LeBron says nothing, Valančiūnas went home, and MZT got 10 European nights

LeBron keeps America guessing, and says nothing

At Fanatics Fest in New York, plenty of people expected LeBron James to finally say where he is going next. He said nothing. When Tyrese Haliburton raised the subject, LeBron cut it off with a joke: „We already talked about this in the back...", and then simply listed the teams being mentioned: „I heard the Warriors... Philadelphia... Miami... somebody said I'm coming to the Yankees. We'll see what happens." The four-time champion, at 41, still dictates the agenda of an entire league without signing anything. That is not indecision - that is power.

Edwards is in line for a contract that reshapes the franchise

Minnesota is preparing to tie Anthony Edwards down with another enormous contract. Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV revealed the plan is for Edwards to sign a new monster extension in a year's time: „The idea is to elevate Ant's game, to get him back into the All-NBA teams, so he can maximise his earnings." Edwards is currently playing under a 244.6 million dollar deal signed in 2023. The 24-year-old guard is already among the best-paid players in the world, and now the planning is about how he earns even more. Basketball is a business, but rarely is it admitted this openly.

Valančiūnas went home: the NBA is not the end of the world

After 14 seasons in the NBA, Jonas Valančiūnas returned to Lithuania and signed a two-year deal with Žalgiris, running to the end of the 2027/28 season. The 34-year-old centre did not pretend it was an easy decision: „The process was fairly long and we had a lot of conversations, but Lithuania, Žalgiris and basketball in Lithuania definitely played a big role." He added that he was impressed by what Žalgiris has been building in recent years. This is the biggest NBA-to-EuroLeague transfer of the summer - and the message is bigger than the transfer: European basketball is no longer the place you come to only when the offers across the ocean dry up.

MZT Skopje learned its rivals: three fronts and at least 10 European games

MZT Skopje Aerodrom will fight on three fronts next season - the domestic league, the ABA2 league and the FIBA Europe Cup. The blue-and-whites have learned their group-stage opponents: confirmed so far are Greece's Iraklis and Estonia's Tartu, with Germany's Würzburg, Cyprus's AEL Larnaca and Poland's Dziki Warsaw also in the group - those three play FIBA Champions League qualifiers first, so a „lucky loser" will fill the spot of whoever falls short. The group stage starts on 29 and 30 September and runs to mid-January, with MZT playing at least 10 European games, five at home and five away. Skopje has a European basketball calendar again - now it has to survive it.

Macedonia at EuroBasket 2029: a bye to start, Cyprus at the finish

After the draw for the second round of the FIBA EuroBasket 2029 pre-qualifiers, the schedule for group „F" is known, where the Macedonian senior side plays Austria and Cyprus. Because the group has three teams, one sits out each round - Macedonia has a bye in round one, and plays its first game away to Austria on 30 August. In round three we host Cyprus, in round four we sit out again, and the last two games are at home to Austria and away to Cyprus. It is played across three „windows" of two games each: August 2026, November 2026 and February 2027. Only the group winner advances to the EuroBasket 2029 qualifiers. With Austria and Cyprus as opponents, there will be no excuses.