With news yesterday that Tony Parker has signed with ASVEL Basket in France and that Andrei Kirilenko has signed with CSKA Moscow in Russia, it's looking more and more like players are giving up hope of a quick resolution to this lockout.
But some players are not actually signing up to play in Europe's top league.
As I explained in a previous post, only those teams who did well domestically last season are allowed into Europe's top league, the Euroleague. Other teams are playing in the second or third tier league, and some teams are only playing domestically and possibly regionally.
So, who is playing where?
To find out, I'm taking the list of players signed overseas via HoopsHype (as of Oct. 6th) and cross-referencing it with the list of teams currently in the Euroleague. I'll separate them into their respective groups as well, so you'll know who is likely to play who. I have added the team's country after their name for reference, but it is not part of their official name.
I have also included where the non-Euroleague bound players have gone. Scroll down to see who is playing in the second tier EuroCup, the third tier Eurochallenge, only domestically, and in countries outside of Europe. Keep in mind that regardless of whether a team is in the Euroleague, EuroCup, or EuroChallenge, they all play domestically.
I'll be updating the list in another post as things become more certain.
Below: The List!
Euroleague (1st Tier)
Group A
Olympiacos Greece
No NBA players signed
Caja Laboral Spain
Joey Dorsey (Raptors)
Kevin Seraphin (Wizards)
Reggie Williams (Warriors)
Fenerbehce Ulker Turkey
Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets)
Bizkaia Bilbao Basket Spain
No NBA players signed
NGC Cantu Italy
No NBA players signed
SLUC Nancy France
Nicholas Batum (Trailblazers)
Group B
Panathinaikos Greece
No NBA players signed
CSKA Moscow Russia
Andrei Kirilenko (Jazz)
Nenad Krstic (Celtics)
Unicaja Spain
No NBA players signed
Zalgiris Kaunas Lithuania
Sonny Weems (Raptors)
Ty Lawson (Nuggets)
Brose Baskets Germany
No NBA players signed
KK Zagreb Croatia
No NBA players signed
Group C
Real Madrid Spain
Rudy Fernandez (Mavericks)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv Israel
Jordan Farmar (Nets)
KK Partizan Serbia
Acie Law IV (Warriors)
Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves)
Anadolu Efes (Formerly Efes Pilsen) Turkey
Ersan Ilyasova (Bucks)
Sasha Vujacic (Nets)
Olimpia Milano (Emporio Armani) Italy
Danilo Gallinari (Nuggets)
Spirou Basket France
No NBA players signed
Group D
Regal FC Barcelona Spain
No NBA players signed
Montepaschi Siena Italy
David Andersen (Hornets)
DaJuan Summers (Pistons)
UNICS Kazan Russia
No NBA players signed
Asseco Prokom Gdynia Poland
Alonzo Gee (Cavaliers)
Union Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia
Danny Green (Spurs)
Galatasaray Turkey
Darius Songaila 76ers)
Eurocup (2nd Tier)
Cholet Basket France
Chandler Parsons (Rockets)
BCM Gravelines France
Pape Sy (Hawks)
ASVEL Basket France
Hilton Armstrong (Hawks)
Tony Parker (Spurs)
ALBA Berlin Germany
No NBA players signed, though they did sign former Thunder player Kyle Weaver.
Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt Germany
Jon Leuer (Bucks)
BC Khimki Russia
Austin Daye (Pistons)
Chris Quinn (Spurs)
Timofey Mozgov (Nuggets)
Lokomotiv Kuban Russia
Ben Uzoh (Nets)
Hapoel Jerusalem Israel
Avery Bradley (Celtics)
Benetton Basket Bwin Italy
Brian Scalabrine (Bulls)
E'Twaun Moore (Celtics)
Jeff Adrien (Warriors)
KK Buducnost Montenegro
Nikola Vucevic (76ers)
EuroChallenge (3rd Tier)
Besiktas Milangaz Turkey
Semih Erden (Cavaliers)
Deron Williams (Nets)
Turk Telekom BK Turkey
Mehmet Okur (Jazz)
Mustafa Shakur (Wizards)
BC Armia Georgia
Sundiata Gaines (Nets)
BK Bemaco Spu Nitra Slovakia
Robert Vaden (Thunder)
Domestic/Regional Only
France
Strasbourg IG
LaVoy Allen (76ers)
Justin Harper (Magic)
Greece
Panionios
B.J. Mullens (Thunder)
Jon Diebler (Trailblazers)
Israel
Maccabi Ashdod
Craig Brackins (76ers)
Italy
Dinamo Sassari
Keith Benson (Atlanta)
Gruppo Triboldi Basket Cromona
Von Wafer (Celtics)
Virtus Bologna
Chris Douglas-Roberts (Bucks)
Poland
Zastal Zielona Gora
Gani Lawal (Suns)
Russia
BC Krasnye Krylya Samara
DeJuan Blair (Spurs)
Spain
Lucentum Alicante
Kyle Singler (Pistons)
Joventut Badalona
Pooh Jeter (Kings)
Domestic Second Tier
France
JSA Bordeaux
Boris Diaw (Bobcats, He is the President of JSA Bordeaux.)
Italy
Casale
Garrett Temple (Bobcats)
Scaligera Basket Verona
Mario West (Nets)
Outside of Europe
Australia
Melbourne Tigers
Patrick Mills (Trailblazers)
Brazil
Flamengo
Leandro Barbosa (Raptors)
China
Liauning Panpan
Josh Powell (Hawks)
Jiangsu
Dan Gadzuric (Nets)
Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Kenyon Martin (Nuggets)
Zhejiang Lions
J.R. Smith (Nuggets)
Wilson Chandler (Nuggets)
Here's a few facts about the list:
- The only teams to sign three NBA players are Caja Laboral of Spain and Benneton Basket Bwin of Italy. None of the players signed scored over 10 PPG last season.
- Notable two-man NBA teamups include Andrei Kirilenko and Nenad Krstic for CSKA Moscow, Ersan Ilyasova and Sasha Vujacic for Anadolu Efes, Semih Erden and Deron Williams for Besiktas, and J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler for the Zhejiang Lions.
- Notable players playing outside of the Euroleague are Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Semih Erden, Mehmet Okur, DeJuan Blair, and Kyle Singler.
- Both of Greece's top teams (Panathinaikos and Olympiacos) have not signed any NBA players. In fact, the only team to do so has been Panionios, making two rather small signings of B.J. Mullens and Jon Diebler.
- Of last year's Euroleague Final Four, only KK Partizan (Acie Law IV and Nikola Pekovic) and CSKA Moscow (Nenad Krstic and Andrei Kirilenko) have signed NBA players. FC Barcelona and Olympiacos have not.
- The only current Thunder player to have signed abroad is B.J. Mullens, with a domestic-only Greek team. Robert Vaden has also signed with a Slovakian team, but he is not under contract next season.
- Despite China's refusal to provide an NBA-out clause for signing players, they have a good crop of NBA talent, including Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, and Wilson Chandler (all from the Nuggets).
- This list shouldn't be taken as a end all be all to whether a team will be good or not. Several teams include former NBA players who still have good skill, and players who are good enough for the NBA but decided to make the transition. Rather, it should be used as a reference for those who wish to keep track of their favourite players.
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