Lester Quiñones to Play Intercontinental Cup with G League While Real Madrid Decides

The Lester Quiñones saga takes an unexpected turn. The shooting guard has been included in the G League United roster, the development league team that will compete in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, according to an announcement made Monday by the competition itself.

The team's schedule kicks off with an Asian tour: two friendlies against the Shanghai Sharks on August 28 and 30 in Shanghai, before traveling to Beijing for the tournament, which will feature six teams between September 22-27 under the direction of Mahmoud Abdelfattah.

What it means for Real Madrid

The immediate reading is one of cooling interest, but it's worth not overreacting. The inclusion in this roster confirms that, as of today, there is no signed contract with the white club or anyone else: a player with a deal already closed in Europe would not enter a G League exhibition tour.

However, it's also not a closed door. The organization itself contemplates possible roster changes between the friendlies and the tournament, and there is recent precedent: in last year's edition there was a replacement on short notice days after the announcement. If Madrid decided to close the signing in the coming days, nothing would prevent the player from leaving the expedition.

What the roster does reflect is the shooting guard's strategy: staying in shape and in the spotlight while negotiations don't advance. And in passing, a warning to the white club, which has been weighing the move for weeks without executing it and already lost out by waiting on Armoni Brooks, who ended up at Valencia.

The context of the negotiation

Madrid's interest in Quiñones was first reported by Chema de Lucas in late July, and last week the president of the Dominican federation, Junior Páez, even said the player would likely be signing in Spain. Since then, silence.

The appeal of the Dominican for Pedro Martínez's squad is twofold: he comes off averaging 23 points on 43% from three-point range in the G League with the Osceola Magic, and he would not take up a non-EU roster spot, a decisive factor in a squad with very tight quotas.