2003-born Turkish big man Adem Bona is close to signing a deal with Serbian club Mega Bemax, according to Eurohopes.
Bona played a total of eight games in the Turkish BSL and FIBA Europe Cup last season with Pinar Karsiyaka.
He averaged 14.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4 blocks per game in the 2019 U16 European Championship.
Fonte: Eurohopes.
Johnathan Williams has signed a deal with Galatasaray of the Turkish BSL and Basketball Champions League, the team announced.
Williams, 25, has played 39 games in the NBA with the Lakers and Wizards. He also spent some time in Europe with Maccabi Rishon LeZion last season, averaging 11.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in the EuroCup and Israeli Winner League.
Fonte: Galatasaray.
Hapoel Holon announced the arrival of Oded Brandwein.
The pointuard spent last season with Maccabi Ashdod, where he averaged 4.9 points and 1.7 assist per game.
Brandon Paul is back in China. The former NBA player reached an agreement with Zhejiang Chouzhou, a source tells Sportando.
Paul will have a free out for the entire world is China doesn’t open borders due to Covid issues.
The American spent last season in Greece with Olympiacos averaging 8,6ppg in EuroLeague.
Hapoel Beer Sheva announced the signing of Eric Griffin.
The forward spent the last season with the Adelaide 36ers in NBL, where he averaged 14 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
הפורוורד אריק גריפין (29 ,2.03) חתם בקבוצה.
גריפין בוגר מכללת קמפבל יוניברסיטי (2012) החל את דרכו האירופית בפיליני מהליגה השנייה באיטליה ובהמשך חתם שלוש פעמים בקבוצות NBA – מיאמי (13/14), דאלאס (14/15) ודטרויט (15/16). pic.twitter.com/QUfimXQfQJ— Hapoel Be'er Sheva BC (@BeerShevaBasket) September 5, 2020
Galatasaray is in discussions with Johnathan Williams, a source told Sportando.
The forward out of Gonzaga spent the last season between Israel, G League and NBA.
Williams played 4 games with the Washington Wizards in the Orlando ‘Bubble’, scoring 5 points and grabbing 16 rebounds against the Boston Celtics.
With Maccabi Rishon Lezion he averaged 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in Eurocup, and 12.2 points plus 10.4 boards in Winner league.
Galatasaray is in discussions with former NBAer Johnathan Williams, a source tells @Sportando.
Williams has played with Lakers (6.5ppg and 4.1rpg) and Wizards (3ppg and 4.3rpg) in the NBA.— Emiliano Carchia (@Carchia) September 5, 2020
Openjobmetis Varese announced the firing of coach Attilio Caja.
Coach #Caja sollevato dall’incarico di allenatore della Openjobmetis. Qui il comunicato ➡️ https://t.co/uq5PAcJVRQ pic.twitter.com/jkMifgqzjz
— Pallacanestro Varese (@PallVarese) September 5, 2020
According to recent reports, the decision was based on the relationship between Caja and the front office and not how the team has been doing on the court.
Despite re-signing this summer, Sterling Gibbs will not join Koper Primorska and he’s already on the market looking for a new team, a source told Sportando. Gibbs joined Primorska last winter, where he played 6 games in the ABA league, averaging 12.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
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The Cairns Taipans have announced the re-signing of young forward George Blagojevic on a two-year deal with the second year being a Club option.
Blagojevic joined the Taipans to begin his professional basketball career, after graduating from the University of Hartford in May last year.
The AIS alum was recruited by the NCAA Division I Hartford Hawks and averaged 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior. He remains in a small elite group of Hartford players in their 1,000-Point/500-Rebound Club.
The Taipans rookie had limited opportunities to hit the court in his first year, but has remained in Cairns throughout the off-season to train with the team; despite the cancellation of NBL1. Most recently Blagojevic put on a show in the “Top of the North” series against Townsville, putting up 40 points across both games.
Taipans Head Coach Mike Kelly said that the 23-year old is yet to reach his potential in the NBL and has been extremely focused on fighting for more minutes this upcoming season.
“Last season George showed flashes of his ability to become a strong NBL rotation player, and his hard work and love of the game is paying off in the way he’s been training this off-season,” said Kelly.
“We’re trying to grow as a team and get better with the building blocks from last year. George has had to fight and scratch for every minute on the court and it’s been fun to see him rise to the challenge.
“This season, I’m expecting all the guys to step up, including George. He’s going to get more opportunities and I know he’s going to be ready to take it.”
Blagojevic and assistant coach Jamie O’Loughlin will continue their longstanding player-coach relationship, both originally from Geelong and uniting on multiple campaigns with the Emerging Boomers, Basketball Victoria, Cairns Marlins, Geelong Supercats and now back-to-back seasons with the Taipans.
Blagojevic joins Nate Jawai, Kouat Noi, Jarrod Kenny, Mirko Djeric, Fabijan Krslovic, Jordan Ngatai, Majok Deng and Mojave King with two remaining import spots available for 2020-21.
LOCAL ROSTER COMPLETE ✅
The Taipans are pleased to reveal they have re-signed George Blagojevic for another season!
📙: https://t.co/oEO2HO3Lsb pic.twitter.com/xLDEulUT45
— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) September 3, 2020
Italian Serie A club Openjobmetis Varese are firing head coach Attilio Caja, according to the local newspaper La Prealpina.
The decision was based on the relationship between Caja and the front office and not how the team has been doing on the court.
Fonte: La Prealpina.
Rene Kindzeka has signed a deal with Eisbaren Bremerhaven of the German Pro A, the team announced.
Kindzeka spent last season with the Hamburg Towers in the Bundesliga.
Fonte: Eisbaren Bremerhaven.
Rookie guard Darius Roy has agreed to sign his first professional deal with Greek club Larissa, according to SDNA.
Roy averaged 15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, three assists and 1.4 steals per game in his senior year at Milwaukee.
Fonte: SDNA.
Former Missouri State center Will Creekmore has joined the Shiga Lakestars, the team announced.
Creekmore spent last season with the Ibaraki Robots.
Fonte: Shiga Lakestars.
Former Indiana guard Nick Zeisloft has signed a deal with Ionikos BC in Greece, the team announced.
Zeisloft spent last season in the NBA G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors and in the Spanish Liga ACB with Tenerife.
Fonte: Ionikos BC.
Latvian forward Roberts Freimanis signed with AVIS UTILITAS Rapla, the Estonian team announced.
Freimanis spent last season with VEF Riga.
Fonte: AVIS UTILITAS Rapla.
Haywood Highsmith has signed a deal with Merlins Crailsheim of the German Bundesliga, the team announced.
The 23-year-old forward spent last season in the NBA G League with the Delaware Blue Coats, averaging 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Highsmith appeared in five NBA games with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018-19.
Fonte: HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
Rookie forward Dantez Walton has signed with Kataja Basket in Finland, the team announced.
Walton just finished up his college career at Northern Kentucky. He averaged 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in his senior year.
Fonte: Kataja Basket.
AJ Ogilvy has reached an agreement to return to the Illawarra Hawks for the next season, Olgun Uluc reports.
Last year the big man out of Vanderbilt averaged 8.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2 assist per game.
AJ Ogilvy has signed a one-year deal to return to the Hawks, sources told ESPN.
— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) September 4, 2020
Sydney Kings veteran Daniel Kickert will suit up for the purple and gold for another season after re-signing with the Club on a one-year deal.
Heading into his seventh NBL season, the sharp-shooter has earned a name for himself for his exceptional offensive efficiency.
In both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons he shot the ball at over 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three point range and 90 percent from the free throw line, becoming the first player in NBL history to join the illustrious ‘50-40-90’ Club.
He played an influential role off the bench last season, helping to lead the Club to their first Grand Final appearance since 2008 and a Minor Premiership, and is looking forward to continuing that success into NBL21.
“We’re very excited to be staying with the Kings for another season” Kickert shared.
“We’ve settled down, and we’re very happy here in Sydney. I’m enjoying the direction the Club is heading and love being a part of it, so for me to have an opportunity to play another year here is both exciting and very rewarding for me”.
Kings Head Coach Will Weaver is also pleased to be welcoming back the experienced leader.
“Daniel Kickert obviously contributes massively on the court, but who he is as a teammate and a leader is what I value the most” Weaver said.
“To keep him, his wife Erica, and their two young daughters as parts of our Kings family is something we’re all thrilled about”.
With changes made earlier this year to reduce the roster size for the NBL21 season, Kickert becomes the Kings tenth signing, with just one roster spot remaining. He is now also the eighth player that the Club has retained from 2019-20 squad which Kickert believes will be a tremendous benefit heading into next season.
“You always want to improve on the things that you did the year before, but I think the ability to pick up from where we left off is going to be a huge advantage for us” Kickert said.
“We’ll change a few things and add new things, but it’s an exciting time at this time of year to be able to experiment a little bit. The continuity and familiarity with each other and the system, it just cuts down on that early stage confusion when teams are trying to gel” Kickert shared.
Weaver agreed the continuity of the roster has proven to be the blueprint for successful NBL teams in the past.
“We obviously want to create a club that players want to play at. The first real test of whether we’ve done that or not is when players have the option to leave, do they?”
“For Dan to be re-joining seven of his teammates from last season, with the potential for more, is certainly something that we don’t take for granted and reflects that we’re on the right track” Weaver shared.
Kickert joins Casper Ware, Brad Newley, Xavier Cooks, Shaun Bruce, Craig Moller, Angus Glover, Dejan Vasiljevic, Jordan Hunter and Didi Louzada as contracted players for the upcoming season.
Fonte: Sidney Kings.
Kerem Kanter is a new player of Kolossos, the greek team announced.
Kanter is the first Turkish athlete to play for Kolossos.
The big man out of Xavier spent last season with Joventut Badalona, averaging 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game between ACB and Eurocup.
Fonte: Kolossos.
Sidy N’dir signed a one-year contract with Antibes Sharks, the french team announced.
The guard out of Pittsburgh ended his rookie year with 5.3 points and 1.7 assist per game for Evreux.
Nous sommes heureux d’annoncer la signature de l’arrière Sidy N’dir pour la saison 202-2021 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Vo7P2Q76pJ
— Antibes Sharks (@SharksAntibes) September 3, 2020
Serbian center Miroslav Raduljica has agreed to a deal with Chinese side Zhejiang Lions, as confirmed by the player’s agent to Nova.rs.
Raduljica comes off three seasons with Jiangsu Dragons: he averaged 25.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in 2019-20.
Fonte: Nova.rs.
American guard Durand Scott is considering an offer from Israeli 2nd Division club Maccabi Ashdod, a source told Sportando. Scott played two games in Hungary last season averaging 18.5ppg.
Giessen 46ers announced the signing of Ferdinand Zylka.
The German player born in 1998 comes from MBC.
Fonte: Giessen 46ers.
American forward J.R. Holder has signed a deal with Abejas de Leon in Mexico, the team announced.
Holder played eight games in the Israeli Winner League last season, averaging 14.1 points and 3.6 rebounds for Maccabi Ashdod.
Fonte: Abejas de Leon.
Croatian youngster Mario Rajčić has signed with KK Škrljevo. Rajčić, who was in the past a part of the Croatian youth national teams, previously played in Split.
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is returning to the Bakken Bears, the team announced. He signed a one-month deal to help the Bears qualify for the Basketball Champions League regular season.
Akoon-Purcell had a breakout season with the Bears in 2017-18 that parlayed into an NBA two-way deal with the Denver Nuggets for the following campaign.
Fonte: Bakken Bears.
Polish point guard Kamil Laczynski has signed a deal with Basketball Champions League club MKS Start Lublin.
Laczynski spent last season with Slask Wroclaw, averaging 10.3 points and 6.4 assists per game in the Polish EBL.
Fonte: MKS Start Lublin.
FC Barcelona confirmed difficulties under the rim during the pre-season as reported by Mundo Deportivo .
Spanish Powerhouse will seek a big man only during the NBA Free agency in mid-October.
Gal Gilinski penned a deal with Ironi Nahariya.
The player comes from Ramat Hasharon where he averaged 8.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.
גל גילינסקי, ששיחק בשנים האחרונות בליגה הלאומית, חתם בעירוני נהריה. המאמן דני פרנקו: "סט היכולות שלו מתאים לליגת העל" pic.twitter.com/SNAbsIwKXD
— Winner League (@WinnerLeague) September 2, 2020