Vassilis Spanoulis Rumors

Greek Coach Confirms Giannis Antetokounmpo’s EuroBasket Status

August 15th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

It has been confirmed for several weeks that Giannis Antetokounmpo would represent Team Greece in this summer’s EuroBasket tournament, but to this point, the Greek star has been unable to be present for the team’s exhibition games or activities as he reportedly awaits the Bucks‘ written sign-off on his participation.

However, there was some good news on that front yesterday, as the Eurohoops team reported that Greek national team head coach Vassilis Spanoulis had confirmed that Antetokounmpo’s work with the team will begin this weekend.

“He already had a training session with contact with some guys from our team. On Saturday, he will start training normally,” Spanoulis said.

Antetokounmpo had previously been required to obtain Milwaukee’s permission due to the size of his contract exceeding FIBA’s insurance policy.

Because of that delay, he missed the team’s first four warm-up games, which caused some disappointment among rival coaches. Greece went 2-2 in those games, beating Belgium and Montenegro while losing to Israel and Serbia.

The team will host Latvia, Italy, and France at the Acropolis Tournament in Athens, which runs from August 20 through August 24 before the Group Stage of EuroBasket begins for Greece on August 28.

And-Ones: Spurs, Diallo, Maker, Max Contracts

June 16th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs are considering bringing 2011 draft-and-stash prospect Davis Bertans stateside, sources with knowledge of the situation tell David Pick of Bleacher Report. According to Pick, no agreement between the two sides has been reached, but the Latvian small forward – who is an excellent shooter – would “give strong consideration” to heading to San Antonio for a two-year deal worth $4MM. Bertans’ NBA opt-out, which expires in mid-July, is worth the standard $650K. San Antonio originally acquired Bertans’ NBA rights in the 2011 draft-night trade that sent George Hill to Indiana for Kawhi Leonard.

Here are a few more Thursday odds and ends from around the league:

Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) is hearing that Kansas’ Cheick Diallo‘s stock on the rise. NBA people are high on Diallo’s motor, according to Rothstein, who says the former Jayhawks big man could be picked in the 15-20 range.
Like Diallo, Thon Maker has also seen his draft stock rise during pre-draft workouts, according to Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times. While most big boards project Maker as a late first-rounder, one Western Conference scouting director believes the seven-footer could come off the board “as high as 12.” An Eastern Conference assistant GM is slightly less bullish, suggesting to Woelfel that he sees No. 15 as Maker’s ceiling. According to Woelfel, the Bucks are fans of Maker and UNC’s Brice Johnson, though No. 10 is probably too high for either player.
Bobby Marks of The Vertical examines the new definition of a “max player,” identifying 11 pending free agents who could land maximum-salary contracts this offseason, including Warriors forward Harrison Barnes and Magic guard Evan Fournier.
A pair of former NBA second-round picks have secured new deals overseas. Former Louisville guard Peyton Siva, a 2013 Pistons draftee, has signed with Germany’s ALBA Berlin, according to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Greek guard Vassilis Spanoulis, selected way back in 2004 by the Mavericks, has inked a two-year extension with Olympiacos (link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).