HoopsHype.com Rumors

Chris Quinn will leave Valencia when his one-month contract with the Spanish team will expire, Solobasket reports. The American guard with NBA experience was averaging 9ppg, 2rpg and 2apg in ACB. Sportando

Chris Quinn, Spain, Valencia Basket 

Guess who Kobe's talking about: "I don't think I've ever seen a player really at any level in any sport play ..." "I don't think I've ever seen a player really at any level in any sport play at such a high level of efficiency. He's just been phenomenal." Bryant was praising Barcelona's Lionel Messi. "The year that Messi is having is just off the charts." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, FC Barcelona, Spain, Lionel Messi 

In some ways, Teletovic has typified the Nets' early-season growing pains. He is still figuring things out. Now, he appears in danger of becoming a forgotten man on coach Avery Johnson's bench. Teletovic didn't make his way onto the court until the fourth quarter of Friday night's 107-68 rout of the Orlando Magic. He finished with five points on 2-of-4 shooting. "Talking to other European players who came here for their first year, they told me it's a process," said Teletovic, who spent the past six seasons with Caja Laboral of the Spanish League. "You have to get used to it. It's not only basketball; it's life around basketball. It'll take time. But I'm confident." Wall Street Journal

Brooklyn Nets, Caja Laboral, Spain, Mirza Teletovic 

Spanish team Lagun Aro made official the signing of Jermaine Taylor for the season. The American guard with NBA experience spent last season in D-League with Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Sportando

Free Agency, Spain, Jermaine Taylor, Lagun Aro 

Cajasol Sevilla added for the next month Robert Dozier. The American player with French passport was waived by the Heat during the training camp and decided to return to Europe. Sportando

Spain, Robert Dozier 

Lagun Aro is close to a deal with Jermaine Taylor. El Mundo Deportivo

Spain, Jermaine Taylor 

Chris Quinn is officially a new player of Valencia. The American guard returns to Europe after a season in Russia with Khimki where he won Eurocup title. Sportando

Chris Quinn, Spain, Valencia Basket 

Chris Quinn will soon sign with Valencia Basket. Solobasket

Free Agency, Chris Quinn, Spain, Valencia Basket 

I think I agree with the general consensus that having NBA players participate in the 1992 Olympics fanned the flames of worldwide interest. When Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and the other members of that Dream Team showed the world how exciting and competitive the top level of the game was, something changed. More and more players from outside the U.S. chose basketball as their favorite sport, and the results have been spectacular. Pau Gasol was among those motivated to play basketball by what he saw at the '92 Olympics. The international game, which had grown to the point of eclipsing U.S. college players, might have taken longer to reach the current level had Stern not backed the participation of NBA players in the Olympics. ESPN.com

Pau Gasol, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, David Stern, Spain, Olympics 

You tried two times to play to the NBA, through the summer league. It is still a dream of yours or you feel like Europe (actually Spain) is your home? “I’ve tried several times to play there and I made good games at the practices, but I found my place in Europe and I’ll like to keep playing at this level in a club like Real Madrid. But of course I still want to play in the NBA, so I’ll have to think a lot about it if the possibility to play in the NBA appears”. EuroHoops.net

Real Madrid, Spain, Jaycee Carroll 

The turn for the worse has been quick for Italy, Spain and Greece. Between 2006 and 2010, 67.5 percent of the players that signed overseas before the start of the NBA regular season ended up in one of the three leagues. During the lockout year, that figure went down to 26.2 percent. This season, it's 11.7 percent. Economics obviously lie behind the downward trend. "The Spanish ACB used to be the top league, but the fundamentals of what they can afford have changed quite a bit," agent Mark Bartelstein said. "The middle to lower level teams have taken a big hit. Players that maybe were making $250,000 (for a year) are making $80,000 to $100,000 now." HoopsHype

Spain 

Lin felt this acutely. He tells me, to my shock, that when he graduated from Harvard in 2010 and wasn't selected in the NBA Draft, he decided that if it turned out that he needed to play overseas (as is commonplace for those who don't make the NBA), he was going to give himself one more year, and then he would quit and get a real job. "I absolutely would not have liked playing in Spain or somewhere like that, so I was just gonna do it a year," he says. "Then I was gonna be done." As a Harvard graduate, I ask him, what would you have done instead? He laughs. "I have no idea, man." Lin really was that close to hanging up his sneakers at 23. GQ.com

Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Spain, Jeremy Lin 

The Spanish basketball team "trashed their apartments" after losing to the USA in the final and a Moroccan athlete took out a sprinkler system that crashed through several floors by playing with a remote control aircraft. The Guardian

FIBA, Spain, Olympics 

Total cost of the damages was 9,000 pounds (around $14,400). El Pais

FIBA, Spain, Olympics 

Sources say players were scolded for their behavior (by the Spanish Federation). Farewell parties are common when National Team players finish a tournament following one month and a half of preparation and competition. El Pais

FIBA, Spain, Olympics 

"I like his game," Randolph said. "The kid can play. He has to come into his own. But that kid has a shot. I don't think he's physical enough to be in the NBA as a power forward or center as of now. But he can play small forward the way he shoots. He can move real well. I didn't see a lot of ball-handling skills, but he'll be all right." Mirotic, 21, is expected to play for Real Madrid for at least two more seasons. But Bulls management remains extremely high on the 6-foot-10 forward who averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in Real Madrid's two exhibition games stateside against the Grizzlies and Raptors. "He can shoot," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "He knows how to play. It's about getting stronger and learning the NBA game. It's so much more aggressive and physical. Over (in Europe), guys just stay on the perimeter and shoot. Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, Zach Randolph, Real Madrid, Spain, Lionel Hollins, Nikola Mirotic 

That ease of mind feels like the product of a man who has done his homework. Claver carefully weighed his decision to come to the NBA from overseas after a lengthy courting process by Blazers management. In July, he decided the timing was right, signing a 3-year contract worth a reported $4 million. Part of his due diligence involved talks with Fernandez, who went from hero to goat during three seasons in the Rose City. "What he explained to me about Portland was that everything was good," Claver told Blazersedge. "He liked Portland. He enjoyed the people and the fans. The team. Maybe it wasn't what he expected before he came. At the end, he wasn't as comfortable as he thought." Blazers Edge

Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Victor Claver, Real Madrid, Spain 

“Barca is a great team. I admire the way they pass, move the ball, cut and make screens.’’ -- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle after Tuesday's 99-85 loss to FC Barcelona Regal Sulia

Dallas Mavericks, Coaching, FC Barcelona, Spain, Rick Carlisle 

To most basketball fans this is a picture of Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle posing with his opposite number for tonight's game, Barcelona's head coach Xavi Pascual. But NBA.com have mistaken Pascual, who has led Barcelona to the Euroleague title in 2010 as well as a Final Four appearance in 2012 as a fan posing with the 2011 NBA title winning coach. From NBA.com: "Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks poses for a portrait with a fan during practice at Palau Blaugrana during NBA Europe Live 2012 on October 8, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain." TalkBasket

Dallas Mavericks, Coaching, FC Barcelona, Spain, Rick Carlisle, Xavi Pascual 

Despite the Lakers' early playoff exit, Gasol became a driving force two months later at the Olympics. He got Spain to the gold-medal game and had 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a surprisingly close 107-100 loss to Team USA. When it was over, Kobe Bryant found Gasol and hugged his Lakers teammate. "It was a tough moment for me," Gasol said at the time. "He came all the way to our bench. It was a great gesture from him." Said Bryant: "I just told him I loved him and he did a fantastic job. He played his heart out. I told him to get some rest because we've got a long [season] coming up. "He said he would. He said he's going to be ready." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, USA Basketball, Spain, Olympics