NBA Rumors Round-Up
NBA Rumors: Zoran Dragic to the Suns?
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated06 Nov 2023
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ESPN sources say Phoenix Suns have emerged as clear frontrunner to sign Zoran Dragic away from Unicaja Malaga in Spanish ACB.
Word out of Spain is that Zoran Dragic — Goran’s younger brother — likely lands two-year NBA deal provided final hurdles cleared this week.
It looks like Markieff and Marcus Morris won’t be the only brothers on the Phoenix Suns next season.
The Suns seem to be closing in on a two-year deal with Goran Dragic’s younger brother Zoran, who will leave Unicaja Malaga for the NBA.
While Stein reports that Phoenix is the frontrunner to sign Dragic, he has also reportedly received interest from a number of other teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs.
Dragic went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft, and then played with the Houston Rockets’ summer league team in July of 2012.
Prior to playing with Unicaja Malaga, Dragic starred in Spain, where he won two championships in the Slovenian League and was named the league’s Finals MVP.
Source says #Celtics signing of Evan Turner will be completed/announced before training camp starts on Sept. 30.
Evan Turner agreed to sign with the Boston Celtics back in July, but nothing has been finalized between the two sides, which is somewhat strange since training camp is right around the corner.
However, Blakely reports that the Celtics will complete and announce the Turner signing before the start of camp, as expected.
The reason Boston waited to sign Turner is because they wanted to keep their roster flexibility, but they need to finalize Turner’s deal before the start of camp. There have been reports that the Celtics have considered making a trade to open up a roster spot, but nothing is imminent.
Turner was averaging a career-high 17.4 points along with six rebounds, 3.7 assists and a steal last year with the Philadelphia 76ers prior to being traded to the Indiana Pacers at the deadline.
In Indiana, Turner’s role diminished and his numbers dipped, but he should be a significant contributor in Boston.
Star center for Mexico’s national-team Gustavo Ayon signed with Spanish powerhouse and European finalist Real Madrid.
Ayon spent the last three seasons in the NBA, playing for the New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks. However, now he will play overseas after signing a multi-year deal with Real Madrid.
In recent days, Ayon was weighing several offers, as he also received interest from the San Antonio Spurs and the Shandong Flaming Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association. Ayon was impressive during the FIBA World Cup, playing for the Mexican national team, which is what attracted these teams.
However, after mulling his options, Ayon reached an agreement with Real Madrid. Ayon will return to the Spanish ACB League, which gave him its Rising Star award back in the 2010-11 season.
The 29-year-old averaged 4.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26 games with the Hawks last season.
