Former first-round pick signs internationally following Warriors interest

The Golden State Warriors chances of signing Brazilian big man Bruno Caboclo are officially over after the Olympic standout reportedly secured his next professional contract on Thursday.

According to Tomer Givati of the Israel Hayom newspaper, Caboclo has signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv for next season where the 28-year-old will play alongside former NBA guard Patrick Beverley.

Bruno Caboclo had been training with the Golden State Warriors after his impressive performances at the Paris Olympics

Having not played a game since January 2021, Caboclo had been looking to reignite his NBA career by training with the Warriors in recent days. His agent Daniel Hazan had told Sport 5 Israel that an offer was on the table from Hapoel Tel Aviv, but that Caboclo was confident of getting a deal with the Warriors.

However, that always seemed unlikely given Golden State's current position just under the first tax apron, meaning they're not currently capable of signing anyone to the vacant 15th roster spot.

Caboclo's best chance would have been to accept a training camp deal and impress in preseason, potentially opening up an opportunity were the Warriors to waive national teammate Gui Santos, or orchestrate another trade that gave them greater financial flexibility.

Understandably, Caboclo has chosen to accept the security of a guaranteed contract overseas, rather than risk an NBA comeback that had no guarantees and was unlikely to eventuate given Golden State's roster situation.

Caboclo played 107 combined regular season and playoff games with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets between 2014 and 2021. He was originally the 20th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and has career averages of 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

The 6'9" power forward-center put his name up in lights with a pair of massive performances at the recent Paris Olympics, having gone for 33 points and 18 rebounds in the final group game against Japan. Caboclo then had 30 points and six rebounds in the quarter-final loss to Team USA, finishing the tournament as the eighth-leading scorer and sixth in rebounds per game.