Basket rumors

Brisbane Bullets land Orlando Johnson

The Brisbane Bullets have signed former NBA player Orlando Johnson as an import for the 2020/21 Hungry Jack’s NBL Season.

Johnson has played over 100 NBA games, having stints with the Indiana Pacers (2012-14), Sacramento Kings (2014), Phoenix Suns (2016) and New Orleans Pelicans (2016). He was selected by the Kings in the 2012 NBA Draft with the 36thselection.

The California native is 6’5” and can alternate between the guard and forward positions, adding versatility to the Bullets roster. Johnson has also played professionally in Spain, the Philippines, Russia, China, Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Taiwan and in the NBA G-League.

Brisbane Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis said: “Whenever you start the process of recruiting an import, the challenge is to find a player with a skill set that will complement and add value to the roster already signed, as well as being a quality person who will fit in with the team ethos we value at the Bullets.

“We always lean on contacts we trust from around the world for input as well as watching a whole lot of video on players we believe to be in contention. That process led us to Orlando Johnson.

“Orlando brings with him a wealth of experience, having played over 100 NBA games, another 100 games in the G-League and more than 50 games in high level European Leagues. He has shown that he is a versatile player who is prepared to help teams succeed at both ends of the court. He has a great basketball IQ and a toughness that will add value to our team.

“The interview with Orlando is one of the best I have ever been involved with; his honesty and humility really struct a chord with the coaching staff and his understanding of how teams succeed was evident the more we spoke. We got off that call as a staff and said, ‘He’s our guy’.

“We all look forward to getting Orlando to Brisbane and integrating him into the team as we prepare for the start of the season.”

Johnson said: “I’m really excited. They (Brisbane) said we need a guy who will be able to shoulder a heavy load and be one of the main guys…I told them how ready I was and how much I’ve been working.

“I told them I was looking to be a focal point and a guy who can lead a team and that’s what they’re looking for. I think this is going be the start of something really special.

“When I first heard about it (the NBL) and saw it, I saw how exciting these games are and that’s something I want to be a part of.”

Johnson joins Harry Froling, Matt Hodgson, Will Magnay, Anthony Drmic, Jason Cadee, Nathan Sobey, Tyrell Harrison, Tanner Krebs, Tamuri Wigness and Callum Dalton (development player) on the Bullets’ roster for the 20/21 season.

Fonte: NBL.

Cam Oliver Re-Signs With Cairns on Two-Year Deal

The Cairns Taipans have pulled off one of the biggest moves this off-season, re-signing star big man Cameron Oliver on a two-year deal after starring in NBL20.

The 24-year-old averaged 17.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and tallied 50 blocks for the season – making up half of the team’s total. Remarkably, he finished with 15 double-doubles in his 31 games with season-highs of 31 points and 19 rebounds.

Reigning NBL Coach of the Year Mike Kelly said it was really significant for the Taipans to retain Oliver, for the club, the city and most importantly the fans.

“Cam had a fantastic season and he was a big part of the reason that we made the play-offs. He really fit in with our group, and it was great to see his family make a new home here and embrace the community. The city of Cairns has definitely played a role in their return, and I know they are excited to come back.”

Oliver made history as the first NBL player in the 40-minute era to make 50 three-pointers and block 50 shots in the same season. He also led the league in average rebounds per game, which continued throughout the finals.

“Before Cam came to Cairns, I had watched him on film for two years playing in the G-League, so I knew what kind of calibre player he was. But I didn’t know how quickly he would get back to that level, coming off of that ankle injury,” said Coach Kelly.

“But he exceeded our expectations and become a much more consistent and reliable player for us as the season went on. I think his mindset and his approach to the game changed over the course of the year with us and it was really cool to watch his growth in that respect, too.”

Following NBL20, Oliver went on to play in the Israeli Basketball Premier League for Ironi Nes Ziona during the extended NBL off-season, where he averaged 19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.4 steals and again reached the play-offs.

“We all know that Cam is an NBA talent and we saw his continued development in Israel as well. He knows how he fits in with our team and this league now, so he will have high expectations of himself and I’m expecting that he will be even stronger in the season coming up.”

Cam Oliver joins Mojave King, Kouat Noi, Majok Deng, Nate Jawai, Mirko Djeric, Fabijan Krslovic, Jarrod Kenny, Jordan Ngatai and George Blagojevic on the Taipans 2021 roster.

Fonte: Cairns Taipans.

Monbus Obradoiro extends Albert Oliver’s contract until the end of the season

Monbus Obradoiro has extended Albert Oliver’s contract until the end of this season.

The 42-year-old 1.87 meter point guard has played all 9 Endesa League games with the team, with averages of 4 points and 1.6 assists in 13 minutes.

Cherkasy fires Oleksandr Kobets, says player ‘manipulated results of games this season’

BC Cherkasy Monkeys announced the dismissal of Oleksandr Kobets.

The team press release

BC Cherkasy believes that Kobets ‘participated in sports betting and manipulated the results of games in the current basketball season.

Given the inadmissibility, immorality and illegality of such actions, the club believes that it is impossible to continue the relationship with the player.

The club will send all the information available on O. Kobets’ actions to the Commission for the legal relations of the Ukrainian Basketball Federation to start the examination of the case.

“Cherkasy Monkeys” always stand for fair play. The club will prevent any actions of unfair influence on the results of basketball matches. “Cherkasy Monkeys” for clean and honest sports!

Fonte: Cherkasy.

Trento expected to play without JaCorey Williams

Trento is currently sitting at the top of group D in EuroCup, holding a perfect 6-0 score.

But tonight, they are perhaps facing the hardest challenge this season in a Europe. They will play a rescheduled away game against Gran Canaria. Trento is already missing Davide Pascolo and Andrea Mezzanotte, but they are expected to also miss JaCorey Williams who got injured against Promitheas Patras and only played five minutes in that game.

Nizhny Novgorod facing Zaragoza without Astapkovich and with only 8 players

Nizhny Novgorod will start their European season tonight in Zaragoza. Because of the 11 positive cases of covid-19, the Russian team was in self-isolation and only started training this week.

Per the announcement on their website, they managed to have 3 team practices before traveling to Spain. As the general manager of the team Sergey Panov said, all the players have not yet fully recovered from their illness, and therefore only 8 players flew to Zaragoza.

As reported by Aragon Deporte here, Novgorod is also missing their leading scorer Anton Astapkovich (21.7 points per game in the VTB league).

Fonte: Nizhny Novgorod.

Chris McCullough, Rytas Vilnius reportedly parting ways

Former NBA forward Chris McCullough and Rytas Vilnius are reportedly parting ways.

According to Donatas Urbonas, today’s Basketball Champions League game against Strasbourg was his last one with Rytas. He finished with zero points in nine minutes on the court as Rytas won the game.

In the previous BCL game, he had 22 points in a loss to Peristeri. Meanwhile, in the Lithuanian league, he has averaged 8.8 points and five rebounds in eight games.

Fonte: Donatas Urbonas.

Erdogan parts ways with Galatasaray: “There’s no success without honesty”

Ertugrul Erdogan posted a tweet saying goodbye to Galatasaray and their fans after the head coach and the Turkish team parted ways.

“Without honesty, there is neither trust nor sustainable success. Thank you to everyone, mainly our fans, who supported me and my staff during my two and a half years at Galatasaray. My conscience is clear,” Erdogan tweeted.

Fonte: Ertugrul Erdogan.

Herbalife Gran Canaria ink AJ Slaughter

Herbalife Gran Canaria announced the agreement with AJ Slaughter.

The guard out of Western Kentucky spent last year in ACB with Coosur Real Betis, where he averaged 13.3 points and 1.9 assist per game, shooting 41% from beyond the arc.

Ben Moore signs with South East Melbourne Phoenix

Former San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers forward Ben Moore has signed with South East Melbourne Phoenix for the NBL21 season.

The 25-year-old American has signed a one-year deal as an import player.

Moore played four years of college basketball at Southern Methodist University (SMU) before spending the last three years splitting time between NBA and NBA G-League opportunities at San Antonio and Indiana.

At 203cm (6-8) and possessing a versatile skillset on both ends of the floor, Moore will spend time at both forward spots and the centre position for the Phoenix.

He says his assets will help turn the Phoenix into a tough, hard-edged team.

“It just sounded like a great opportunity for me and I think I could bring some things to the team that are really going to help them out, so I’m really excited about getting there. I heard the culture is already really good there so it should be a great fit,” Moore said.

“I’m going to play as hard as I can every game. Defensively, I’m going bring a lot to the team and I’m going to try to embody the (team) culture.

Fonte: South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Dwight Buycks, Nanterre 92 part ways

Dwight Buycks and Nanterre 92 have agreed to part ways, the french team announced.
The former Marquette guard averaged 6.4 points and 3 assist over 9 game between Jeep Elite and Eurocup.