Interbasket

Well that was fast.

A day after Hedo Türkoğlu agreed in principle to sign with the Portland Trailblazers, the Turkish superstar backed out of his verbal commitment faster than you can say “bigger contract.”

On Thursday, Türkoğlu unofficially accepted a five-year $50 million dollar offer from the Blazers… before arriving in Toronto today and being offered a larger contract.

The Raptors are reportedly offering Türkoğlu a five-year, $56 million dollar contract.

According to Yahoo Sports, in order for the Raptors to sign Hedo, Toronto will have to renounce their rights to three important free agents, Shawn Marion, Carlos Delfino, and Anthony Parker to create the cap space.

To be completely honest, the difference in contract money is relatively small, especially considering the high taxes in Canada.  With all that, money is not the primary factor in Hedo’s final decision to cut contract talks with the Blazers.

The Sacramento Bee says that Türkoğlu’s wife, Banu, prefers that they relocate to Toronto, an international city with a sizable Turkish community. Plus, living in the East cuts the roundtrip visits back to Istanbul almost in half.

Whatever the reason(s), the Blazers are pissed… well, except for Rudy Fernández.

It sounds like Hedo Türkoğlu, the 30-year old point-forward that led the Orlando Magic into the NBA Finals, has come to an agreement to join the Portland Trailblazers in principle.

The contract is reportedly for five years and $50 million dollars.  Portland has accomplished their primary mission; they’ve been chasing free agent Türkoğlu since the end of the NBA season.  However, obtaining Turkuglu has brought some internal drama.

Apparently, Portland’s run after Turkoglu angered their super sub Rudy Fernández.  Fernández came off the bench last season backing up Brandon Roy and Nicolas Batum and obviously had his eye on a starting position, more minutes, or both in his NBA season.

And it’s not like Fernández doesn’t have options.  ESPN reports that several European clubs, including powerhouses CSKA Moscow, FC Barcelona, Olympiacos, and Real Madrid, have been courting the Spanish guard-forward.

Fernandez, who paid more than $500,000 of his own money to buy his way out of his contract with DKV Joventut, believes he can earn 5 million € per season if he signs a 3-year contract in Europe. He is due to make $1.1 million from the Blazers next season.

Fernandez averaged 26 minutes off the bench and scored 10.2 points per game last season.  With Turkoglu in the mix, it’s unlikely that his role will expand much.  In addition, the Blazers traded Rudy’s best friend on the Blazers - backup point guard and fellow Spaniard Sergio Rodriguez to the Sacramento Kings on draft day. That means a lot less alley-oops this season for Fernández.

It hasn’t been a good week for Rudy’s Portland prospects.

The agreement between Türkoğlu and the Blazers is considered “in principle” because the it cannot be announced (become official) until July 08, 2009.  If the contract becomes official,  Türkoğlu will become the highest-paid Turkish athlete.

This year’s Eurobasket – European men’s basketball championship will take place in Poland from the 7th till the 20th of September. It will be hosted by seven cities – Gdańsk, Poznan, Warszawa, Wroclaw, Bydgoszcz, Lodz and Katowice.

The lineups will include such players as Marko Jaric, Marc Gasol, Chris Kaman, Marcin Gortat or Hidayet Turkoglu. It is also possible that superstars Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol will join their national teams.

The situation of former NBA Finals MVP  Tony Parker is still up in the air – although he has already committed to the French team, he will  first have to help them win the additional qualifying round in August.

The teams that will meet in Gdańsk are ones of the best in the World – Germany, the defending champion - Russia and Latvia. On the 31st of August they will be joined by one of France, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Finland and Belgium. For three days, beginning on the 7th of September all visitors will be able to see two games per day.

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The 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Men are going on right now in Auckland, New Zealand.

The tournament runs from July 02, 2009 - July 12, 2009.

Discuss the 2009 U19 World Championships

The 9th annual World Championships for U19 Men features 16 U19 national teams from around the world.

The coutries participating in the 2009 FIBA-sanctioned tournament are Angola, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Iran, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Spain, Syria, and the United States of America.

Just as with the World Championships, U19 teams need to do well in a regional tournament to qualify to play.  Angola (2nd Place-Africa), Argentina (Champion-Americas), Australia (Champion-Oceania), Canada (3rd Place-Americas), Croatia (3rd Place-Europe), Egypt (Champion-Africa), France (4th Place-Europe), Greece (Champion-Europe), Iran (Champion-Asia), Kazakhstan (2nd Place-Asia), Lithuania (2nd Placer-Europe), New Zealand (Host Country), Puerto Rico (4th Place-Americas), Spain (5th Place-Europe), Syria (3rd Place-Asia) and the United States (2nd Place-Americas).

Link: Official Website for the U19 World Championships

The Minneapolis Pioneer Press is reporting that Ricky Rubio, the player the Timberwolves drafted with the #5 pick, has decided to stay in Spain and play out the remaining two years of his contract with Spanish club DKV Joventut.   Whether it’s because of Ricky’s huge buyout or because the 6-5 point guard doesn’t want to play in Minnesota has not been revealed.  Discuss Ricky Rubio staying in Europe.

No one is second-guessing trading away Randy Foye and picking Jonny Flynn now…

• Minnesota waiting on Rubio: After being drafted at #5, Ricky Rubio skipped Minnesota’s initial meet-and-greet with the media, speculation has the New York Knicks working behind the scenes to obtain Rubio.  Something has to give; Minnesota used three of their four picks in the 2009 NBA draft on guards, so look for something to happen with Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Ty Lawson or Sebastian Telfair,  their current starting point guard .

• Sergio remains in Spain Doesn’t look like Sergio Llull will be in a Houston Rockets jersey anytime soon. Not much of a surprise as the Rockets prefer that Llull spend a couple years seasoning overseas.  Sergio’s  Spanish club Real Madrid recently exercised an option to keep the 6-3, 21-year old point guard for two more years.  Madrid also re-signed Belgian center Tomas van den Spiegel.

• Italian club Benetton Treviso signed former-USC guard Daniel Hackett to a one-year deal.  Hackett wasn’t drafted in the NBA Draft after playing for the University of Southern California, where he averaged 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists, helping his team to win the Pac-10 Tournament.

• Former NBA player Igor Rakočević and the Euroleague’s leading scorer last season leaves Tau Ceramica and signs with Efes Pilsen of Turkey, squashing rumors that Rakočević will be returning to the NBA anytime soon.  Efes Pilsen was last year’s Turkish Basketball League championships.

• The NBA has scheduled a Nuggets-Pacers game in Taipei, Taiwan.  The game is already sold out.  The exhibition game will be played October 08, 2009 in Taipei Arena.

• Interbasket reorganizes forum.  From the beginning, our subforums had a naming convention of “Famous Player + Country” to help attracts fans of specific players with the secondary focus on country-specific news.  With Interbasket continually growing, we decided that it was (FINALLY) time to take a different approach.   Over the weekend, we switched up the subforum names to take a more country-specific focus.  Nothing has changed in terms of forum functionality, but the move was more tangibly displaying our frame of mind.

What: Tuto Marchand Cup 2009
When: August 18 - 20th, 2009
Where: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Talk: Tuto Marchand Cup Discussion
Info: The Tuto Marchand cup in being held in the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan.

The second annual tournament will feature the exact four teams that participated in the 2007 tournament; Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Basketball superstars expected to represent their national teams are Leandro Barbosa (Brazil), Luis Scola (Argentina), J.J. Barea (Puerto Rico), Pablo Prigioni (Argentina), Carlos Arroyo (Puerto Rico), Nenê (Brazil), and Carl English (Canada)

Team Brazil took home the 2007 championship by defeating Canada in the finals 74-61. Marcelo Machado of Brazil (pictured) was named MVP of the 2007 tournament.

The tournament is named after Genaro “Tuto” Marchand, a basketball leader and former president of the BSN, the Puerto Rican domestic league.

Official Site: Fiba Americas Tuto Marchand Cup 2009

Is Yao Ming’s basketball career over?

Ok, maybe we’re jumping the gun with that title, but according to Rockets team physician Tom Clanton, it’s a definite possibility (discuss).

“At this point, the injury has the potential for (Yao) missing this next season and could be career threatening.” Clanton told the Houston Chronicle.

Hairline Fracture not healing
Official reports last week surfaced Yao’s foot injury is much more severe than initially thought, and now those reports may have been understatements. So much so that Yao’s professional career could be in jeopardy.

The 7-6 center from China missed last year’s playoffs because of an ill-timed foot injury.  He has spent the last couple months healing, but a report last week announced thay Yao’s foot wasn’t healing as expected and would need further evaluation.

Now comes this Yahoo report that the 28-year old’s cracked foot isn’t healing at all, and that he will miss a significant chunk of the next NBA season, if not the entire 2009-10 campaign according to a league source.

And according to that source, the prognosis sounds like it could be much worse than what the team is willing to divulge at this point.  “That’s all [the Rockets] will concede quietly, but they know it’s probably much worse.” said the source.

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Omri Casspi made history when he became the first Israeli player to be selected in the NBA’s first round.  Casspi was chosen by the Sacramento Kings with the 23rd overall pick.

“I can’t speak,” Casspi said through tears of joy. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life … I’m as happy as can be. We made history. I feel like I am in a dream.”

Only first round draft picks are guaranteed NBA contracts so if things go as normal, Casspi has the chance of becoming the first player from Israel to actually play in an NBA game.

For the last five years, 20-year old Casspi has been playing in the Israeli league, between clubs Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel. Casspi just finished in fourth place for the 2008-09 FIBA Europe Young Men’s Player of the Year Award, behind Ricky Rubio, Danilo Gallinari, and Kosta Koufos.

Four Israelis have come close to sutiing up in the NBA before, three of which have been selected in the second round of the NBA draft, but none have made the cut.

Most recently, in the 2006 NBA Draft, two Israelis were chosen in the second round. Lior Eliyahu was taken #44 by the Orlando Magic, and Yotam Halperin was selected #53 by the then Seattle Supersonics.  Neither player were able to stick and both returned to Europe.

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We collected some Getty Images of the international players that were present at last night’s NBA Draft.  Hope you enjoy them.  Patrick Mills seems pretty happy despite doubling his position in several mock drafts, dropping to the 55th pick.

Sorry, we couldn’t find any photos of Victor Claver, Sergio Lull, and Emir Preldzic.  All three players weren’t in attendance at Madison Square Garden. Goran Suton also wasn’t there, the center from Bosnia watched the NBA draft from his home in East Lansing.

Memphis Grizzlies center Darko Miličić, the infamous #2 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, has been traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Quetin Richardson.

The Memphis Grizzlies had the #2 overall pick in last night’s draft and selected center Hasheem Thabeet of Tanzania.  Even after unloading Milicic, the Grizzlies still have three international centers on their roster - Thabeet, Marc Gasol of Spain, and Hamed Haddadi of Iran.

Miličić was infamously selected #2 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, right after LeBron James, and before the likes of current NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony (#3), Dwyane Wade (#4), and Chris Bosh (#5).

That year’s draft had a record high 21 international players selected and also included David West (#18), Boris Diaw (#21), Leandro Barbosa (#28), Josh Howard (#29), and Mo Williams (#47).

This will be Miličić’s fourth NBA team in his seven-year NBA career.  He started out with the Detroit Pistons before being traded to Orlando then Memphis, and will now suit up for New York.

From the Congo to Israel to three players from Spain, there were fourteen international-born players selected in the 2009 NBA Draft.

The fourteen players ended a sex-year slide in which fewer and fewer international players were chosen, from a record high of 21 international players chosen in 2003 to 2008, when there were just thirteen players selected.

There were definitely some surprises, none bigger than Ricky Rubio slipping to fifth where many mock drafts had him going as high as #2, but no lower than #4. With the fourth pick, the Sacramento Kings decided to go with another 6-5 player, combo-guard Tyreke Evans, instead of Rubio.

In not so much of a shock, Hasheem Thabeet went #2 to the Memphis Grizzlies. The 7-2 center is seen as another Dikembe Mutombo, a player that can change the game on the defensive side of the court.

1. Hasheem Thabeet, Tanzania (#2 to Memphis) >
2. Ricky Rubio, Spain (#5 to Minnesota)
3. Victor Claver, Spain (#22 to Portland)
4. Omri Casspi, Israel (#23 to Sacramento)
5. Rodrigue Beaubois, France (#25 to Oklahoma City)
6. Christian Eyenga, Congo (#30 to Cleveland)
7. Sergio Lull, Spain (#34 to Denver)
8. Jonas Jerebko, Sweden (#39 to Detroit)
9. Henk Norel, Netherlands (#47 to Minnesota)
10. Sergiy Gladyr, Ukraine (#49 to Atlanta)
11. Goran Suton, Bosnia (#50 to Utah)
12. Nando de Colo, France (#53 to San Antonio)
13. Patrick Mills, Australia (#55 to Portland)
14. Emir Preldzic, Slovenia (#57 to Phoenix)

Fellow Spaniard Victor Claver was another surprise. The high-flying forward was the third international player selected in the draft, and picked much-higher than expected at #22. Claver was one selection higher than Omri Casspi (#23), the Israeli player slated to go third in many mock drafts.

Jonas Jerebko was primed to become the first Swede to be drafted in the NBA’s first round, but the 6-9, 22-year old forward fell to Detroit Pistons in the second round at #39.

Buoyed by Michigan State’s run in to the NCAA finals, 6-10 center Goran Suton was selected at #50, it’s no surprise that the Utah Jazz picked the Bosnian pivot up, Suton fits the bill for the Jazz perfectly.

One of the biggest shocks was how far Aussie Patrick Mills fell. As with Rubio, buzz was strong after Mill’s performance in the 2008 Olympics. He was booked as a late-first rounder in many mock drafts, but the 5-11 Aborigine point guard slipped all the way down the late-second round to #55, only five picks from the end of the draft.

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As expected, Blake Griffin was selected with the first overall draft pick. Not quite as expected though was Ricky Rubio falling to the number five slot.

The Spanish phenom point guard was selected with the fifth pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2009 NBA Draft.  Rubio fell, most-likely because of a combination of his agent’s demands to play in California, his contract buyout, pre-draft chatter, and underwhelming workouts.

All those factors seemed to have dulled the hype that was built up from Rubio’s performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The other international player that was supposed to go in the top five picks was Hasheem Thabeet.  The center from Tanzania and Co-Big East Player of the Year was taken by the Memphis Grizzlies with the #2 pick.

As of 17:30 PST, the draft board looks like this:

#1. Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers)
#2. Hasheem Thabeet (Memphis Grizzlies)
#3. James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder)
#4. Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings)
#5. Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves)
#6. Jonny Flynn (Minnesota Timberwolves)
#7. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
#8. Jordan Hill (New York Knicks)
#9. DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors)
#10. Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks)

Versatile forward James Harden was taken third by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Tyreke Evans was selected #4.  Interesting that the Kings went with Evans; rumors must have been true that Rubio didn’t perform so well with his secret workout in Sacramento this past week.

Minnesota also had the sixth overall pick, and picked combo guard Jonny Flynn out of Syracuse. Stephen Curry was taken #7 and is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry.

With the 2009 NBA draft commencing later tonight, the internet is buzzing with speculation and mock drafts.

Interbasket has done its best to gather the articles and quotes concerning the intenational man (er, teenager) of mystery, Ricky Rubio.

We’ll be continually updating the quotes throughout the day, so check back every hour or so…

• “Then I will play with my friend Marc Gasol. If Memphis takes me, Memphis takes me. But we will see what happens tomorrow.” said Rubio when asked about potentially being drafted by Memphis with the #2 pick. “It’s the NBA.  For me all the teams are OK.”

• If the Grizzlies don’t use the second pick in the NBA Draft on the consensus second-best player in the draft, they had better hope (Rubio’s) a bust. Or they’ll look ridiculous. It’ll be like the Pau Gasol trade, only worse. - Memphis Commercial Appeal

• “Don’t count Ricky out yet as a King, and don’t count him in yet.” said Dan Fegan, Ricky Rubio’s agent. “I’ve known Geoff (Petrie) for over 20 years, and in my experience he is a very deliberate thinker who will examine every aspect of a draft candidate and trade possibilities before he makes a final decision.”

More quotes after the jump:

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