International Basketball Blog – Page 37 – NBA Blog

Ricky Rubio may return to Spain

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio says he will consider playing for his former team Barcelona if the NBA season is canceled because of the ongoing lockout.

Rubio told Catalan radio ONA FM that “I want to wait until I see there is no chance of resolving the situation, and then I will sign with another team.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com editor says: Well, it’s really been great getting to know you, Ricky! But seriously folks, I’m not sure Ricky is ready for the NBA anyway. Another year overseas might do him some good, despite Ricky having an off year last season in Spain.

Andrei Kirilenko suffers broken nose

The Turkish Airlines Euroleague’s top-rated player so far this season, forward Andrei Kirilenko of CSKA Moscow, could miss time in the competition after breaking his nose in a domestic game Saturday. Kirilenko didn’t move for several seconds after crashing to the floor in a Russian League game while blood flowing from above his eye pooled on the floor. Eventually, he could be seen talking as he was bandaged and walking off-court under his own power. CSKA issued a statement saying that in addition to the broken nose, Kirilenko received stitches for the cut, but apparently did not suffer a concussion. The statement said his nose will be fixed upon returning to Moscow for additional tests that will pay particular attention to the left shoulder he landed on while being tripped accidentally as he tried to make a steal against Krasnye Krylia in a Russian League game.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Lester Hudson playing basketball in China

Lester Hudson hasn’t put on hold his dream of continuing to play in the NBA.

The Memphis native simply is no longer waiting for an end to the lockout…

Under Chinese Basketball Association rules, Hudson must play the full season without an opt-out clause should the NBA lockout end. The CBA’s regular season runs through the middle of February.

Hudson, 27, will play with Washington Wizards free agent Yi Jianlian and former Indiana Pacer Fred Jones. Phoenix Suns restricted free-agent guard Aaron Brooks has agreed to a one-year deal with Guangdong, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Hudson last played for Guangdong in January after he was waived by the Washington Wizards. The Boston Celtics originally selected Hudson with the 58th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Andrei Kirilenko wins Euroleague Week 5 MVP

With a brilliant team-oriented performance that set a new standard for efficiency, CSKA Moscow forward Andrei Kirilenko made sure to keep his team undefeated while garnering Week 5 bwin MVP honors. Though Kirilenko, who was also the opening week MVP as well as the winner of the October MVP title, only recorded 3 shot attempts during his 35 minutes on the floor of CSKA’s 77-66 victory, he managed to score, rebound and play defense to the fullest. Kirilenko finished the night with 17 points on near perfect shooting – 1 of 2 two-pointers, 1 for 1 from behind the arc and 12 of 13 on free throws – plus 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocked shots and 7 fouls drawn to amass the highest performance index rating in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague yet this season: 39. Kirilenko now leads the league in performance index rating with an average of 29.4 per game. He is also the league-leader in both rebounding (9 rpg.) and blocked shots (3.2 bpg.) and ranked third in steals (2.2 spg.).

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Dwyane Wade will listen to overseas options, just in case

Dwyane Wade is ready to play basketball. Preferably in Miami.

And if that’s not an option, he’s preparing himself to start looking elsewhere.

Wade said Thursday that he has authorized agent Henry Thomas to listen to any viable offers that may be out there for him to play internationally this season — with the caveat that, until such time as all hope for an NBA season is gone, he won’t be signing any deal with any other club.

“I told my agent to just take a peek,” Wade said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s time. There’s a possibility that we’re not going to have a season. We’ve got to see what’s out there, what the possibilities are. I want to play competitive basketball this year. I’ve missed a year of basketball in my life before. I’m not trying to miss another. I don’t have too many years of basketball left.”

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Suns guard Aaron Brooks signs in China

Phoenix Suns restricted free-agent guard Aaron Brooks has agreed to a one-year deal with Guandong of the Chinese Basketball Association, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Brooks is a popular player in China from his days of playing with Yao Ming in Houston. He’s been talking on and off with Chinese teams for several months, and finally agreed to a deal believed to be worth more than $2 million for the season…

Brooks will play with Washington Wizards free agent Yi Jianlian in Guangdong. The roster also includes Americans Fred Jones and Lester Hudson.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

J.J. Barea gets contract offer in China

The Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China this week added J.J. Barea to their wish list and have extended a contract offer to the Dallas Mavericks free-agent guard, according to sources close to the situation.

ESPN.com reported Monday that Xinjiang was also chasing Atlanta Hawks free agent Jamal Crawford to fill the void created by a long-term wrist injury suffered by former Sacramento Kings first-round pick Quincy Douby.

Crawford has since said in multiple interviews that he’s considering the offer, but Xinjiang wants to move fast after losing Douby — one of the best players in the Chinese Basketball Association last season — just days away from the Nov. 19 season opener.

Barea, though, has expressed interest in playing in Spain and, according to sources close to Puerto Rico national team star, continues to explore his options there as well.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Dirk Nowitzki is out of shape, says his personal coach

Dallas Mavericks’ German power forward Dirk Nowitzki, MVP in the Mavericks’ NBA finals triumph in June, is not ruling out the possibility of a move to Europe if the current NBA lock-out continues.

“This week we are going back to work, Dirk has not touched the ball since the European Championship at the end of September,” declared Nowitzki’s personal coach Holger Geschwindner, who also said the player was “ruling nothing out, even if he has no concrete ideas” about a switch to Europe.

“At the moment, Dirk is out of shape. We are going to work hard over the nex two weeks,” added Geschwindner.

“If he goes anywhere, he will be going there for the whole season.”

— Reported by AFP

Luol Deng may sign overseas

Add Luol Deng to the list of players more seriously considering European offers now that the NBA lockout is in the hands of lawyers.

Deng, who has been receiving offers for weeks to play overseas, is seriously considering four to five offers and could make a decision as early as next week, according to his Chicago-based agent Herb Rudoy. Any offer Deng signed would contain an opt-out clause should the NBA lockout end to salvage a shortened season, Rudoy said.

Deng, who is currently visiting family and overseeing charity work in his native Sudan, is a British citizen who has become the face of Great Britain’s national team since that country granted his family political asylum years ago. The offers that Deng is most seriously considering are based in Europe.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Kevin Durant in talks with a basketball team in Germany

The agent for Kevin Durant confirmed an overseas media report Thursday that the Oklahoma City Thunder star is in talks with BBC Bayreuth about playing in Germany during the ongoing NBA lockout.

Agent Aaron Goodwin told ESPN.com on Thursday night that talks between the teams are “ongoing” but said the deal is not in the final stages as described by SPOX.com.

The SPOX report quoted Bayreuth general manager Bayreuth GM Uli Eichbaum as saying: “We’re in the final stages of a deal and I’m an optimist. It’s not looking bad.”

Over the weekend, Durant told Yahoo! Sports that he was also weighing offers from Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel and Valencia in Spain.

“I’m right on the fence with playing overseas and I’m about to jump over,” Durant said.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com