Yuta Watanabe is close to a deal with the Chiba Jets of Japan's B.League. Watanabe has spent the last six seasons in the NBA, but announced earlier this offseason that he was planning to play in Japan for next season.

Watanabe has played for the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns in his NBA career. Last season, he signed with the Suns on a two-year deal, before being traded to the Grizzlies mid-season. Watanabe has a $2.6 million player option for next season, which he'll have to decline to sign with the Jets.

Watanabe will play with Japan at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He'll then have a homecoming next season as the biggest Japanese star to play in the country's top league.

Australian prospect Roman Siulepa signed with the Tasmania JackJumpers of the National Basketball League.

The 17-year-old chose the Next Stars program over college eligibility.

"I'm homegrown and wanted to stay here. Once I heard I had the opportunity to be part of such an exciting program, I jumped at it," said Siulepa.

Siulepa is currently averaging 21 points and 10.7 rebounds in Australia's second division. 

Nolan Traore will sign a two-year contract with Saint-Quentin in the French first division.

Traore is a projected lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft as a 17-year-old, 6'5 playmaker. 

Traore was being recruited by Duke, Arkansas, Gonzaga, and Alabama, as well as the Australian NBL and Euroleague and EuroCup teams in France and abroad. 

"It was cool to have all these programs interested in me," Traore said. "I don't take that for granted. It was a reward for all the work I've put in. I was happy to have all these options, but the possibility of staying close to my family was also important. They can visit me, and I can go home easily."

Former NBA star Dwight Howard is continuing his career overseas. Howard has signed with the Taiwan Mustangs for The Asian Tournament.

Howard previously played for the Taiwan Beer Leopards of the T1 League. He won Most Valuable Import honors for the 2022-23 season, as well as being named All-T1 League and All-Defensive first teams.

The Mustangs are expected to pair Howard with Samuel Deguara, who is a 7-foot-6 center from Malta. The pair is already being called "The Two Beast Connection" by the Mustangs, with Howard nicknamed "Warcraft" and Deguara nicknamed "Dracula".

Lithuania guard Kasparas Jakucionis has committed to the University of Illinois. Jakucionis is considered one of the top international guards heading to a United States college, and he's a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-6 guard has appeared in five games for Barcelona across various competitions over the last two seasons. Across multiple different competition, with Barcelona and their youth team, Jakucionis averaged 17.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

Jakucionis is just one of what is expected to be several international players to commit to playing college basketball in the United States. The advent of NIL deals has made collegiate basketball a more attractive path for foreign-born players than it used to be.

Veteran wing Evan Fournier is prioritizing staying the NBA for his next contract, as opposed to returning to play in Europe. A rumor came up at the EuroLeague Final Four that Fournier could play for Olympiacos in Greece or ASVEL in his native France next season.

The Detroit Pistons hold a $19 million team option for Fournier for next season. The Pistons are expected to decline that option to create cap space. That will make Fournier an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Fournier is expected to play for France at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He's likely to know his NBA future ahead of the Olympics, which will begin in Paris and the surrounding area in late July.

Fournier has played for the Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, in addition to the Pistons, in his 12-year NBA career. New York traded Fournier to the Detroit at this season's trade deadline.

Panathinaikos won the 2024 EuroLeague Championship with a 95-80 victory over Real Madrid on Sunday. This is the seventh EuroLeague title for Panathinaikos 

Guard Kostas Sloukas was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP. He finished with 24 points in the title game. Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points, Mathias Lessort scored 17 points, while Jerian Grant added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Dzanan Musa led Real Madrid with 15 points.

Veteran guard Mike James was named EuroLeague MVP for the first time in his 10-year EuroLeague career. James averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 39 EuroLeague games.

The AS Monaco star led his team to a third-place finish in the EuroLeague season. AS Monaco bowed out in the playoffs in five games against Fenerbahce.

James is the second American-born player to win the award. Anthony Parker was named EuroLeague MVP in both 2005 and 2006. James spent two seasons in the NBA, playing for the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets.

Nikola Topic, a potential top-five pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, suffered a left knee injury on Monday. Topic was injured on a non-contact play after an awkward landing following making a pass. An MRI showed Topic suffered a sprained knee.

Topic is expected to miss the remainder of the ABA Finals due to the injury. Topic is expected to be a full participant in workouts in June, ahead of the draft.

The 6-foot-6 point guard was injured in Game 1 of the Adriatic League finals. Topic had returned to Crvena Zvezda after spending the early part of the season playing for Mega Bemax.

Topic is considered a top-five pick by most draft experts. Some even have him in consideration to go as high as the second pick. The 18-year-old missed four-and-a-half months earlier this season with an injury to same knee he injured on Monday.

Veteran point guard Shane Larkin has signed a new four-year contract with Anadolu Efes in Turkey. Larkin joined Efes for the 2018-19 season. His new contract will carry through the 2027-28 season. That will give Larkin 10 years with Efes, which is a club record for a foreign-born player.

This season, Larkin has averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals across 44 games. Larkin shot 46.7% from the field, 40.5% on three-pointers and 89.9% on free throws this season.

Larkin was the 18th overall pick in 2013 draft out of Miami. In four NBA seasons, the 5-foot 11 point guard played for the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics.