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International basketball blog
The Hoop (a fan blog) reports:
It seems that Olimpia Milano made the steal of the season(so far) by signing Greek power forward Antonis Fotsis(2.09-PF) who was rumored to sign for Barcelona. Fotsis had a call from Sergio Scariolo who explained to him why he wants him in the team and in general Olimpia showed far more interest than Barcelona while at the same time offering the same amount money. They capitalised on their Euroleague wild card in the best way.
Euroleague.net reports:
All-Euroleague center Sofoklis Schortsanitis will get at least one more chance to lead Maccabi Electra to glory after his option for next season was activated Thursday and another added that could keep him in Tel Aviv for 2012-13, too. Maccabi announced that it had picked up its option on Big Sofo for next season and agreed with him on a second option for the following one. Schortsanitis (2.06 meters, 26 years old) made his first season with Maccabi a breakout one by leading the Turkish Airlines Euroleague in scoring per-minute. Schortsanitis and Maccabi reached the title game together, but lost it to Panathinaikos, thus finishing second this season. Schortsanitis finished with averages of 12 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1 assist in 19 minutes on average over 22 games.
Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times reports:
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Kobe Bryant may take his talents to China during the NBA’s lockout.
There are preliminary talks about a basketball tour to China this summer — and perhaps beyond — in which the Lakers superstar, who has called China a “home away from home” and has an enormous following there, would be the headliner with several other NBA stars forming two or three barnstorming teams.
Bryant and his agent Rob Pelinka are trying to put together the tour, said Minnesota Timberwolves rookie forward Derrick Williams, who is also represented by Pelinka.
Williams said several clients of Pelinka’s agency, the Landmark Sports Agency, could be involved in the tour.
“Hopefully I would be able to do that because I’ve never been out of the country and I think that would be the best thing for me,” said Williams, the former La Mirada High and University of Arizona star who was drafted second overall in June’s NBA draft.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports:
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Late in the regular season, Brian Scalabrine told the Tribune he might play in Europe next season as his professional career enters its final few seasons.
Now that the NBA will lockout its players beginning at 11:01 p.m. Chicago time Thursday night, Scalabrine’s plans will be set in motion quickly.
“For me personally, if in the next 15 days it’s still kind of like it is now, I’m just going to Europe and play,” Scalabrine said in a phone interview. “The thing about that is you have to commit for the whole year and you have no out clauses whatsoever. I support the players and the union and want to see the (NBA) game stay great. But at the end of the day, with two years or so left of playing basketball, I’m not interested in watching billionaires fight. I just like the game too much. I like the camaraderie. I like to play. So why not do it in a great city in Europe and educate my family?”
Scalabrine, who would be an NBA free agent whenever the lockout ends, said there are seven or eight European teams interested in signing him and that he’s in the process of securing his passport and possibly getting Italian citizenship. He said it’s likely he would play in Italy.
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The Memphis Grizzlies extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Hamed Haddadi, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
Haddadi, a 7-2, 265-pound center, completed his third NBA season with averages of 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds on a career-high .517 shooting in 5.4 minutes in 31 games. The 26-year-old appeared in nine postseason games, posting 1.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.56 blocks in 3.4 minutes.
The first Iranian-born player in NBA history, Haddadi owns career averages of 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.45 blocks on .457 shooting in 86 games, all with the Grizzlies. Memphis signed Haddadi as a free agent on Aug. 28, 2008.
Extending a qualifying offer prior to the June 30 deadline gives Memphis the ability to match any offer sheet a player signs with another team during the offseason.
The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired a future second round pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for the draft rights to forward Tanguy Ngombo, it was announced today by the team.
Selected by Dallas with the 57th overall pick in the second round of last week’s draft, Portland gained the draft rights to Ngombo as part of the trade that sent guard Rudy Fernandez to the Mavericks.
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Dallas Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois underwent surgery today on his left foot. The procedure was to address lingering symptoms from an injury sustained last summer while training with the French National Team.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
Beaubois (6-2, 182) played just 28 games this season after missing 54 with a fractured left foot. He averaged 8.4 points, 2.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game.
Euroleague.net reports:
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Armani Jeans Milano has turned to a veteran floor general to lead the team on the court next season by signing Omar Cook. The playmaker has spent the past three seasons in the Euroleague and is the competition’s career leader in assists per game (5.53 apg.). Cook (1.86 meters, 29 years old) arrives from Power Electronics Valencia, which he led within one game of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four last season. Cook averaged 8 points, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 21 Euroleague games last season. Those numbers ranked him second in the league in assists and third in steals per game.
The AP reports:
When Ricky Rubio held his introductory news conference this week, he jokingly promised that he would keep his credit card in his pocket on his first trip to the Mall of America so his family didn’t buy everything in sight.
That didn’t keep him from busting it out for a good cause Saturday. As a hectic first week in his new hometown drew to a close, Rubio participated in his first charitable endeavor for the Minnesota Timberwolves, going shopping at a Build-A-Bear store with a 3-year-old boy whose family lost almost everything when a tornado ripped through North Minneapolis.
“For these guys, whatever (they need),” Rubio said.
When the Spanish point guard showed up to meet the McPherson family, little Taj was, of course, wearing a Dwyane Wade jersey. Hand-in-hand, Rubio and the little boy stuffed a brand new bear, then went to various stations in the store to pick out clothes and get him all stitched up.
The AP reports:
Denver Nuggets center Nene will not join Brazil’s national team at the FIBA Americas Championship, the regional qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics.
The Brazilian basketball confederation said Nene asked to be released on Friday, citing “personal” and “contractual” reasons.