Former Boston Celtics reserve point guard Shane Larkin won’t return to the NBA as a third guard after finding stardom in the Euroleague.
Don’t expect to see former Boston Celtics reserve point guard Shane Larkin back in green and white any time soon.
Larkin, who has since gone on to dominate the Euroleague with Turkish club Anadolu Efes since leaving the Celtics at the end of the 2017-18 NBA season, made it clear he has no interest whatever in returning to the league as a third guard, the role he had with Boston in his last stint in the Association.
And for good reason — he shattered the Euroleague scoring record, became the first Euroleague player in a century to score 40 or more points in back-to-back games, and set another record by winning player of the week four weeks in a row.
“I will not go back to the NBA as a third point guard,” Larkin explained (via Fansided’s Andrew Favakeh. “So, if any team asks about that, we’re not even gonna answer the phone.”
Instead, the Miami product would demand 18 to 25 minutes per game, and real responsibilities to go with them.
He’s earned such a role, if there’s a team out there looking for a real backup floor general who has actually demonstrated they can perform at a level commensurate with such a commitment.
Alas for Celtics fans who still carry a torch for Larkin, it seems likely the now-Euroleague superstar has elevated his game out of range for what Boston will be needing at point guard for the foreseeable future.
Former teammate and Euroleague star Shane Larkin has long been a believer in Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum.
It’s not a big surprise to former Boston Celtics reserve guard Shane Larkin that All-Star forward Jayson Tatum has already risen to become one of the best players in the NBA in his third season in the league.
He predicted that years ago during the Duke product’s rookie season, before Larkin departed to play overseas for Turkish team Anadolu Efes in the EuroLeague, where he himself has found considerable success, setting a record for the most points in a EuroLeague game (49) in 2019.
Speaking on a recent episode of the “Celtics Talk” podcast, the Cincinnati native related how the young forward approached his rookie season.
“I talk to [Tatum] all the time, and it’s funny, I just saw him do that podcast, ‘All the Smoke’, and he was talking about that stuff with Phoenix, when he went out there, and he was like, ‘Phoenix is where I want to be,’ said Larkin.
“I remember having conversations with him his rookie year and I was like, ‘Bro, just be patient.’ He was so talented, he wanted to get out there and immediately be who he wanted to be, and I’m like, ‘You’re 19 years old, bro, just be patient, relax, you’re time is going to come and you’re going to be one of the top guys in this league.'”
It might seem like a foregone conclusion with the benefit of hindsight, not everyone was a believer in the Missouri native’s future.
But then, Larkin had the benefit of a front row seat for Tatum’s rookie season, which left quite an impression with the now-Euroleague star.
“I’ve been saying that for years, and now you see what he’s been doing. Sometimes it takes guys a year or two years to finally get that opportunity to be who they’re going to be,” explained Larkin.
“This year was his time, and he took it and ran with it. Now, he’s well on his way to being one of the best players in this league, for sure,” he added.
The NBA’s shifting schedule may impact free agency since a contractual issue may block overseas players from signing with an NBA team.
The NBA’s biggest priority at the moment is figuring out whether they can resume their season and crown a 2020 champion. However, the NBA’s shifting schedule has a wide-ranging impact that creates some unintended consequences.
For example, when the NBA schedule is altered, certain deadlines in players’ contracts must be adjusted as well. While NBA contracts will certainly be updated to account for the league’s new schedule, many agents who represent overseas players are concerned that international teams won’t be so understanding and flexible when it comes to modifying contract language.
Some overseas players have an NBA-buyout clause in their contract (also known as an NBA-out) that allows them to leave their international team if they get an offer from an NBA franchise. Some NBA-outs are monetary buyouts, but many of these buyouts give players a certain date in which they are allowed to test the free-agent market and secure an NBA offer.
“Every year, there are a number of overseas players who exercise their buyout clause to sign with an NBA team, and the deadline for those buyout clauses is normally between July 10 and July 20,” one international agent said. “That way, it’s during the free-agency period and the player has the option of participating in Summer League beforehand to see if an NBA team is going to offer him a guaranteed deal or a two-way contract.”
If the NBA is able to resume the season (as is being discussed), the league’s free agency period likely wouldn’t start until September or October. If overseas teams refuse to adjust their contracts, a player with an NBA-buyout deadline in July wouldn’t be able to sign with an NBA team this offseason. The earliest that they’d be able to exercise their buyout clause and sign with an NBA team would be July of 2021.
“We’re in limbo because the dates no longer match the NBA’s schedule,” one agent said. “It seems like the NBA doesn’t understand that moving free agency by several months will prevent most overseas players from coming over to the NBA because their contract only allows them to exercise their buyout clause in July.”
Also, some NBA-buyout clauses “are based on a certain number of days after the team’s last game,” according to another agent. These could present some unique challenges as well.
Some agents are hopeful that logic will prevail and the involved parties will be able to adjust the contract language without any trouble.
“FIBA released some overarching guidelines and one of them is that they expect teams and players to engage in what they call ‘good-faith negotiations’ on these kinds of topics,” one agent said. “They’re basically encouraging teams and players to compromise and figure these things out. They don’t want to have to resolve a thousand disputes like this. Let’s say a player had an NBA buyout set for July 15, which is 15 days after the start of free agency. The logical argument is that the new buyout date should still be 15 days after the start of free agency. So, if NBA free agency begins on October 1, the new buyout date should be October 15. The hope is that a lot of these situations can be sorted out logically.”
However, some agents believe that certain overseas teams will try to take advantage of this situation and use this loophole to keep their best players under contract internationally for one more season.
Real Madrid forward Rudy Fernandez
Euroleague officials recently canceled their 2019-20 season and the league is reportedly planning to start the 2020-21 season on October 1. Well, if the NBA’s free-agency period doesn’t start until late September or early October, that puts Euroleague teams in a very difficult position. While it’s easy to say that moving a player’s NBA-buyout clause to October 15 is a logical compromise, that means the Euroleague team would be losing one of their best players after the start of the season (when it’s extremely difficult to replace that player). This is why certain Euroleague teams may put up a fight when it comes to moving the buyout deadline.
There’s also some concern that FIBA won’t get involved in these disputes since teams that refuse to change this deadline are technically honoring the contract and not breaking any rules.
“FIBA has the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal, which is their court for disputes,” one international agent said. “But in this case, you can’t go to FIBA’s court to ask them to change the date of the buyout because it’s not like the team is doing anything wrong (such as not permitting players to exercise the clause). The team can just refuse to change the buyout date and say, ‘Well, it’s not our fault!’ I can see overseas teams taking advantage of this.”
Even if FIBA does want to get involved, several agents pointed out that it would likely be very difficult for them to resolve these disputes since there are many different leagues (in many different countries) under the FIBA umbrella. They would have to handle each of these disagreements on a case-by-case basis, which is much easier said than done.
So, what does this mean for the NBA? Each year, there are a number of players who sign with NBA teams after playing overseas the previous year (recent examples include Shane Larkin, Malcolm Delaney, Brad Wanamaker and Nicolo Melli among others). This year, certain NBA-ready players who would otherwise make that leap may not be able to exercise their NBA-out. That means some significant free agents may be off the market.
Boston Celtics guard Brad Wanamaker
It could also mean that the summer of 2021 features more overseas talent than usual since it would essentially have two offseasons’ worth of free agents who are looking to exercise their NBA-out.
“The NBA is focused on so many other things right now, so I think this just slipped their mind,” one international agent said. “But this could have a big impact on teams that are targeting overseas players.”
For players who have a monetary buyout (and no specific deadline), their overseas team could still be put in a tough position due to the NBA’s altered schedule. If an NBA team is willing to pay the buyout and sign the player during free agency in, say, October, the overseas team would be losing their star midseason.
Some international draft prospects have buyouts too, so NBA teams will need to do their due diligence and figure out the details of each prospect’s buyout clause (such as what it would cost to buy them out and whether there’s a deadline to do so).
One other hurdle for NBA hopefuls who played overseas last season: Several NBA agents believe there won’t be a 2020 Summer League and that’s where these players typically showcase their development in hopes of earning a guaranteed contract or a two-way deal. However, that may not be a possibility this year.
Multiple agents said they believe the event will be cancelled because it would be a logistical nightmare given the circumstances. Also, there’s too much risk to justify a series of exhibition games. As one agent put it: “The downside is way greater than the upside.”
Even if the NBA did find a way to have a 2020 Summer League, it couldn’t start until September or October. By then, many overseas leagues would have already wrapped up their free-agency period, meaning most fringe players would’ve already signed with a team overseas and wouldn’t be able to participate in Summer League.
“If Summer League isn’t until September or October, everyone would just skip it and take a guaranteed deal with an overseas team instead,” one agent said. “Who is going to jeopardize a guaranteed deal for the entire season just to play in the Summer League for two weeks?”
Former Boston Celtic reserve point guard Shane Larkin may receive Turkish citizenship to play for that country’s national team in a country current Boston center Enes Kanter can no longer return to.
The Boston Celtics have long had ties to Turkey through basketball, but they just got a little more complicated.
For most of the team’s history, their Turkish connection primarily consisted of playing exhibition games with teams based in that country, spanning Europe and Asia such as Fenerbahçe, who play in both the Turkish and Euroleague.
Boston has also had Turkish players, such as Semih Erden, a center who played with the Celtics in the 2010-11 NBA season.
More recently, the outspoken Enes Kanter joined the team, bringing his politics with him to Boston, including a longstanding feud with the president of his native country, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Now, news former Celtics reserve point guard Shane Larkin may receive Turkish citizenship in order to be eligible to play for the Turkish National Team is circulating through the NBA media sphere, a move that may raise at least one set of eyebrows on Boston’s current roster.
“I don’t know Larkin is a Turkish citizen,” said Erdogan, reports AA.com’s Emre Asikci. “We want to see a successful player like him in our national basketball team squad. Shane Larkin can carry our national team to good results.”
The former Celtic seems amenable to getting Turkish citizenship so he can qualify to play for that country’s national team, stating (via Reuters), “[i]t would be a great offer, if it comes.”
“I feel this is more like a home for me. Turkey’s jersey would look pretty good on me too,” added the Miami product, who currently plays for Anadolu Efes in the Euroleague and Turkish Basketball Super League.
As Turkish President Erdogan arrived in the United States for a White House meeting on Wednesday with President Trump, Senators Edward Markey and Ron Wyden held up NBA player Enes Kanter as a victim of the Turkish government’s targeting of political rivals https://t.co/AFcoF44sElpic.twitter.com/zI74MaX8In
Larkin is averaging 22 points and 3.8 assists per game with his new club, who he signed with after leaving Boston in 2017-18.
There, he has found stability in his overseas success, never staying in one place more than a season until his current stop previously.
The 27-year-old floor general recently set a Euroleague scoring record of 49 points in a single game against Bayern Munich, and will earn $2.8 million next season should he remain with the team next season.
From the sounds of things, that sounds like a distinct possibility, though it could make future Celtics events a little more awkward than it otherwise would have if Boston’s Turkish contingent makes a simultaneous appearance.
