Mike Foster, the 6-foot-10 Class of 2021 power forward from Hillcrest Prep (AZ), has been offered a two-year deal to play in the Australian NBL, according to his mentor, Chianti Clay. “Australia just offered an exclusive 2-year deal,” Clay said Saturday. Foster, ranked No. 7 in the 2021 ESPN 60, is considering the option along with others, Clay said.
Australia Rumors
In the two years since, Colangelo has scarcely spoken publicly about the incident. When he spoke to the Herald from Arizona, he knew it was the elephant in the room. “I haven’t addressed it very much over the course of the last two years. I have stayed very much under the radar on the topic because it’s a sensitive topic, for a lot of reasons,” Colangelo said. “Family, personal, professional, or otherwise. I have to say I was dealt a pretty big blow, personally and professionally. And it’s been a difficult time dealing with the fallout. I was completely blindsided by the accusation and the storyline of the controversy.”
“Once that investigation was completed and I was absolved, I felt the appropriate thing to do – in conjunction with ownership there in Philly – was to mutually walk away. “It was a difficult decision and a difficult time for me. But I have to say, it was a very, very difficult time for my family. Because of some of the reasons that came to light, it was something I thought was important not to talk about, quite frankly. And we’re still dealing with that. “But the No.1 thing I thought needed to happen was trying to stay positive; preserve and love my family, protect their interests, emotionally or otherwise. And frankly, two years on, it’s gone. It’s in the past and I’m ready to move on.”
This answer also shows Colangelo doesn’t deserve credibility. He wasn’t absolved. It was untrue when Colangelo said it at the time, and it’s untrue now. The investigators concluded only that they found no forensic evidence that proved Colangelo knew of the Twitter accounts before they became public – and that they had a significant impediment to finding that evidence. Bottini deleted the contents of her phone before surrendering it for review.
Australian centre Isaac Humphries has agreed to sign a two-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers, sources have told ESPN. Humphries, 22, is coming off his second season in the NBA G-League; his most recent stint coming with the Lakeland Magic after signing an Exhibit 10 deal with its NBA affiliate, the Orlando Magic.
Since that first professional season in the NBL, Humphries has gone on to play in five NBA games with the Atlanta Hawks – starting in one contest – as well as a pair of G-League campaigns. As is the case with most standard NBL contracts, Humphries’ deal contains an NBA-out clause for both years, sources said.
Jonathan Kuminga and his camp are exploring professional options for the 2020-21 season, including the NBA G League and potentially playing in the Australian NBL. The 6-foot-8 forward recently graduated from The Patrick School (N.J.) and thus accelerated his clock to be eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft. He’s currently projected as the No. 4 pick in 2021, per ESPN.com. Kuminga recently told ESPN’s Paul Biancardi on a podcast his ultimate goal was “To get to the NBA, play at the highest level and go out there and compete.”
Australian centre Isaac Humphries has agreed to sign a two-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers, sources have told ESPN. Humphries, 22, is coming off his second season in the NBA G-League; his most recent stint coming with the Lakeland Magic after signing an Exhibit 10 deal with its NBA affiliate, the Orlando Magic.
LaMelo Ball’s bid to be a club owner in Australia hasn’t worked out. The American is expected to be a top pick in the upcoming NBA draft later this year. The Australian league – called the National Basketball League – has announced that a license for the Wollongong-based Hawks would go to a consortium led by ex-Philadelphia 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo. Ball’s business manager, Jermaine Jackson, told ESPN in April that the ownership of the financially struggling club, where the 18-year-old American played last season, was a “done deal.”
The Hungry Jack’s NBL is pleased to announce it has awarded the licence for the Illawarra Hawks to a syndicate of local and overseas investors to lead the foundation club into an exciting new era. The syndicate includes Australian entrepreneur and former co-owner of the Sydney Kings, Dorry Kordahi, prominent former NBA executive Bryan Colangelo and US businessman and basketball influencer Michael Proctor.
Bryan Colangelo said: “Australian basketball with its great history has been on a significant rise for many years now and the NBL has played a significant role in growing the sport’s awareness and participation levels, while developing some of the best athlete and coaching talent the world has to offer. We are thrilled to be selected as new partners with the league and pledge to outperform the expectations placed on us and deliver for Hawks fans.”
Bryan Colangelo buys ownership stake on Australian team
Former Philadelphia 76ers GM and two-time NBA executive of the year Bryan Colangelo has purchased an ownership stake and will assume an advisory role with the Illawarra Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League, sources tell ESPN. Colangelo is partnering with Australian (Dorry Kordahi) and American (Michael Proctor) businessmen to purchase a stake in the team, sources said.
Colangelo, 55, won’t have a role running the franchise as a president or GM, but will assist in governance and strategy as an equity partner to the ownership group, sources said. The team will continue with Australian-centric basketball.
Inside Maryland Sports: Do you think Melo Trimble deserves a shot in the NBA next season? The former Terps star averaged 21 points, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game during two seasons in Australia’s highly respected NBL. Jeff Ermann: I’ve heard there’s serious NBA interest in him.
He’s eyeing another shot with the same Boomers core after steering them to fourth at the 2016 Olympics and last year’s World Cup. “I’m excited for 2021 because (before the postponement) we were going from the World Cup, to a 2020 NBA season and then straight into an Olympics,” he said. “So having this extra time now until the next season starts and then going into the Olympics will give everyone a chance to get their bodies into great shape and be ready to go.”
Once his immediate future is sorted out, Maker is keen to represent Australia at next year’s Tokyo Olympics. “I want to play for Australia,” Maker, who was born in Kenya and moved to Australia with his family as a one-year-old, said. “I grew up there so it will be great to put on the green and gold.”
Andrew Bogut via a note posted on social media informed that he will not re-sign with the Sydney Kings. The 2015 NBA champion still hopes to return, as he previously admitted that the Olympic Games moved to 2021 can keep him active for one more season. “I have decided not to sign with the Sydney Kings or any professional sporting team for that matter for the time being,” he wrote, “With everything going on the world the future does not look too clear, most notably in regards to sporting leagues worldwide.”
Andrew Bogut via a note posted on social media informed that he will not re-sign with the Sydney Kings. The 2015 NBA champion still hopes to return, as he previously admitted that the Olympic Games moved to 2021 can keep him active for one more season. “I have decided not to sign with the Sydney Kings or any professional sporting team for that matter for the time being,” he wrote, “With everything going on the world the future does not look too clear, most notably in regards to sporting leagues worldwide.”
The Illawarra Hawks’ 2019-20 NBL season began with unprecedented hype and ended with a $2.4 million debt as the league commits to saving the foundation franchise. What transpired in between was a LaMelo Ball-driven rollercoaster ride that projected the league into the worldwide spotlight as hoops fans from across the globe tuned in to watch the 18-year-old, blue chip NBA prospect. Wherever the Hawks travelled, the cameras followed, as Ball jerseys filled arenas across the country, with the result often feeling secondary to the spectacle that was ‘the LaMelo show’.
Mills, who is approaching his fourth Olympics, is using the lure of gold in Tokyo to drive his motivation to keep fit while in isolation in San Antonio as he awaits news on whether the NBA season can resume and whether his San Antonio Spurs, ranked 12th in the western conference, will have the chance to try and snatch a playoff-spot. “Everything gets pushed back but the mindset stays the same,” Mills told The Age.
Patty Mills: “We are coming like a bat out of hell for this gold medal in Tokyo and that will still be our mindset. We have to adjust our approach a little bit. On one hand it gives some guys the ability to rehab certain niggling injuries they might be going through, on the other hand in a Bogut situation you understand and acknowledge [that he might retire] but knowing him, knowing the opportunity that is out there to create history. It’s something he’s fully aware of.”
“Playing with those type of guys like Andrew Bogut, Bryce Cotton, Melo Trimble, you pick up on things they do,” he said. “So when an NBA screen comes and hits me, a guy in college might not have been hit with a 10-12-year vet screen, because college screens are different than a 10-12-year pro vet screen.”
It’s too early to tell when NBA will return and where the Dellavedova family will land next, but for now, there remains one concrete goal in place. A long-awaited medal for the Boomers in Tokyo. “We’ve been keeping in touch and that’s one of the things that has helped keep me motivated. We want to go out on a good note with that group. With the Olympics being pushed back we have the commitment to each other to stay in great shape and make the most of what is the last opportunity together.”
American teenage basketball prodigy LaMelo Ball is still keen on buying the Illawarra Hawks and is just awaiting word from the NBL. Ball’s father, LaVar Ball, said on Thursday the 18-year-old is “ready, willing and able” to purchase the team. “We are just waiting to see what they (NBL) say,” LaVar told AAP on Thursday.
Rod Hampton, RJ’s father, told the Herald-Leader that he had discussions with Strickland and Abdur-Rahim about the G League path prior to the family’s decision to go overseas. The offer simply couldn’t come close to matching the far more lucrative deal Hampton would receive in Australia. It served as a wake-up call for the NBA. “I don’t think that they envisioned this program until they were like, ‘Woah, we can’t have guys like RJ going out of the country, playing ball. We have to find something to do here,’” Rod Hampton said.
Andrew Bogut weighing retirement
After 15 years in professional basketball, Andrew Bogut is close to making a decision on when to end his career. The coronavirus and subsequent postponement of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo isn’t making it any easier. The 35-year-old Bogut, who was the 2005 No. 1 draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks and later won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, was planning to retire after playing for Australia at the Tokyo Games in three months. Those games have been delayed until July 2021. But Bogut, who has played for Sydney in the National Basketball League the past two seasons, isn’t sure he can take the training and discipline needed to go another year.
“I’m not doing much, I can tell you that,” Bogut told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation “Offsiders” program, which aired on Sunday. “To be able to kiss your kids goodnight and put them down every night … I’ve appreciated doing that.” Bogut has two boys — Luka, 3, and Nikola, 2 — with his wife, Jessica. “I haven’t done any basketball since the season ended, and it feels good waking up, getting out of bed and not feeling like I’m walking on glass,” Bogut said. “It’s [my career] all been thrown into a washing machine, essentially … but there’s a decision to be made probably by mid-May.”
In the year between the end of his high school career and the start of his NBA career, Hampton took the road less traveled. The young NBA prospect elected to go play for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL instead of going to college. Hampton has said he would’ve gone to Kansas if he did choose to go the college route, and Daniels asked him whether he has satisfied with his decision now that he has the benefit of hindsight.
“I definitely am satisfied,” Hampton said. “You know, a lot of people might not see it because you see games or you see different things like that. You see a lot of hype with college, but I’m going up against guys like Sek Henry and Scotty Hopson, established overseas pros for 10 or 11 years. Every day in practice, they’re not taking it easy on me, so from when I was first in my NBL games in October until January, I think I’ve gotten so much better just practice-wise. I’m going up against those guys every single day. I don’t think I could’ve asked for better competition.”
Around AU$5 million (US$3.08 million) will be refunded to spectators of last year’s Boomers vs. Team USA two-game series at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium after the Australian consumer watchdog found that promoter TEG Live made false claims about its seating plan.
The 20,000 refunds will be paid out to those who purchased floor-level seating for the games. Despite a mock-up depicting tiered seating, the seats used were in flat rows, lower than the court and, in some cases, more than 30 metres from the action. “Consumers paid a premium for floor-level seats, ranging between $895 and $3,995 for a hospitality package, and may have done so as a result of misleading seating advertising,” said Rod Sims, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. “In our view, TEG Live’s conduct was unacceptable.”
TEG Live’s statement echoed Sims’ comments. “We acknowledge some fans were disappointed that the USA Men’s Basketball team that competed in Australia in August did not include some of the NBA’s biggest stars,” it read. “Based on the information provided to TEG Live by USA Basketball, we had expected these stars to play.”
Loeliger said the NBL regarded it as an “honest mistake” and remains committed to negotiations with Ball’s team. “It was a bit of misunderstanding and a miscommunication and I don’t think there was any malice intended,” Loeliger told AAP. “I don’t think anyone was trying to leverage the situation. “I think it just snowballed and it got a little bit out of control but we’ve all had conversations and there’s certainly no bad blood out there between anyone.”
The NBL would like to clarify the current situation regarding LaMelo Ball and the Illawarra Hawks. The league can confirm LaMelo Ball and his management had discussions about being involved with the club while he was playing in the NBL last season.
At this point we are continuing to work with current licence holder Simon Stratford on a number of options for what we hope will be a fruitful outcome for Illawarra and the NBL. The NBL has final approval on any transfer of licence and no application has been made to date. The NBL has no further comment at this stage.
Boomers star Patty Mills has reached out with a message of support to Australia’s Olympians as they deal with the prospect of a delayed Games. The triple Olympian applauded the Australian Olympic Committee’s “proactive“ move on Monday to prepare for a 2021 Games and call for a delay of the proposed July-August event in Tokyo because of the coronavirus.
One of the contenders to carry the flag at Tokyo’s opening ceremony, Mills did his best to rally his fellow Olympians as they came to grips with the situation. “Just like every Olympic athlete around the world I’m absolutely gutted this crisis has affected the largest international sporting event in the world,” he said in a video he posted on Twitter. “Do not be discouraged by this adversity; as an Olympic athlete your goal remains the same; to represent our country the best way possible and strive to be your very best.”
Mills has been in isolation in the United States since the NBA was sensationally shut down following Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert’s positive test nearly two weeks ago. “Stay at home and keep your distance; the better we can control this virus the better we can look after each other,” Mills said.
Australia will not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics
The Australian Olympic Committee’s executive board met by teleconference Monday and unanimously agreed that an Australian Olympic team could not be assembled given the changing circumstances across the world, the committee said in a statement. The committee also said “our athletes now need to prioritise their own health and of those around them, and to be able to return to the families.” “It’s clear the Games can’t be held in July,” said Ian Chesterman, Australian Team Chef de Mission for Tokyo. “Our athletes have been magnificent in their positive attitude to training and preparing, but the stress and uncertainty has been extremely challenging for them.”
Australian NBA prospect Mojave King will bypass the United States college system and use Cairns as his career launching pad after signing a three-year deal as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program. The 17-year-old guard is a projected first-round NBA draft pick in 2021 and joins fellow Australian up-and-comer Josh Giddey in the NBL after he signed with Adelaide as a Next Stars talent on Thursday.
“Once things slow down, after the Olympics, I have a decision to make,” he said. “It’s just being smart and that’s why the decision about going back to the NBA will be part of it. I want to be healthy for Tokyo.” Bogut made his return to the court after three games off with the Kings, resting his back ahead of the finals. The Kings, who led the table for the entire season, are the favourites to take out the league.
“Once things slow down, after the Olympics, I have a decision to make,” he said. “It’s just being smart and that’s why the decision about going back to the NBA will be part of it. I want to be healthy for Tokyo.” Bogut made his return to the court after three games off with the Kings, resting his back ahead of the finals. The Kings, who led the table for the entire season, are the favourites to take out the league.
Australian basketball player Patrick ‘Patty’ Mills has used his week-long holiday to fly home to help bushfire victims. The San Antonio Spurs champion travelled to bushfire-ravaged country towns in New South Wales over the weekend. Mills, who is originally from Canberra, donated supplies with money from his own pocket and spoke with locals who lost everything.
‘Today was heavy,’ the 31-year-old wrote on Saturday as he documented his experience on Twitter. ‘We visited three country towns in New South Wales, massively affected by the wildfires. In Mogo, a small heritage town on the South Coast of NSW, we gave back to locals who have lost their homes, businesses and schools. Generators, torches, portable stoves, batteries, water, non-perishables: In addition to funds, these are some of the items that the impacted communities need. Now, more than ever, these people need our business. Support local.’
Matisse Thybulle to represent Australia at Olympics
Ben Simmons says his Philadelphia 76ers’ teammate Matisse Thybulle will play for Australia at this year’s Olympics. Thybulle was born in the US, spent part of his childhood in Australia and would be a defensive force for the Boomers in Tokyo as the team attempts to win its first Olympic medal. “He’s going to play for Australia,” Simmons told reporters at an NBA All-Star press conference in Chicago on Saturday. “He’s great.”
