Paok renewed with Dante Stiggers

A bargain for Paok.


Dante Stiggers(1.88-PG/SG) was the first player that was announced by Paok BC. The deal was announced via their official website and Stiggers renewed his contract for another season. Stiggers holds a Belarusian passport that allows him to play as an EU player instead of American.

He graduated from Southern Mississippi in 2005 and since then he's played in Belarus and Cyprus. This March he joined Paok where he averaged 7.8 points 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 16 games in the Greek A1 league. He is also a member of the National Team of Belarus.

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Nicolas Batum will play for Nancy during the lockout

Batum returns to France!


Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum has reached an agreement to play with French basketball club SLUC Nancy if the NBA lockout extends into the regular season, according to Julien Deschuyteneer of BasketSession.com.

He will sign an official contract with the team after a physical evaluation is performed. The Portland Trail Blazers forward will begin the season in French Pro A and the Euroleague with Nancy if an NBA lockout continues into the NBA regular season.


We knew contact discussions between the two parties were progressing, but nothing was sure yet. Especially as other clubs have expressed interest, including ASVEL according to information published in L'Equipe just ten days ago. Supporters of SLUC Nancy can therefore rest assured of one thing, that Nicolas will play for Nancy.

On Friday FIBA announced it would allow NBA players under contract to play in its leagues during the lockout, as long as they return once it's over.

Batum is currently playing for the French national team as they compete in 2011 EuroBasket. He scored 15 points in an exhibition win over Canada Thursday.


source : oregonlive.com

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Jeff Adrien to play for Benetton Treviso

One of the most underrated big men lands in Italy.


According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports via a source, Jeff Adrien is set to sign a one-year deal with Benetton Treviso in Italy. Spears also added that the deal allows for an out whenever the lockout ends.

Adrien was cut by the Warriors at the end of August, so he could find himself in camp with a team via an invite in hopes of making a final roster on the other side of the lockout. If not, Adrien could try the D-League route, where he played for the Erie Bayhawks and Rio Grande Valley Vipers before joining the Warriors last season.


source : espn.com

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Kenyon Dooling to play for Efes?

Bucks guard Keyon Dooling is nearing agreement on a contract with Efes Istanbul, the Turkish team which recently signed New Jersey Nets guard Sasha Vujacic.


Kenge Stevenson, the Dallas-based agent for Dooling, said progress is being made and a deal with Efes could be completed in the next few days.

Dooling is the first vice president of the National Basketball Players Association and has been active in the process to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. League owners imposed a lockout on July 1 when the previous CBA expired, and no real progress has been made since then.

Stevenson said Dooling would expect to play in Turkey next season even if the lockout ends and any opt-out clause would be for legal purposes. The veteran has one year and $2 million remaining on his contract with the Bucks, but Stevenson indicated he thought an agreement could be reached to allow Dooling to play in Europe in the event the lockout was settled.

The Bucks made some moves to reshape their backcourt prior to the lockout, when they acquired point guard Beno Udrih from Sacramento and Shaun Livingston from Charlotte as part of a three-team draft day trade. Udrih is expected to be the primary backup for starter Brandon Jennings and also should spend some time at shooting guard. Livingston can play both guard positions but is primarily a point guard.

Dooling served as as backup at both the point guard and shooting guard positions for the Bucks last season. He played in 80 games, including 22 starts, and averaged 7.1 points and 3.0 assists.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles praised Dooling for his willingness to work on defense but the Bucks could not recapture the magic they had the previous season with Jennings and Luke Ridnour as the point guard tandem.

Dooling told me earlier this month that it was clear the Bucks didn't have him in their backcourt plans and he said he expected something would happen to change his situation.

The 31-year-old Dooling has played 11 NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, New Jersey and Milwaukee.

"He likes the team situation," Stevenson said of Efes. "He's a basketball aficionado and he pays attention to basketball all over the globe."


source : jsonline.com

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Acie Law to play for Partizan

Perhaps he is looking for a career in Europe now.


Free agent guard Acie Law is close to signing a deal with Partizan Belgrade of Serbia, one source told HoopsHype. The contract would be for one year and would not include an opt-out clause to return to the NBA if the lockout comes to an end in the middle of the season.

Law averaged 4.2 ppg and 1.6 ppg last year playing for the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors.

Partizan Belgrade is currently the strongest team in the former Yugoslavia and has produced plenty of NBA talent in the past - including players such Vlade Divac, Nenad Krstic or Predrag Drobnjak.

source : blogs.hoopshype.com

Editor's note : Partizan officially announced the player in the mean time.

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Bamberg announced PJ Tucker

They replaced Kyle Hines with another tough player.


Bamberg announced P.J. Tucker(1.98-SF/PF)via their official website and he will their player until the end of the season. Tucker's last team was in Puerto Rico but he has lots of experience in Europe. He will be replacing the loss of Kyle Hines(1.98-PF/C) who went to Olympiacos and he will be adding much needed strength under the baskets. Like Hines, Tucker is also known for his impressive strength and he can cover both forward positions if need be.

Tucker's real name is actually Anthony and the P.J stands for Pop Junior. It's a nickname that his father gave to him soon after his birth and he has been carrying it ever since. He graduated from the University of Texas back in 2006, where he won numerous awards. He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 35th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft and signed a two-year deal with them on July 26, 2006. He spent some time in the NBDL with the Colorado 14ers and was waived by the Raptors finally in 2007.

During 2007-2008 he spent his pro season overseas where he conquered the Israeli league as a player of Hapoel Holon and he was also named the MVP of the league. After that he signed with BC Donetsk but had a serious injury that sidelined him for 2 months. Nevertheless he was one the top scorers of the Ukrainian league averaging 19.4 points per game. Last season BC Donetsk had serious financial issues so he returned to Israel and Bnei Hasharon averaging 17.3 points 9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 12 games.


This past season he started playing for Aris BC averaging 12.2 points 7.4 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 games in the Greek A1 league. After that he left the team because the head coach Sharon Drucker was sacked and he had a falling out with the administration. He managed to break his contract with Aris and helped Montegranaro to stay in the LegaA1 averaging 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in 3 games. He also played in Puerto Rico for Quebradillas averaging 15.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 15 games.

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Besiktas to negotiate with Kobe Bryant

LOS ANGELES -- The NBA is set to resume negotiations between owners and the players union on Monday for the first time since the lockout went into place on July 1, but one of the NBA's biggest stars has negotiations of his own planned for this weekend.


Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will be in the nation's capital attending the World Football Challenge featuring Manchester United and F.C. Barcelona at FedEx Field on Saturday and the Mia Hamm-Nomar Garciaparra Celebrity Soccer Challenge on Sunday at Kastles Stadium.

Soccer won't be the only sport on Bryant's agenda, however, as the 15-year NBA veteran and his representatives will meet with officials from the Turkish basketball club Besiktas on Saturday, according to a Reuters report.

For more news, notes and analysis of the Lakers, check out the Land O' Lakers blog from the Kamenetzky Brothers. Blog

"At the moment there's a 50 percent chance that Kobe may come to Turkey," said Seref Yalcin, head of basketball operations for Besiktas, on Tuesday. Yalcin made the comments to reporters in Turkey, according to Reuters. "Everything will be clearer after the meeting on the 30th [of July]."

Turkish Airlines, a company Bryant serves as a pitchman for, is sponsoring both of the soccer events over the weekend and could be the key for Besiktas to potentially make an offer lucrative enough to lure the 13-time All-Star overseas during the lockout.

Turkey's NTV Spor reported last week that Besiktas' basketball funds have been tied up by the match-fixing scandal that has ripped through the Turkish soccer world, forcing Besiktas to search for outside funding to help with their pursuit of NBA players to join New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams on their team.

"Money will not be a problem," Yalcin said, according to Reuters. Yalcin later mentioned Turkish Airlines and two oil companies as potential sponsors for Bryant's contract, which is expected to exceed $500,000 a month. Sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard earlier this month that Williams' overall deal with Besiktas is worth $5 million. NTV Spor reported that Bryant's camp is seeking a monthly salary of $1 million to join Williams.

"We know that Besiktas is very much interested [in Bryant] and they've been in touch with our company as well, but we haven't started any kind of negotiations or anything like that yet," Fatma Yuceler, a spokeswoman for Turkish Airlines, told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Wednesday.

Regardless if playing basketball overseas is in Bryant's future or not, playing soccer this weekend isn't. Despite his background playing pickup soccer games as a youth in Italy, Bryant will not lace up the cleats and play in the Hamm-Garciaparra charity scrimmage on Sunday. Bryant will merely be a spectator for the game and will give his right knee, which recently endured a platelet-rich plasma therapy procedure, a rest, according to multiple sources. On Saturday he will take to the field -- after the game -- to present the "man of the match" award to the winner after the Manchester United versus FC Barcelona friendly.


source : espn.go.com

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