March 2014 Basketball Wiretap

Dario Saric Will Come To NBA Immediately If Drafted By Celtics, Lakers

May 29, 2014 1:29 PM

Dario Saric reportedly is willing to come to the NBA immediately if he's drafted by either the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, according to a report from David Pick.

Saric is a 20-year-old Croatian point forward.

Saric is currently slotted to go ninth overall in the latest DraftExpress mock.

Gary Dzen/Boston Globe

Tags: Dario Saric, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA NBA Draft, International, NBA Draft General

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James Nunnally To Have Pre-Free Agency Workouts With Warriors, Jazz

May 26, 2014 8:36 PM

James Nunnally will leave his Puerto Rican team for pre-free agency workouts for the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz, sources tell RealGM.

Nunnally was with the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks this season on multiple 10-day contracts.

Shams Charania/RealGM

Tags: James Nunnally, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor, International, International Misc Rumor

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Pacers Among Teams Expressing Interest In Lester Hudson

May 23, 2014 4:33 PM

Fresh off becoming the Most Valuable Player of the Chinese Basketball Association, Lester Hudson has scheduled mini-camp workouts with NBA teams – including the Indiana Pacers – to compete for a possible free agent deal, league sources told RealGM.

Hudson, a 6-foot-3 combo guard, averaged 26 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game this season and led Xinjiang of China to the championship game. After the season, Hudson was awarded with MVP honors.

Hudson played with the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league team a year ago in Las Vegas and went to training camp with the Utah Jazz.

Hudson will participate in NBA workouts over the next month, with the Pacers as an intrigued suitor.

After his senior season at the University of Tennessee-Martin, Hudson was selected with the No. 58 pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2009 NBA draft. He allocated to three other franchises in his three NBA seasons – featuring a prominent stretch with the Cleveland Cavaliers when he averaged 12.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 2012.

Shams Charania/RealGM

Tags: Lester Hudson, Indiana Pacers, Xinjiang Guanghui, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor, International, International Teams, International Misc Rumor

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Exec: David Blatt Belongs In The NBA

May 19, 2014 10:46 AM

Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Real Madrid in the Euroleague Final Four in a huge upset.

David Blatt has long been mentioned as one of the best head coaches in the world not in the NBA.

"They were outgunned at every position except coach. Blatt belongs in the NBA," said one executive.

Blatt was born in Boston and played collegiate basketball at Princeton. Blatt played professionally in Israel for more than a decade and has been a head coach at various stops since 1993 with his Maccabi tenure beginning in 2010.

Marc Stein/ESPN

Tags: Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Euroleague, Israeli BSL, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, International, International Teams, International League

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Maccabi Upsets Real Madrid To Win Euroleague Title

May 18, 2014 8:27 PM

Maccabi Tel Aviv pulled off the 98-86 upset of Real Madrid in overtime to win the 2013-14 Euroleague title.

Maccabi has now won the Euroleague six times.

Tyrese Rice scored 26 points, including 14 in overtime and was named Euroleague Final Four MVP.

Alex Tyus added 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, while Ricky Hickman had 18 points and six rebounds.

Sergio Rodriguez had 21 points for Real in a losing effort. Nikola Mirotic had 12 points on just 3-for-10 shooting and seven rebounds.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Tyrese Rice, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Real Madrid, Euroleague, International, International Teams, International League

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Sergio Rodriguez Named Euroleague MVP

May 15, 2014 11:50 AM

Sergio Rodriguez has been named Most Valuable Player of the 2013-14 Euroleague season.

Rodriguez led Madrid in both scoring (13.5 ppg.) and assists (5 apg.) despite playing the fourth-most minutes on the team.

Rodriguez ranked fourth in the league in three-point shooting accuracy (48.8%), fifth in average assists, seventh in performance index rating (15.7) and was also among the league's top 10 in free throw accuracy (89.2%) and steals (1.2 spg.).  

Rodriguez led the league in assists (8.8 apg. prorated over 40 minutes), was second in performance index rating (27.7 per 40) and third in scoring (23.9 ppg. per 40). 

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Sergio Rodriguez, Real Madrid, Euroleague, International, International Award, International Teams, International League

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New Era Becomes Official Headwear Partner Of Euroleague

May 12, 2014 12:58 PM

New Era has reached a deal with Euroleague to become their official headwear partner.

New Era also has licensing agreements with the NBA, MLB and NFL.

“With over 93 years of traditional sports heritage, New Era is proud to form a truly authentic partnership with one of Europe’s most prestigious sporting organisations, Euroleague Basketball,” says Paul Gils, VP EMEA. “We’re excited to bring our unique combination of style and fashion to the Euroleagues’s passionate fan base while providing these fans with the opportunity to own the official headwear of their favorite basketball teams."

"We are really proud to welcome New Era, one of the global leaders in the industry with an authentic sports heritage that dates back over 90 years, as the new official headwear of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague." states Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO. "This agreement is another example of the enormous possibilities that we bring to our commercial partners, opening the doors of both the top European competition and the top 24 clubs of the continent"

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Euroleague, International, International League

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Fernandez, Rodriguez, Weems, Tomic, Langford On All-Euroleague First Team

May 8, 2014 12:15 PM

Rudy Fernandez, Keith Langford, Sergio Rodriguez, Ante Tomic and Sonny Weems have been named to the All-Euroleague First Team.

On the All-Euroleague Second Team are Nikola Mirotic, Ricky Hickman, Viktor Khryapa, Stephane Lasme and Vassilis Spanoulis.

Click here to view all Euroleague awards for the 13-14 season.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Rudy Fernandez, Keith Langford, Sergio Rodriguez, Ante Tomic, Sonny Weems, Ricky Hickman, Viktor Khryapa, Yann Ulrich Stephane Lasme, Nikola Mirotic, Vassilis Spanoulis, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, AX Armani Exchange Milan, Panathinaikos, Barca, CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid, Olympiacos, Euroleague, International, International Award, International Teams, International League

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Bogdan Bogdanovic Wins Euroleague Rising Star Trophy

May 7, 2014 6:20 PM

Partizan's 21-year-old guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has won the Rising Star Trophy as the best young performer of the 2013-14 Euroleague season.

Bogdanovic excelled in his first season as a Euroleague starter, ranking among the league leaders in scoring and steals while also leading his team in assists and three-pointers made.

The Rising Star Trophy recognizes the best Euroleague player each season who was under the age of 22 on July 1 of the summer before the season started. After becoming a full-time contributor with Partizan a year ago, Bogdanovic made the transformation into a true Euroleague star already in his second full season in the competition.

Bogdanovic needed to change his role midway through the regular season, moving from shooting guard to point guard on an injury-plagued team. Nonetheless, he finished the season as the fifth-best scorer in the league with 14.78 points per game, ranked third with an average of 2.17 three-point shots made, fourth in steals (1.57 spg.), fifth in minutes played (31:26), and eighth in fouls drawn (4 per game). 

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Bogdan Bogdanovic, KK Partizan, Euroleague, International, International Award, International Teams, International League

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Bryant Dunston Named Euroleague Best Defender Of The Year

May 6, 2014 7:48 PM

Bryant Dunston of Olympiacos Piraeus has been voted the 2014 Best Defender Trophy winner by Euroleague head coaches.

Dunston, 27, stepped into a difficult role as a rookie of whom much was expected for the back-to-back Euroleague champs.

Dunston earned weekly MVP honors three times and led the competition with 1.3 blocks per game.

He also became the first player in the Euroleague this century to compile at least 30 blocks and 30 steals in a single season. 

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Bryant Dunston, Olympiacos, Euroleague, International, International Award, International Teams, International League

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