March 2011 International Wiretap

Rubio Faces Deadline To Sign With Timberwolves

May 31, 2011 5:56 PM

A deadline of sorts has arrived for Ricky Rubio as he decides about playing in the NBA next season.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, Tuesday was the last day Rubio could sign a contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves and ensure that his deal will be under the existing rookie wage scale.

If the Spanish point guard does not sign a contract with the Wolves by the end of business on Tuesday, he will not be able to sign until the beginning of the new fiscal league year.

Jon/Krawczynski/Associated Press

Tags: Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, International, NBA CBA

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Valanciunas' Buyout To Be Raised To At Least $3M

May 31, 2011 3:46 PM

The buyout in the contract of Jonas Valanciunas with Lietuvos Rytas will be raised to at least $3 million USD, sources confirmed to RealGM.

Valanciunas has widely been projected to become a top-five pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, but a more financially difficult buyout would surely impact his draft status.

During the 2010-11 Euroleague season, Valanciunas averaged 7.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in just over 15 minutes per game.

Erildas Budraitis/RealGM

Tags: Jonas Valanciunas, Euroleague, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA NBA Draft, International, NBA Draft General, International League

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High School Guard Receives $750,000 Offer From Italian Team

May 11, 2011 10:41 AM

Aquille Carr, a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard from Patterson High School returned from a recent tournament in Milan, Italy, with a $750,000 contract offer that conceivably could be worth nearly $1 million.

Lottomatica Virtus Roma had success with its previous U.S. high school import, Brandon Jennings, who used his year in Italy to improve his NBA draft status.

Cameron Smith/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks, Euroleague, High School, International, International League

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Diamantidis, Navarro Headline All-Euroleague First Team

May 8, 2011 4:26 AM

Dimitris Diamantidis was joined on the 2010-11 All-Euroleague First Team by the MVP of last season, Juan Carlos Navarro of Regal FC Barcelona, Caja Laboral swingman Fernando San Emeterio, his Panathinaikos teammate, forward Mike Batiste, and center Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Maccabi Electra. 

The All-Euroleague Second Team featured Jeremy Pargo of Maccabi, Sergio Llull of Real Madrid, Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos, Ksistof Lavrinovic of Monepaschi Siena and Dusko Savanovic of Power Electronics Valencia. 

Press Release

Tags: Dimitris Diamantidis, Juan Carlos Navarro, Mike Batiste, Fernando San Emeterio, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Jeremy Pargo, Sergio Llull, Ksystof Lavrinovic, Dusko Savanovic, Euroleague, International, International League

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Timberwolves Intend To Sign Rubio Within A Month

May 4, 2011 7:00 PM

A Timberwolves contigent led by David Kahn are spending the next week in Spain for this weekend's Euroleague Final Four and to continue work they intend will get Ricky Rubio signed to a NBA contract within a month.

Rubio's Regal Barcelona team never made it to the Final Four scheduled for his hometown this year because it got beat out by Greece's Panathinaikos team in a playoff series in March.

Rubio has a $1 million buyout with Regal Barcelona.

By NBA rules, the Wolves can contribute only $500,000 to such a buyout.

Jerry Zgoda/Minneapolis Star Tribune

Tags: Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves, Spanish ACB, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, International, International League

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Deron Williams Considering Playing Overseas

May 4, 2011 10:30 AM

New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams is considering taking his talents abroad.

"I'm already looking into playing overseas," said Williams, who was in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday taking part in an event featuring his favorite video game series, Call of Duty. "I haven't looked anywhere in general; I'm just looking into the possibility of playing over there. But I'm not going to make a decision until after the CBA."

Beyond that, Williams had nothing more to say about the labor negotiations between the NBA owners and players.

"I'm not even going to talk about it," Williams said. "I'm going to let that work itself out."

Jared Zwerling/ESPN The Magazine

Tags: Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets, Euroleague, NBA, International, NBA CBA, International League

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Vesely Draws Comparison To Kirilenko

May 2, 2011 2:56 PM

Czechian power forward Jan Vesely is projected as a top-5 pick on David Aldridge’s latest draft board.

At 6-foot-11, 240 pounds, Vesely possesses an athletic ability that is rarely seen among European prospects.

"His athleticism is off the charts," an Atlantic Division personnel man said. "He runs the floor. Does a lot of things that are factors in the game. Has personality on the court. When he dunks the ball, you know he dunks the ball."

Said a Northwest Division executive: "He plays hard and he cuts off the ball. He's going to survive because of that. He plays like (Andrei) Kirilenko when he was super athletic."

Vesely's European team hasn't been quite as good this season as last, when he first became known as a top NBA propsect. But that doesn't deter his supporters in the least. "Right now I would say forget the mock drafts," the Atlantic Division man said. "I still say, talent-wise, he's a top five pick."

David Aldridge/NBA.com

Tags: Jan Vesely, Euroleague, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, International, NBA Draft General, International League

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NBA Execs Concerned About Motiejunas' Inner Drive

May 2, 2011 2:55 PM

Scouts remain concerned about several aspects of Lithuanian power forward Donatas Motiejunas’s game.

"He doesn't really love basketball," a Central Division executive says. "He doesn't seem to appear to like to do anything that's even a little difficult. That scares you a little bit. The only thing he gets an excellent on is offensive rebounding and putbacks, and that's because he's doing it against midgets."

Said an Atlantic Division exec: "Right now, it's not even close. Vesely is a player and Motiejunas is an unknown. I've seen him play too many times when he would get two rebounds, three rebounds. He's projected in all these mocks to go top 10. I don't think so. I think he lacks passion for the game. He looks like he's got short arms. That might be a factor.

"He gets pushed under (the basket) a lot and then he reaches up. Guys are going up over him to get rebounds. He lacks fire, lacks emotion. Always has the same demeanor on the court. If you're 7 feet tall and you have any hope of coming over here you have to be, routinely, getting 10, 11 boards ... I can't get excited about him."

David Aldridge/NBA.com

Tags: Donatas Motiejunas, Euroleague, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, International, NBA Draft General, International League

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