International Basketball Blog – Page 9 – NBA Blog

Thunder rookie Domantas Sabonis will miss summer league

Here’s the Oklahoman reporting on that a Thunder rookie will be battling in the Olympics instead of playing summer league ball:

A few of OKC’s young pieces are expected to compete: Cameron Payne, Josh Huestis and Mitch McGary. But perhaps the Thunder’s most anticipated young talent, rookie Domantas Sabonis, won’t be in Orlando for summer league, The Oklahoman has learned. But it’s for good reason.

Sabonis, the 11th overall pick acquired in the Serge Ibaka trade, will focus on competing for his home country of Lithuania in the summer Olympics.

Willy Hernangomez plans to join Knicks

The Knicks are going to add some international talent to their frontcourt this offseason. Here’s Yahoo Sports reporting:

Spanish center Willy Hernangomez plans to join the New York Knicks on a multiyear contract this summer, his agent, Andy Miller, told The Vertical.

“It is my intent to reach an agreement with the Knicks and have Willy come to New York for next season and beyond,” Miller told The Vertical.

The Knicks hold the rights to Hernangomez, who was the 35th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.

Dante Exum will not play for Team Australia this summer

Utah Jazz guard Danté Exum will not participate in Australian National Team activities this summer.

Exum will instead focus on his preparation for the 2016-17 Jazz season. His rehabilitation and recovery process has continued to progress accordingly according to the team, and he was recently cleared for full-contact basketball activities.

“At this stage the most important thing for me right now is to continue training,” said Exum. “It’s been great to be back on the court competing, and I’m really motivated to help the Jazz have a successful season this year. My support and best wishes will be with the Boomers this summer, and I look forward to future opportunities to represent my home country.”

The 20-year-old guard underwent successful surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee on Sept. 3, 2015, after having sustained a tear of the ACL on Aug. 4 while competing for the Australian National Team in a game against the Slovenian National Team in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As a result of the injury, he missed the entire 2015-16 NBA season.

The 6-6, 205-pound native of Melbourne, Australia, averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 22.2 minutes as a rookie during the 2014-15 season and was selected to compete in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend. He also became just the 10th rookie in Jazz history to appear in all 82 games, starting 41 of those. Exum was originally selected by the Jazz in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft.

DeMarcus Cousins is expected to make 2016 Olympic team

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, who may wind up as the key big man on a global bball stage this summer:

DeMarcus Cousins is presented with a golden opportunity. For several reasons that include injuries to other candidates, his steadfast commitment to USA Basketball and his prodigious abilities, the Kings’ All-Star center will be named to the U.S. Olympic basketball team later this month.

Anyone within shouting distance of a hoop and a net knew this was coming.

Cousins might not be USA Basketball’s favorite big man – that would be the injured Anthony Davis – but he is coming off his best season and essentially forced his way onto the roster. He participated in four consecutive training camps, never wavered in his desire to compete for his country, and when Davis got into foul trouble in the finale of the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Cousins controlled the interior with his blocks, his rebounds, his defense.

Russell Westbrook withdraws from 2016 Olympics

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook issued the following statement on his decision to withdraw from the 2016 Olympics: “After speaking with my family, I have decided to not participate in this year’s Olympics. This was not an easy decision, as representing my country at the World Championships in 2010 and the Olympics in 2012 were career highlights for me. I look forward to future opportunities as a member of USA Basketball.”

The final 12-man Team USA roster for the 2016 Olympics hasn’t actually been finalized yet, from but Westbrook was certainly a favorite to make the cut.

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv names new head coach

Here’s Euroleague.net with news that an important Israeli basketball team has found its new head coach:

In an announcement on Thursday morning, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv named Erez Edelstein, the current Israeli national team head coach, as the newest boss of its own bench for the upcoming Turkish Airlines Euroleague season. Edelstein, 54, takes over for Zan Tabak, who joined the club during last season and was let go on Wednesday. One of the most-respected coaches in Israel, Edelstein will coach in the Euroleague for the first time with Maccabi, though he did serve as Pini Gershon’s assistant coach at Olympiacos Piraeus a decade ago. Edelstein has previously found success with Hapoel Jerusalem, which he led to the Eurocup semifinals in 2006. He also has coached Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Galil Elyon and Maccabi Ramat Gan. Last summer he guided Israel into the round of 16 at EuroBasket 2015 before falling to Italy.

Blake Griffin will not play for 2016 Team USA

Clippers forward Blake Griffin won’t participate in this summer’s USA Basketball Team training camps and exhibition tour. That’s the team that will play in the summer Olympics.

Griffin underwent a bone marrow procedure on his left quad tendon on April 27 and has already begun the rehabilitation process with the expectation that he will be ready for the start of the 2016-17 NBA season.

The five-time NBA All-Star originally injured the quad on December 25, 2015 against the Lakers.

In 35 regular season games this season, Griffin averaged 21.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 33.4 minutes. In four playoff games, he averaged 15.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Joey Dorsey signs in Barcelona, Spain

You remember Joey Dorsey. He’s built like a truck. It is best to avoid getting in his way.

Here’s Euroleague.net with the latest on his basketball travels, which have taken him away from the NBA:

FC Barcelona Lassa reached an agreement with former Euroleague champion center Joey Dorsey to reunite for the remainder of the current season, the club announced Friday. Dorsey (2.03 meters, 32 years old) takes over for Shane Lawal, who was sidelined with a torn meniscus last week. Dorsey arrives from Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul, were he averaged 7.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 15 Eurocup games this season.

It remains to be seen if he’ll ever return to the league. It certainly seems possible.

An overseas NBA All-Star game someday?

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer with reporting on some of what NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently told media here at All-Star weekend:

Sunday marked the first the time the NBA All-Star Game was played outside of the United States. The top players in the world had their showcase at the Air Canada Center.

One would assume the next step is to take the All-Star Game overseas. However, logistically, that would be more difficult than it seems even though the all-star break has been expanded from four to eight days.

“There’s a ripple effect in terms of the number of days we take off on the rest of the schedule,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday.

Right now, teams play an 82-game schedule in roughly 162 days. The amount of days decreased when the additional time was added for the all-star break.

Damian Lillard added as Team USA finalist

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been added to the roster of finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, USA Basketball announced today. The addition was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors. The official 12-member 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team roster will be announced later this year.

Named to the 2014-16 USA Basketball Men’s National Team in January 2014, the 6-foot-3 guard was a finalist for the 2014 USA World Cup Team, and played in two exhibition games during the 2014 USA National Team Tour, recording seven points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 24 minutes of action in the USA’s 105-62 win against Dominican Republic on Aug. 20, 2014.

Currently in his fourth NBA season, Lillard in 2015-16 is averaging career-highs of 24.2 points (6th in the NBA) and 7.3 assists per game (7th in the NBA), while adding 4.4 rebounds per game, and shooting 41.8 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from 3-point and 86.5 percent from the foul line.

“I recently received a call from Damian, and during our conversation he expressed his desire to be considered for the U.S. Olympic Team and to remain involved with the USA National Team in the future as well,” said Jerry Colangelo, who has served as the managing director of the USA Men’s National Team since 2005. “Both Mike (Krzyzewski) and I feel like Damian is playing at a very high level and that he should be added to our list of Olympic finalists. Damian has been a member of the USA National Team since 2014, and he participated in National Team training camps in 2013 and 2014, so he does have equity in USA Basketball, which is always important to me.”