Veteran NBA center Daniel Theis signed a two-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier this month. He initially agreed to sign with ASVEL, which is owned by Tony Parker, but the French club is facing financial issues and several deals it had lined up ending up falling through.
In an interview with German outlet Braunschweiger-zeitung, Theis provided more details on his experience with ASVEL, as Eurohoops relays. The 34-year-old said he was “honored” to be recruited by Parker and was intrigued by the possibility of focusing on EuroLeague contests rather than French league games.
However, Theis was disappointed to indirectly learn of the budget cuts that led to the departures of several high-profile players.
“I found out mostly through the media or through teammates who sent me reports,” Theis reportedly said. “Unfortunately, there wasn’t much communication. … You would have expected a phone call (from Parker). We spoke over the summer. Many players, myself included, had been to his house to discuss different things. Finding out this way was obviously frustrating.”
Theis said he was content to sign with Maccabi after the Israeli team offered him the starting center job for the next two seasons.
Here are a few more notes from overseas:
ASVEL’s roster may not be as star-studded as it was originally expected to be, but Parker continues to add former NBA players, having officially signed 2019 second-round pick Tremont Waters on Sunday (Twitter link). The 5’10” point guard, a three-year NBA veteran, most recently played for Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico, the country he represents in international competitions.
Free agent guard Theo Pinson, who has spent the past two seasons with Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional, is drawing interest from Pallacanestro Trieste, according to Italian journalist Raffaele Baldini (YouTube link; hat tip to Sportando). Pinson, 30, played for Brooklyn, New York and Dallas from 2018-23. Pallacanestro Trieste competes in Italy’s top basketball league (Lega Basket Serie A).
2021 second-rounder Georgios Kalaitzakis, who played for Milwaukee and Oklahoma City during his lone NBA season in 2021/22, will continue his career in his native Greece, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Promitheas BC put out a press release officially confirming its deal with the 27-year-old forward.