HoopsHype.com Rumors

In what will surely be one of the most important moves of the summer, Fenerbahce Ulker announced the signing of point guard Bo McCalebb to a three-year deal. Sportando

Turkey, Fenerbahce Ulker, Bo McCalebb 

Emiliano Carchia: According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Fenerbahce is finalizing a deal with Bo McCalebb (I don't have confirmation on that) Twitter

Free Agency, Bo McCalebb 

Emiliano Carchia: Spurs are interested in Bo McCalebb but the buyout is not satisfying for Mens Sana Siena Twitter

San Antonio Spurs, Free Agency, Bo McCalebb 

Emiliano Carchia: Rumor is that Siena is asking around 2M of euro to sell Bo McCalebb. So his departure for the NBA is very unlikely this summer Twitter

Free Agency, Bo McCalebb 

Emiliano Carchia: As per source, NBA teams showed interest in Bo McCalebb. He has no buyout in his contract and Siena wants to monetize at most his departure Twitter

Free Agency, Bo McCalebb 

Bo McCalebb released a long interview to Tuttosport. The PG of Mens Sana Siena didn't want to talk about his future because he is too focused on the Serie A Playoffs who will start today with Montepaschi facing Cimberio Varese in the quarterfinals. "European basket is very tough. If we reach the final, we will finish the season at the end of June and on July 2 we have the first game of the Pre- Olympic Tournament. NBA? It is obvious that I would love to play there but this is not the right moment to think about that. I am too focused on Siena and the playoffs. My future? As I have just said, it is too early to talk. At the end of the season we will sit with Siena and talk" said McCalebb who has still contract with Montepaschi Siena for the next two years. Sportando

Free Agency, Italy, Montepaschi Siena, Bo McCalebb 

Emiliano Carchia: According to same rumors (Il Corriere dello Sport): Siena will keep David Andersen and Bo McCalebb (both have contracts). Twitter

Italy, David Andersen, Montepaschi Siena, Bo McCalebb 

Bo McCalebb said again, after the interview he had with HoopsHype, that his future is in Europe. Bo McCalebb was recently third in FIBA Europe Awards after Dirk Nowitzki and Juan Carlos Navarro. Sportando

Bo McCalebb 

"It is a huge honour for me that I have reached the podium in the awards right behind two great basketball champions. I am playing a very good basketball, I am happy for me and for my team. NBA? I am not thinking about that right now. It is not the right moment to move to the NBA. Siena is my priority. Everyone knows me here and I love talking to the people" said McCalebb, as reported by Il Corriere dello Sport. Sportando

Bo McCalebb 

Mark Woods: Dirk Nowitzki named FIBA Europe Player of the Year, ahead of Juan Carlos Navarro and Bo McCalebb Twitter

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Juan Carlos Navarro, Bo McCalebb 

The success he continues to experience in Europe is sure to draw interest from the NBA next summer. The explosive 6-foot guard could help a lot of teams bringing a scoring spark off the bench. If you ask McCalebb, though, the NBA can keep waiting for him. "I'm going to be in Europe next season," McCalebb told HoopsHype. "I've had success in Europe and I want to build on that. I'm getting comfortable here and maybe it's not the right time to leave right now." HoopsHype

Bo McCalebb 

Marc Stein: As Jamal Crawford and JJ Barea keep weighing their overseas options, sources say Xinjiang of China now chasing EuroBasket star Bo McCalebb. Xinjiang trying to buy McCalebb out of contract w/Siena (Italy). Chinese team wants to move fast after losing Quincy Douby to wrist injury Twitter

Lockout, Quincy Douby, China, Jamal Crawford, Bo McCalebb 

Each national team in Europe is allowed a naturalized player and Lekic saw McCalebb as a key addition to a team that had been steadily improving for six years. "Usually you need to take a few months to check the personality, to check the qualities and character ... with Bo we were without worries," he said. "A few times we went out for coffee and colas and we were soon laughing at jokes; he was Macedonian after two weeks already," added Lekic. CNN.com

Bo McCalebb, Macedonia 

McCalebb spends a month each year training with the Macedonian national squad and admits to only knowing "the bad stuff" when it comes to speaking the language. It was a surprise to get a call from Lekic, he admits, but unconcerned by any culture shock (or loss of U.S. citizenship) he also saw the chance to represent Macedonia as a way to boost his own career. "I talked to a lot of older players and they said you can play longer with a (European) passport; I didn't even think about it, I just said yes." CNN.com

Bo McCalebb, Macedonia 

Bo McCalebb on the NBA: " I don't like it, I want to keep growing in Europe." El Pais

Bo McCalebb, Macedonia 

On Friday, McCalebb, 26, will lead Macedonia into a David vs. Goliath matchup against Spain, the defending European champion, which is led by Pau and Marc Gasol. But how did a guy from New Orleans end up starring in what could be the sequel to “Hoosiers” in an obscure former Yugoslav republic? “I was playing in Serbia last year and I got a call from the Macedonians — they asked me to play for them,” explained McCalebb, who grew up in the Algiers section of New Orleans and went on to play at the University of New Orleans. He bounced around professional leagues in Turkey and Serbia before signing a contract with an Italian club, Montepaschi Siena, last summer. “I didn’t ask any questions about the place,” he said. “I just said, ‘Yes,’ and I got a plane for Skopje the next day.” New York Times

Bo McCalebb, Macedonia 

Three days later, Bo McCalebb had morphed into Borche McCalebbovski, a newly minted citizen of a country he was previously only vaguely aware of. “Every team has the right to one naturalized player,” explained Dejan Lekic, the secretary general of Macedonia’s basketball federation. “He came, he liked our country, he liked us and everyone liked him. He is Macedonian in full now.” New York Times

Bo McCalebb, Macedonia 

Lekic said some European countries paid non-Europeans large sums to play for their teams, but added that Macedonia could not afford to pay McCalebb. “Our annual budget for our entire federation is only 350,000 euros, which is like pocket change for some of the stars playing in this tournament,” Lekic said. New York Times

Bo McCalebb, Macedonia 

Lekic said that the team’s triumphs and McCalebb’s popularity had crossed ethnic and religious lines — no small feat in a country that experienced a brief but violent conflict between ethnic Albanian nationalists and the central government in 2001. “When we play, the entire country stops what they are doing,” he said. “Even our Albanian population is rooting for us, which is important for unifying us a country.” New York Times

Bo McCalebb, Macedonia 

“I’m here right now. I’m not thinking about the NBA,” said McCalebb, who said his buyout with Siena would cost more than $1 million. “Maybe in a couple of years, but I’ve got my career in Europe and that’s all I’m thinking about right now.” SheridanHoops

Free Agency, Bo McCalebb