Longtime NBA power forward Nikola Mirotic, who has been back overseas since 2019, will remain in Europe for the immediate future. Per Emiliano Carchia (Twitter link), the 6’10” big man has agreed to terms on a deal with Italian club Olimpia Milano, after having spent the past four seasons as the best-compensated player in Europe with FC Barcelona. According to Sportando, Mirotic has two years remaining on his deal with Barcelona.
First selected in the 2011 draft with the No. 23 pick, Mirotic logged major rotation minutes on the Bulls, Pelicans and Bucks through the 2018/19 season. Instead of springing for a lucrative new contract in free agency that summer, he opted to return to international play, where he had begun his career with Real Madrid in 2008.
Here’s more news and notes from around the basketball world:
- EuroLeague, widely considered to be the second-most competitive basketball organization in the world, has officially named its new CEO: Paulius Motiejunas. According to Basket News, EuroLeague shareholders unanimously voted for Motiejunas, who has served as the president and owner of EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas for a decade.
- After just one season with Joventut Badalona, former NBA guard Kyle Guy will find a new home next season, per Eurohoops. Guy was selected out of Virginia with the No. 55 pick in 2019, and logged time with the Kings, Cavaliers, and Heat — plus their respective NBAGL affiliates — from 2019-22. He averaged 11.5 PPG on a .408/.345/.802 slash line across 34 contests in Liga ACB play.
- Baskonia is considering signing ex-Warriors point guard Nico Mannion, currently with Virtus Bologna, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. The 22-year-old out of Arizona appeared in just 30 NBA games with Golden State during the 2020/21 season, averaging 4.1 PPG, 2.3 APG nd 1.5 RPG in 12.1 MPG. Mannion averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.1 APG in the LBA with Virtus Bologna this past season.
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