Free agent point guard Cory Joseph has agreed to sign with AS Monaco, according to Christos Tsaltas of Greek outlet Athletiko.
The Spurs selected Joseph with the 29th overall pick in the 2011 draft after he played one season of college ball with Texas. He has spent the past 14 years in the NBA, including winning a title as a role player with San Antonio in 2014.
Listed at 6’2″ and 200 pounds, Joseph developed a reputation as a steady ball-handler and play-maker who took good care of the ball off the bench, but made most of his impact on the defensive end. He has played for San Antonio, Toronto (his hometown team), Indiana, Sacramento, Detroit, Golden State, and most recently Orlando.
In 50 games last season with the Magic, the 34-year-old averaged 3.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 36.4% from three-point range (12.2 minutes per contest). Amid backcourt injuries, Joseph unexpectedly started all five games for Orlando during the team’s first-round playoff loss to Boston.
Joseph spoke fondly of his lone season with the Magic and expressed interest in a reunion, but the club wound up declining its option on Joseph for 2025/26, making him an unrestricted free agent. This is the first rumor we’ve seen linked to Joseph since, and if the contract is finalized, it will be the first overseas stint of his lengthy career.
The reason we used that somewhat cautious wording is because AS Monaco was recently given a transfer ban and fined €300,000 by the EuroLeague for financial and regulatory compliance violations, as Nikola Miloradovic outlines in a pair of stories for Eurohoops.net. Monaco, which finished runner-up in last season’s EuroLeague playoffs and competes in France’s top basketball division (the LNB Élite), will have to resolve that issue before completing the transaction.