As we did a few weeks ago, we’re going to use the summer to talk about the International hoops market and the main transfers news going around in Europe as well as the rest of the world, focusing especially on Euroleague market.
Euroleague
The Euroleague market is entering its crucial part. With NBA free agency having already fired its biggest shots, now Euroleague teams are waiting for some big returns. The NBA market is particularly tightening right now, so several players that already have European experience are thinking about a return on the Euroleague market to make some good guaranteed money. Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv has made a strong statement, announcing the signing of former Florida alum Scottie Wilbekin. The point guard, who won the Eurocup last season with Darussafaka, signed a three-year deal worth around $4.5 million, a source told Def Pen Hoops. Wilbekin will replace former Dallas Mavericks point guard Pierre Jackson, who signed with the Beijing Flying Dragons in China. Maccabi also decided to keep another former NBA player next season in Jeremy Pargo. The team officially announced in a press release that he has signed for another year.
Turkish squad Anadolu Efes was one of the teams that had followed Scottie Wilbekin for a while but wasn’t able to finalize the deal. Efes had a deal in place with the player and his entourage for weeks, a source with knowledge of the situation told Def Pen Hoops, but failed to find an agreement for the buyout with Darussafaka. Now Efes is turning their focus to the International market to add another big name to their backcourt. The main target for the Turkish side, as of right now, is former Boston Celtics point guard Shane Larkin, a source told Def Pen Hoops. Efes has already made an offer to the player, worth around $1.8 million per season, a source with knowledge of the situation told Def Pen Hoops. For the moment, Efes is the frontrunner to sign Larkin but interest remains also from Baskonia, where Larkin already played two seasons ago. The Turkish side is also in negotiations with another former NBA player, James Anderson. According to a report from Eurohoops, Efes is offering Anderson a two-year contract.
In Athens, David Blatt has become the new head coach of Olympiacos and he has wasted no time in improving the roster for the next season. His first signing was Utah Jazz draftee Nigel Williams-Goss, who was coming off a spectacular rookie season with Partizan Belgrade. After Williams-Goss, Blatt made a surprising move signing undersized big man Zach LeDay, who had a strong rookie season in Israel. The expectation was that LeDay could have signed a deal with a Eurocup or Basketball Champions League team but, in the end, he made the jump straight to the Euroleague market. Olympiacos also kept former Houston Rockets forward Kostas Papanikolaou and is now in talks with Nets draftee Alexander Vezenkov, who recently left Barcelona.
The other big Greek team on the International market, Panathinaikos, has made an important move with the multi-year contract extension of Nick Calathes. With Calathes staying, it’s even more likely that Mike James will leave Panathinaikos. The American player is considering an offer from Olimpia Milano and the feeling around the European market is that he’s likely to land in Italy, a source told Def Pen Hoops. Euroleague reigning champ Real Madrid has signed former NBA forward Trey Thompkins to a multi-year contract extension and they also announced the signing of Slovenian sharpshooter Klemen Prepelic. Lithuanian side Zalgiris Kaunas has decided to replace Kevin Pangos, who has signed with Barcelona, with the addition of another former NBA player in Nate Wolters, who finished last season in France.
CBA (Chinese League)
The Chinese League remains a strong side of the International market. With a couple of NBA veterans like Marreese Speights and Al Jefferson, who has reportedly agreed to deals with Chinese teams, others may follow. CBA teams, in fact, are giving a lot of attention to Chris Singleton, who already turned down offers from Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes, sources tell Def Pen Hoops, and Malcolm Delaney, who spent the last two years in NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. Also, guard Aaron Jackson, who finished last season with the Houston Rockets, is expected to sign a new deal in the Chinese league, as reported by Shams Charania. But another NBA veteran who may strongly consider the Chinese market for the next season is Udonis Haslem, a source told Def Pen Hoops. Haslem, a Miami Heat fan favorite, is still weighing his options for the next season and if Miami won’t offer him a new deal, there’ll be at least a couple of Chinese teams ready to make him an important offer, a source told Def Pen Hoops.
That’s all for this second installment of International Hoops rumors roundup. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks to talk more about the main transfers of the International market, so stay tuned.
