When the transfer market dries up late in the summer, anything can become a story. That's what happened last week in international basketball. Leagues around the world are kicking off the season with quick domestic tournaments that are truthfully only a slight step above exhibition games. This is however a good opportunity for front offices and coaches to make any last-minute roster moves before the 2023-24 EuroLeague season gets underway. Both Olympiacos and Valencia made additions, and Partizan Belgrade is still on the hunt for an athletic center.
Additionally, everyone gets a little antsy as they wait for their seasons to begin — in the NBA and EuroLeague — and this can lead to some feisty debates, primarily online. We once again got one of those thanks to NBA Twitter legend Kevin Durant who decided to give his take on the revived debate about whether or not it is easier to score in the NBA than in Europe.
While these quiet times are what generate plenty of interactions like the one Kevin Durant had, expect there to still be plenty of action in the lead-up to and even the opening weeks of the EuroLeague season. Many teams, particularly those on smaller budgets, will continue to explore players they can sign.
As NBA teams make cuts from their training camp rosters, more talented players will become available who will be looking to impress in competitive basketball environments for the 2023-24 season. Luca Vildoza and Facundo Campazzo were in-season additions for Crvena Zvezda just last season.
Plenty of talented EuroLeague free-agent names are still on the market as well and there are some NBA names that EuroLeague teams should be keeping an eye on as transfer season winds down.
Here's a recap of what happened this week in EuroLeague.
EuroLeague transfers and rumors: Kevin Durant says "Y'all are insane," in response to people on Twitter saying EuroLeague is harder than the NBA
No one loves a good Twitter spat more than Kevin Durant, absolutely no one. The Phoenix Suns forward is never shy to make his opinion heard on the platform and willingly hops into conversation with just about anyone on there.
Durant joined a conversation relating to EuroLeague over the weekend. EuroLeague legend and Olimpia Milano center Kyle Hines said that "NBA is checkers and Europe is chess," in a recent interview and one basketball fan (among others) strongly agreed with the sentiment that EuroLeague is better. Durant decided he wasn't going to let that fly.
This is not the first time this topic has been debated on NBA Twitter. It started during the 2021-22 NBA season when Dallas Mavericks superstar and former EuroLeague superstar Luka Doncic said he thought it was easier to score in the NBA than in Europe. He expanded on this take on JJ Redick's The Old Man and the Three podcast where he added that he believes this because the NBA game is longer, played on a larger court, and has some key rule differences — such as no defensive three seconds. Redick did ask Doncic if he thought NBA players were better to close the discussion and Doncic said of course they are, way better.
With Doncic's context, his original take makes some sense but it is wrong and Durant is not only colorful but also correct. It is harder to score in the NBA. The players are better, way better, on both sides of the ball. It only looks easier because of how much better NBA players are. End of discussion.
EuroLeague transfers and rumors: Joel Embiid gets an ultimatum from the French Basketball Federation
Joel Embiid is the most coveted international basketball free agent currently. The reigning MVP is desired by Team USA, France, and his birth country of Cameroon. The Sixers center is yet to decide who he will suit up for in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and France has decided that he has until Oct. 10 to decide if it will be with Les Bleu's. French basketball President Jean-Pierre Siutat gave Embiid a deadline before the NBA season tips-off.
In a vacuum, this makes sense. Siutat likely does not want to be answering questions about Embiid potentially joining the team every day between now and next summer, so he's likely attempting to get it out of the way. Embiid would be a major addition for France, who had a very underwhelming performance at the 2023 FIBA World Cup where they were eliminated in the first phase of play following losses to Canada and Latvia. While the whole team was disappointing, Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was among their worst summer performers. Embiid would be a significant upgrade, and give them a great chance of winning the gold medal on home soil.
The ultimatum does seem a little silly, though. Say Embiid doesn't make a final decision on October 10. Then, next June, he decides he does want to play for France. Are they really going to tell him no, watch him suit up for Team USA, and then watch him bully Gober if the two sides meet? It would be stubborn, and perhaps this is a harmless move to appease press inquiries but if Siutat is being serious then it sounds like he already knows the answer.
EuroLeague transfers and rumors: Bruno Caboclo is regretting his decision to sign with Venezia
The early days of the 2023 EuroLeague offseason were dominated by Nikola Mirotic drama and Kemba Walker signing with AS Monaco. With those two commanding headlines, a few transactions didn't get the recognition they deserved. One of them was Brazilian center Bruno Caboclo signing with Reyer Venezia. Caboclo spent roughly six seasons in the NBA before returning to international club play during the 2020-21 season.
Last season, he was a star for Ratiopharm Ulm who won their first-ever Basket Bundesliga title thanks to his 14.93 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. He formed one of the most effective pick-and-roll duos in Europe with fellow Brazilian Yago Dos Santos.
Caboclo shockingly signed with Venezia very early in the summer, well before the FIBA World Cup even, and he is now regretting it. He is yet to report to training camp in Italy, and rumor has it he's hunting for an NBA deal. There were also rumors that Partizan was interested but the Serbian Club denied said rumors and told two separate representatives of Caboclo that they were not interested. Eventually, Caboclo will have to honor his contract.
EuroLeague transfers and rumors: Stefan Jovic signs with Valencia
After helping Serbia capture the gold medal and qualify for the 2024 Olympics via the 2023 FIBA World Cup, guard Stefan Jovic has decided to return to EuroLeague and has signed with Spanish club Valencia Basket. Jovic averaged 5.9 points and 5.6 assists per game with Serbia at the FIBA World Cup and spent last season in Spain with Casademont Zaragosa. He averaged 8.7 points and 4.15 assists in 20 games for them.
Jovic is an experienced hand who will help Valencia compete for a playoff spot. Aged 32, he is past his best but showed he can still be an impactful player with his defense and floor general abilities in the Philippines this summer. He will likely serve as backup or even play alongside Chris Jones and Jared Harper. Valencia may opt to use him more in domestic play as well and help rest their prime guards for EuroLeague games if the opportunity arises. If we've learned anything from Jovic's career, it's that he can be impactful in even the most limited of roles. This makes the transfer a smart signing by Valencia, who have everything to gain and nothing to lose following this transfer. Maybe, they have enough to make next season's play-in tournament.
EuroLeague transfers and rumors: Ignas Brazdeikis joins Olympiacos from Zalgiris Kaunas on a long-term deal
Olympiacos is still active on the transfer market following the losses of Kostas Sloukas and Sasha Vezenkov this summer. The Greek club has already added Nikola Milutinov, Luke Sikma, and Nigel Williams-Goss but those players won't be able to fill the scoring punch left by their two major departures.
The Reds have heavily pursued Kendrick Nunn all summer but the American guard has made it clear that he wants to exhaust all possible NBA opportunities before signing a permanent deal with an overseas team. Olympiacos decided they couldn't afford to wait any longer and added scoring on the wing by bringing in Lithuanian wing/forward Ignas Brazdeikis.
Only 24 years old, Brazdeikis was solid in his debut EuroLeague season for Zalgiris. He averaged 11.6 points per game for the Lithuanian club in EuroLeague. However, he was only an average spot-up player, averaging 0.86 points per possession which was right around league average but he did average 0.99 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ballhandler which was good enough for the 87th percentile per Synergy Sports.
It will be interesting to see how head coach Georgios Bartzokas decides to use Brazdeikis, who was not cheap. He signed a three-year contract and cost the Reds a 500,000 euro buyout. Brazdeikis is very good but it's hard to see him replacing what Vezenkov and Sloukas gave Olympiacos in terms of offensive firepower for at least this season, but perhaps he could reach that level in the future.
