HoopsHype.com Rumors

David 'Dubi' Pick: Whispers from London hint Serbian coach Zeljko Obradovic flirts with Milano & Fenerbahce. Claim he's upon financial agreement with Ulker. Twitter @IAmDPick

Coaching, Italy, Turkey, Zeljko Obradovic 

Simone Pianigiani, coach of the Italian National Team, lost Danilo Gallinari due to a torn ACL, will likely have Andrea Bargnani in Slovenia for Eurobasket 2013. Il Mago missed the second part of the NBA season due to an elbow injury but from May Bargnani will be in Rome to workout. "Andrea Bargnani will land in Rome in May and he will work with the physical trainer Cuzzolin. Datome? He will be in Slovenia. Belinelli? He cares of the Italian National Team. But in July we will decide he is going to play Eurobasket" said Pianigiani in a press conference. Sportando

Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Danilo Gallinari, Italy, Andrea Bargnani 

Jordan Taylor re-signed with Virtus Roma for one more year, as Sportando anticipated yesterday. The new contract of the American PG is till June 2014. In the new agreement there is also an NBA Escape to exercise by August 1. Sportando

Italy, Jordan Taylor 

Pops Mensah-Bonsu had an agreement in principle with Cimberio Varese but in the last hours Olimpia Milano made a better offer for him and the British forward decided to accept the proposal of the club coached by Sergio Scariolo. Pops, whose agent is the same as Scariolo, had already the flight booked to join Varese this week and make his debut in the weekend against Vanoli Cremona when Olimpia Milano entered in the negotiations convincing the player to join them. Sportando

Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Italy, Cimberio Varese, Olimpia Milano 

Montepaschi Siena made official the signing of Dionte Chrismtas. The American guard was free agent after his short stint in Russia with CSKA Moscow. Christmas started the season in NBA with Boston Celtics who cut him during the training camp. Sportando

Italy, Montepaschi Siena, Dionte Christmas 

Gallinari will likely be in Slovenia, but to cheer and support his teammates. "It is impossible for me to play at Eurobasket in September. In the summer I will work on my knee and I hope to be ready for beginning of the new season" said Gallinari, as reported by Gazzetta.it. "But I will be close to coach Pianigiani and my teammates. I have been talking with all of them after the injury and If I can, I would love to be in Slovenia to cheer for the team" added Gallinari who confirmed that he has not made a decision yet on where he will have surgery. Sportando

Denver Nuggets, Injuries, Danilo Gallinari, Italy, Eurobasket 

After John Hammond of the Bucks and Bryan Colangelo of the Raptors, Danny Ainge was the third NBA manager to travel to Rome to scout Gigi Datome. The President of the Boston Celtics attended the Serie A game between Virtus Roma and Sidigas Avellino won by the guest 81-75 after one overtime. Sportando

Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge, Italy, Virtus Roma, Gigi Datome 

Dionte Christmas: “@drbad_: @Dchristmas22 Dionte, you join to Siena?”< Twitter

Italy, Dionte Christmas, Siena 

Mens Sana Siena agreed to terms with Dionte Christmas, according to Il Corriere dello Sport. The American guard started the season with the Boston Celtics who cut him during the training camp. Then Christmas joined CSKA Moscow with whom he has played a couple of months. Sportando

Italy, Dionte Christmas, Siena 

Danilo Gallinari torn his ACL and at once lost his chance to finish the NBA Season and to play Eurobasket 2013 in Slovenia with the Italian National Team. Gallinari will have surgery in a couple of weeks even if he has not decided yet where he will have the procedure. Il Gallo talked with La Gazzetta dello Sport about his last two difficult days. "After the injury I got several phone calls. Friday I had to charge my phone four times. But I replied to everyone" said Gallinari. "So far I just put ice on the knee and had electrical stimulation. Fortunately the knee is not swollen too much. I don't feel too much pain when I don't move it. Mentally I am ok. I am already focused on the surgery. I look forward to start working again on it after the procedure. I still don't know where I will have surgery. Steadman in Vail is an option but I did not rule out the chance to have surgery in Italy. Sportando

Denver Nuggets, Injuries, Danilo Gallinari, Italy 

Danilo Gallinari: National Team? This is another topic that makes me sad. I've thought a lot about the National Team over the last two days. I was convinced that we could do a great Eurobasket in September. This season I was doing my best because I knew that it would happen something great both with the Nuggets and Italian National Team. I was very happy to make the playoffs in NBA. I felt that this was the right season. Sportando

Denver Nuggets, Danilo Gallinari, Italy, Eurobasket 

Bryan Colangelo was yesterday in Rome to see the practice of Virtus. The president and GM of the Toronto Raptors talked with the three NBA prospects of Virtus at the end of practice: Gigi Datome, Gani Lawal and Jordan Taylor. Gigi Datome was the main reason of Colangelo's trip in the Italian capital. The captain of Virtus Roma could move to the NBA next season, despite one year remaining on his contract with Virtus. Sportando

Toronto Raptors, Bryan Colangelo, Italy, Gani Lawal, Virtus Roma, Jordan Taylor, Gigi Datome 

After the tough win against the Chicago Bulls, Danilo Gallinari in an interview with Gazzetta.it confirmed that he will be with the Italian National Team at Eurobasket 2013 in Slovenia. Il Gallo had a meeting in USA with Gianni Petrucci, new president of the Italian Federation and Simone Pianigiani, coach of the National Team. "We have talked about National Team. It was great to have both of them here in America. I gave them my availability for the National Team this summer" said Gallinari. Sportando

Denver Nuggets, Danilo Gallinari, Italy, Eurobasket 

Word is that Dallas made a determined push this spring to try extricate speedy point guard Bobby Brown of Cal State Fullerton fame from his Italian team Montepaschi Siena, but the price was too high to get the 28-year-old during the season. Brown has been one of the best players in Europe in 2012-13 and, after stints with the Kings, Wolves, Clippers and Hornets, is expected to return to the NBA next season with several teams interested. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, Sacramento Kings, Free Agency, Italy, Bobby Brown, Montepaschi Siena 

Said Simone Sandri, NBA correspondent for Italy's famed La Gazzetta dello Sport and a former professional soccer player in his country's Serie B and Serie C divisions with, among others, his hometown club Novara: "If I have to cast my vote, I have to say LeBron. Leo is obviously having another fantastic season, but LeBron, in my opinion, is having a bigger impact. Barca is such a machine that I really believe, for the sake of argument, that they could afford a Messi injury and still reach some of their goals at the end of the season. "It's hard to imagine the same thing for the LeBron-less Heat. I would have to say that, right now, LeBron is bigger threat to his opponents. Not to put Messi down, but shutting Messi down does not mean shutting Barca down. That's a team that can hurt you in many ways. Shutting down LeBron doesn't guarantee you a win over the Heat, either, but it's a bigger step in that direction." ESPN.com

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Media, FC Barcelona, Spain, Italy, Lionel Messi, Simone Sandri 

Gigi Datome, captain and star of Virtus Roma, may sign in the NBA next season. The forward of the Italian National team is having his best season in Serie A, where he scores 17.8ppg with 5.8rpg shooting with 53.9% from two and 46.1% from the arc in 21 games played. Datome, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, is drawing interest from at least three NBA teams and one of them are the Boston Celtics. Sportando

Boston Celtics, Italy, Virtus Roma, Gigi Datome 

Recently, Datome changed also his agent moving from Side by Side (owned by Toto Ricciotti, former agent of Andrea Bargnani) to Sigma Sports of Matteo Comellini. 'I am sure he can have a future in the NBA' said his teammate in Roma, Jordan Taylor. 'He is a great shooter and player. Several teams may need a player like him' added former Wisconsin PG in an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Taylor also has NBA goals and one of his targets is to be at the NBA Summer League in July. Taylor is averaging 11.5ppg with 2.7rpg and 2.5apg. At the same time, Virtus Roma started as well negotiations with Taylor to keep him in the team for one more season. Sportando

Italy, Virtus Roma, Gigi Datome 

Free agent forward Kris Joseph, recently waived by the Boston Celtics, is looking at options from several overseas teams right now, agent Chris Grier-Luchey told HoopsHype. Grier-Luchey said Joseph has offers from Italy, France and China, but may also consider playing in the D-League and wait for a 10-day contract. HoopsHype

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, China, Italy, France, Kris Joseph 

Bobby Brown, in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, denied the report that he may leave Siena for the NBA this season. "NBA? I read about that. But I am in Siena, I love being here and I will stay here. At the beginning of the season, I had to learn how to play in Serie A. I want to be the leader of the team. Coming to Siena was the right choice for me. There is a winning tradition and I want to win. It is the best team where I have played in my entire career, NBA included. I feel like at home. I love the city and the people. To stay? It is a possibility. I want to play where I am a key player in the roster. I don't want to come off the bench. I want to be right player for my team. But it is too early to talk about my future, let's think about this season" said Brown. Sportando

Italy, Bobby Brown, Montepaschi Siena 

Olimpia Milano has an agreement with Pops Mensah-Bonsu since last week, as Sportando reported. The agreement between the two parts was confirmed yesterday to us by another source close to the British forward. But his arrival in Milano for the physicals, expected for this week, has been likely delayed a few days. Sportando

Free Agency, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Italy, Olimpia Milano