A pair of longtime NBA big men returned to action in Europe this week after lengthy layoffs.
The most notable of the two, Pau Gasol, played for the first time in nearly two years on Friday, taking the court for Barcelona in EuroLeague play. He logged 13 minutes vs. Bayern Munich, recording nine points and four rebounds (AP story via ESPN).
Meanwhile, in Russia Khimki Moscow center Timofey Mozgov appeared on Monday in his first game in almost three years, per Sportando. Mozgov was last on an NBA roster during the 2018-19 season, but he didn’t appear in a single game with Orlando that year due to knee issues.
Those issues persisted after Mozgov signed with Khimki in 2019, and the NBA even permitted the Magic to remove Mozgov’s cap hit from their books last season since his injury was viewed as potentially career-ending. His return represents the culmination of a long, impressive comeback.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran guard Jamal Crawford, who turned 41 in March, is staying ready in the hopes of receiving another NBA opportunity, he told Matthew Brooks and Alec Strum of NetsDaily. “We actually have talked to a couple of teams, so we’re seeing where it goes,” Crawford said when asked about the possibility of a 10-day deal. “We’ve had conversations, which is the good thing.”
- Although there has long been an expectation that the NBA and NBPA will eventually agree to tweak the league’s one-and-done rule for the draft and let high school players enter again, there haven’t been any meaningful talks between the two sides on the subject for months, sources tell David Aldridge of The Athletic.
- Using the Hornets’ success with their trio of LaMelo Ball, Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier as a jumping-off point, Louis Zatzman of FiveThirtyEight explores whether lineups that feature three point guards might become more common among NBA teams.
- During a recent appearance on Mike Krzyzewski's “Basketball and Beyond with Coach K’ show, NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the league’s complicated relationship with China. Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays some of Silver’s key quotes.
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