International Basketball Blog – Page 19 – NBA Blog

Heat second round pick James Ennis to play in Australia

James Ennis’ professional career will begin in Australia.

Scott Nichols, Ennis’ agent, Friday confirmed to the Sun Sentinel the agreement between Ennis and the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League in Australia, an arrangement that provides the 2013 second-round pick out of Long Beach State the option to return to the Miami Heat this season if summoned.

The Heat, who obtained Ennis from the Atlanta Hawks the night of the draft, will retain Ennis’ rights going forward, without having to utilize one of their roster spots for the coming season on the athletic swingman.

Ennis had an uneven summer-league run with the Heat, at times displaying the 3-point shooting and defensive disposition that will continue to have him in the team’s long-range plans.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Gani Lawal will play basketball in Latvia

Latvian champ VEF Riga made official on Friday the acquisition of big man Gani Lawal for the next season. Lawal (2.05 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Virtus Roma of Italy, where last season he averaged 13.7 points, led all players in rebounds with 8.4 and was second in blocks with 1.5 in 47 Italian League games. After that, he played two games in China with Guangzhou Liu Sui. Lawal played college ball at Georgia Tech from 2007 to 2010.

Reported by Euroleague.net

Heat draft pick James Ennis likely to play overseas this season

Miami Heat 2013 second-round NBA Draft pick James Ennis likely will spend the coming season overseas, with the Heat maintaining his draft rights, agent Scott Nichols on Monday told the Sun Sentinel.

Nichols cited the Heat’s glut of veteran wings, the team’s position hard against the NBA luxury tax and the Heat’s number of expiring contracts after the coming season as reasons why a 2014-15 NBA debut with the team might make more sense for the swingman out of Long Beach State who was acquired in a draft-night trade with the Atlanta Hawks.

“It comes down to a numbers game and a tax game,” Nichols said, with a decision on his client’s 2013-14 playing status expected to be finalized later this week.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Top talent lends support to Canada Basketball

While they won’t be playing for Canada in next month’s FIBA Americas tournament in Venezuela, give this country’s two newest NBA players credit for showing up.

No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett and No. 13 selection Kelly Olynyk are in Toronto for this week’s Canada Basketball camp, lending whatever they can to the group of players assembled.

“It’s tough — I always wanted to play, especially with (this) great group of guys,” said Bennett after watching practice at the Air Canada Centre on Friday. Bennett is still recovering from a shoulder injury, and with Olynyk on the shelf as well, their respective pro teams in Cleveland and Boston would have likely had serious reservations if the frontcourt players had suited up in the maple leaf.

“Everyone wants to be here,” said Olynyk. “It’s really nice to see that everyone is so keen to represent their country and do it as a team.”

Reported by John Chick, special to the Toronto Sun

Pau Gasol meets with Syrian refugees in Iraq

Lakers forward Pau Gasol was moved by his recent trip to Dohuk, Iraq, to visit with Syrian refugees.

“Most of the people didn’t know who I was. They didn’t know what I do,” Gasol told The Times on Friday via telephone from Spain. “They saw someone that cared for them who was there to help them. That was there to listen to them, to play with children and be their speaker and be their voice and carry a message for them. It was a great experience. ”

Armed conflict in Syria has caused more than 1.7 million people, many of them children, to flee their homes.

Gasol, an ambassador for UNICEF since 2003, found his visit both challenging and heart-warming.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Andrew Goudelock signs one-year deal to play in Russia

After failing to field any NBA offers that entailed guaranteed deals, Andrew Goudelock has accepted a one-year deal to play with the Russian basketball team BC UNICS Kazan.

The offer is worth “considerably more” than Goudelock would’ve made with an NBA minimum salary worth around $1 million, according to a source familiar with the details. But exact terms weren’t immediately provided.

The Lakers declined to grant Goudelock a $1.1 million qualifying offer, which would’ve made him a restricted free agent and enabled the Lakers to match any offer sheet he fielded.

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Chris Paul may play 2016 Olympic Games

A floor general in basketball is always important. But when you take a group of stars and try to teach them to also play like smart role players, leadership is even more crucial than ever. With that said, Team USA could really use a point guard like CP3.

Chris Paul has changed his mind and is leaning toward playing in the 2016 Olympics.

The Los Angeles Clippers point guard, who was on the 2008 and 2012 gold medal teams, said he was leaning heavily toward bypassing the 2016 Games — until Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski announced he was returning to coach the team.

“If it had been another coach than Coach K, I was prepared to be done,” Paul told ESPN.com.

Paul will be 31 when the 2016 Olympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, take place. He will still likely be a major piece for the team, despite a strong crop of young and talented point guards that includes Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry.

Reported by Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com

So far, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love are in. It’ll be fun seeing who else joins the squad.

Canadian hoops squad set to assemble

Canada Basketball is set to open camp ahead of the 2013 Americas Championship for men.

The event will take place in Venezuela and runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 11. The top four teams qualify for next year’s World Cup in Spain.

Canada will tune up for the competition with its camp, which runs from July 31 to Aug. 15 at the Air Canada Centre, and with two games against Jamaica at the Jack Donohue Classic on Aug. 8 and 10 at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.

It’s not yet clear exactly who will comprise Canada’s roster, but NBA players Tristan Thompson (Cleveland), Cory Joseph (San Antonio), Kelly Olynyk (Boston) and Joel Anthony (Miami) will be on hand.

Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun

Atlanta Hawks will sign Pero Antic

According to the agent for Pero Antic, the European power forward/center has agreed to a two-year contract with the Hawks. Misko Raznatovic stated the news Wednesday on Twitter.

The Hawks have not announced the signing as there likely are details that must be finalized. According to Raznatovic, the second year of the deal is an option.

Antic, 6-foot-11, 260 pounds, played in the Greek League the past two seasons. He helped Olympiacos to consecutive Euroleague championships.

Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Get to know new Celtic Vitor Faverani

He played last year for Valencia Basket Club of the Spanish ACB League, averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 17 minutes in 23 games.

Also, Faverani was eligible for the 2009 NBA draft but was not selected.

“He was not drafted because he was very immature and did not take the game seriously,” said an Eastern Conference scout who said he spent considerable time scouting Faverani.

“He could not be trusted. He has done a lot of growing up, both on and off the floor, and has turned the corner, so to speak.”

In terms of how Faverani fits in with the Celtics, the scout said, “I can see him as a pick-and-pop big, offensively. Where he fits defensively and being a consistent rebounder will be the key.”

Reported by Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (Blog)