in free agency, Sportando relays. Micic provided those details on the X and O’s Chat Podcast. “Regarding Europe, I had no contact with Panathinaikos,” he said. “I have a great relationship with coach (Ergin) Ataman, but they have a different vision. Some clubs were unable to meet my financial demands. Four teams were strongly competing: Real Madrid, Hapoel (Tel Aviv), Fenerbahce, and Olympiacos. Additionally, Crvena Zvezda and Anadolu Efes were the first teams to listen to my requests.”
  • Unrivaled said it has been valued at $340MM after its inaugural season, Kendra Andrews of ESPN reports. The league features professional women’s 3-on-3 contests. Unrivaled will use some of the funds to increase the venue space it has in Miami and add 150 seats to the game arena, according to Andrews. The average salary of players will remain in the six figures.
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EuroBasket Notes: Giannis, EuroLeague, FIBA, Micic

September 2nd, 2025 at 10:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his native Greece’s EuroBasket group play contest against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday with a sore knee, per Harris Stavrou of SPORT24 (Twitter link).

Stavrou tweets that the two-time NBA MVP’s head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, expects Antetokounmpo to be available for Greece’s Thursday tilt against Spain — a Greek win in that contest would put the Spaniards in danger of being eliminated before the round of 16.

Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama and former NBA journeyman forward Juancho Hernangomez lead the Spanish national team this summer.

There’s more out of EuroBasket:

  • The leaders of EuroLeague and FIBA chatted on the sidelines in Cyprus during EuroBasket’s ongoing group play round, according to Eurohoops.net. EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas conferred with FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajos and secretary general Andreas Zagklis, as chatter continues about a potential European NBA league.
  • Spanish team coach Sergio Scariolo called out FIBA for its the timing of its doping tests during EuroBasket, writes Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops.net. “Since it’s my last championship and I’m in a position where, after many years in FIBA national basketball, I can advise FIBA not to put doping controls on a team that is playing back-to-back games and finished playing at midnight,” Scariolo said. “This is extremely disrespectful. With so many days available, the doping control could have been scheduled earlier instead of this crazy late-night timing.”
  • While playing for Serbia, former Hornets guard Vasilije Micic appeared to injured his ribs in the fourth quarter of a clash with the Czech Republic, per Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Although the Nikola Jokic-led squad had been the heavy favorite to win EuroBasket heading into the tournament, Serbia’s backcourt has struggled with the injury bug so far. Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has already been ruled out for the rest of the competition with a hamstring injury.
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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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Nikola Jokic Headlines Serbia’s Roster For EuroBasket

August 23rd, 2025 at 12:03pm CST by Rory Maher

The Serbian national team has officially announced its roster for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, according to FIBA. The 12-man group is headlined by Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP who won Finals MVP en route to Denver’s first title in 2023.

While Jokic is the most noteworthy name on Serbia’s roster, the team has three other active NBA players in captain Bogdan Bogdanovic (Clippers), Nikola Jovic (Heat) and Tristan Vukcevic (Wizards). The roster also features a handful of European stars, some of whom have NBA experience.

Here’s the full 12-man roster:

Thunder guard Nikola Topic and former Warriors big man Alen Smailagic were on Serbia’s preliminary roster but did not make the final cut.

Serbia is considered the favorite for the tournament, which begins on August 27 and ends on September 14. The team went 7-0 in exhibition games leading up to EuroBasket, per FIBA, defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany and Slovenia.

The Serbian national team won a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and a silver at the 2023 World Cup (Jokic didn’t play after the Nuggets’ playoff run), but was surprisingly eliminated by Italy in the round of 16 during the last European championships in 2022. Spain won that edition of the tournament.

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Nikola Jokic Headlines Serbia’s Preliminary EuroBasket Roster

July 28th, 2025 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is among the 17 players listed on Serbia’s preliminary roster for this year’s EuroBasket tournament, the Basketball Federation of Serbia announced in a press release (hat tip to BasketNews.com).

Jokic is one of a handful of NBA players on the Serbian roster, along with Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Thunder guard Nikola Topic, Heat forward Nikola Jovic, and Wizards center Tristan Vukcevic.

There are also several other players in the group who have previous NBA experience, such as Vasilije Micic, Marko Guduric, Filip Petrusev, and Alen Smailagic.

The Serbian national team is convening on Monday to begin training for EuroBasket and will play a series of exhibition games in August leading up to the event, which tips off on August 27.

The Serbians will face Estonia, Portugal, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Turkey in the EuroBasket’s group phase. The field is made up of four groups of six teams apiece, with 16 of the 24 total clubs advancing to the knockout round of the tournament.

It will be the second straight summer in which Jokic has represented Serbia in an international competition — he led the team to a bronze medal finish at the Olympics in Paris in 2024. However, the Serbians were eliminated in the round of 16 by Italy in the most recent EuroBasket tournament in 2022, despite 32 point and 13 rebounds from Jokic in that game.

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Vasilije Micic Signs Three-Year Contract With Hapoel Tel Aviv

July 16th, 2025 at 9:47am CST by Dana Gauruder

Vasilije Micic has signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv on a three-year contract, BasketNews.com relays. The contract will make Micic one of the highest-paid players in EuroLeague history. The Israeli club has officially announced the signing in a press release.

While Nadav Zenziper (Twitter link) reports that Micic’s deal is worth 18 million Euros over three years, Eurohoops indicates the value is closer to 14 million Euros. Either way, it’s said to be the most lucrative current contract for any EuroLeague player. Ofer Yannay, the owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv, also confirmed that the agreement will give Micic shares in the club.

Earlier this month, the Bucks bought out Micic shortly after he was acquired in a trade with the Hornets. Micic gave up $6.1MM of his $8.1MM salary in his buyout agreement in order to pursue overseas opportunities.

The former EuroLeague MVP struggled to make an impact during his two seasons in the NBA. In 101 total games for Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Phoenix, he averaged 6.8 points and 3.9 assists in 19.4 minutes per contest.

He only played five games off the bench for Phoenix before he was dealt to Charlotte, where he appeared in 36 games (16 starts). He averaged 7.5 points and 3.5 assists in 21.2 minutes per night with the Hornets.

“I am very excited to join Hapoel Tel Aviv and to be part of the historic upcoming season – the club’s debut in the Euroleague,” Micic said in a statement released by the club. “I was very impressed by the project that Hapoel is building: the ambitions and the clear vision for the future. It was a pleasure to chat with coach Dimitris Itoudis, I am looking forward to working with him. I hope to help the team succeed and meet the high expectations. I can’t wait to start, arrive in Tel Aviv and give my all for the team and the fantastic fans. Yalla Hapoel!”

Hapoel Tel Aviv reportedly beat out EuroLeague powerhouses Real Madrid, Olympiacos, and Fenerbahce to sign Micic.

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International Notes: Brissett, Valanciunas, Bamba, Micic, Cordinier

July 15th, 2025 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA forward Oshae Brissett has signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli team announced on Tuesday in a press release.

Brissett, who went undrafted out of Syracuse in 2019, has since appeared in 233 NBA regular season games for Toronto, Indiana, Boston, and Philadelphia. His best years came with the Pacers, with whom he averaged 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game across 153 contests from 2020-23.

The 6’7″ forward was a member of the Celtics team that won a championship in 2024, but turned down a minimum-salary player option with Boston last June and had trouble finding an NBA home after that. He spent part of the 2024/25 season in the G League and appeared in just six NBA games, when he signed a 10-day contract with Philadelphia in March.

“It’s great to bring a former NBA champion to Tel Aviv,” Maccabi Tel Aviv general manager Claudio Coldebella said in a statement. “From the beginning he was our first choice. He’s a player who fits our system and his teammates, who can play in various positions, and who, thanks to his athleticism, energy, and desire to compete, is always very useful in many aspects of the game. We can’t wait to welcome Oshae to the Maccabi family.”

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

  • There’s no indication that a buyout is around the corner for Jonas Valanciunas, whose new team in Denver has made it clear it wants to keep him for the 2025/26 season, writes Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. With Valanciunas appearing increasingly likely to stick with the Nuggets, Panathinaikos is considering alternatives as it looks to upgrade its frontcourt, according to reporting from SDNA (hat tip to Sportando). The Greek team had hoped to sign Valanciunas to a new three-year deal, but that won’t be possible as long as he remains under contract in the NBA.
  • Another one of Greece’s top basketball teams, Olympiacos, is also scouring the market for frontcourt help and is reportedly eyeing former NBA lottery pick Mohamed Bamba, per a Gazzetta.gr report (hat tip to Sportando). The sixth overall pick in 2018, Bamba spent the first half of last season with the Clippers before being traded and waived in early February. He later signed a 10-day deal with New Orleans in March.
  • After being formally bought out by Milwaukee earlier this month, Vasilije Micic is now officially a free agent, but his plans for next season still haven’t come into focus. Alessandro Maggi of Sportando hears that Micic is leaning toward an offer from Olympiacos over a lucrative bid from Hapoel Tel Aviv, but Aris Barkas of Eurohoops reports that Real Madrid is still in the mix for the former EuroLeague MVP too.
  • French wing Isaia Cordinier is parting ways with Virtus Bologna, but the 28-year-old’s next move is unclear, according to Maggi of Sportando. As Maggi explains, the Turkish team Anadolu Efes is a strong contender for Cordinier, but his reps are also waiting to see whether an NBA opportunity materializes. Cordinier was the 44th overall pick in the 2016 draft and his NBA rights were previously held by the Nets before being renounced in 2021, freeing him up to sign with any NBA team.
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International Rumors: Walker, Gill, Micic, Brown, Kamagate

July 12th, 2025 at 11:10am CST by Rory Maher

Seven-year veteran Lonnie Walker spent most of last season in Lithuania with EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas prior to signing a two-year deal with the Sixers in February. Philadelphia declined its team option on the 26-year-old at the end of last month, making him an unrestricted free agent, and he has yet to be linked to another NBA team.

Could another international stint be in the works for Walker?

According to Matteo Andreani of Basketball Sphere and Tomer Givati of Israel Hayom, Hapoel Tel Aviv is in advanced talks with Walker and has offered the 6’4″ shooting guard a two-year contract. Andreani says the Israeli club is “confident the deal will be finalized soon.”

Here are a few more rumors and notes from across the pond:

  • Free agent forward Anthony Gill is drawing interest from multiple EuroLeague teams, particularly Real Madrid, per Javier Maestro of Spanish outlet Encestando and Israeli reporter Givati. The 32-year-old was waived by the Wizards last month before his contract became guaranteed and there is reportedly mutual interest in a reunion. However, Washington is also facing a roster crunch and Gill could potentially earn more money and have a larger role with Madrid. It’s not yet known which opportunity would hold more appeal to Gill, per Maestro, who points out that the Virginia product played three EuroLeague seasons with Russia’s Khimki prior to signing with the Wizards in 2020/21.
  • Serbian guard Vasilije Micic agreed to a buyout with the Bucks, but he won’t be signing with reigning EuroLeague champion Fenerbahce, according to European insider Chema de Lucas (Twitter link), who says the Turkish powerhouse has pulled the contract offer it presented about a month ago (hat tip to Eurohoops). The 31-year-old won back-to-back EuroLeague titles with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes in 2021 and 2022.
  • Former NBA guard Lorenzo Brown has signed a multiyear contract with Olimpia Milano, the Italian team announced in a press release. The 34-year-old spent parts of five seasons in the NBA from 2013-19 and has had a lengthy international career. He played for Panathinaikos in Greece last season.
  • French center Ismael Kamagate, whose NBA rights are controlled by the Clippers, has signed with Turkish club Besikas (link to press release). The 24-year-old former second-round pick spent the 2024/25 campaign in Italy with Derthona.
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Bucks Officially Stretch Lillard, Buy Out Micic

July 7th, 2025 at 6:56pm CST by Luke Adams

6:56 pm: Micic gave up $6.1MM in his buyout agreement with the Bucks, who stretching his remaining $2MM across three seasons for annual cap hits of $667K, reports Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

5:09 pm: The Bucks have officially waived point guards Damian Lillard and Vasilije Micic, according to the transaction log at NBA.com. Both moves had been anticipated as Milwaukee looked to clear the cap space necessary to sign free agent center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107MM contract.

Reports last Tuesday indicated that Lillard would have his remaining $112.6MM salary spread across five seasons instead of two using the stretch provision in order to create immediate cap relief for Milwaukee.

Lillard is expected to miss most or all of the 2025/26 season while he recovers from the torn Achilles he suffered during the first round of the playoffs in April. The nine-time All-Star has reportedly drawn interest already from many teams around the NBA, but hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll sign a new contract this offseason and is said to be in no rush to make that decision.

As for Micic, the expectation after he was acquired from Charlotte in exchange for Pat Connaughton and a pair of second-round picks was that he would agree to reduce his $8.1MM cap hit in order to become a free agent and generate a little extra cap space for the Bucks. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the two sides did reach an agreement on a buyout, though it’s unclear at this point how much of his salary Micic gave up.

Micic has played a pretty limited role in the NBA during the past couple seasons after starring in Europe for most of his career. In 101 total games for Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Phoenix, he averaged 6.8 points and 3.9 assists in 19.4 minutes per contest.

Rumors in recent months have linked Micic to multiple EuroLeague teams — while it’s not clear exactly which one he’ll end up with, it seems likely that the 31-year-old Serbian will head back overseas to resume his playing career.

It appears both Lillard and Micic were technically placed on waivers on Sunday evening, as the NBA’s transaction log lists Turner’s deal as having gotten done last night. Still, if those cuts occurred after 4:00 pm Central time, neither player will officially clear waivers until Wednesday.

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