Maccabi Tel Aviv's chase for backcourt reinforcement Armoni Brooks appears to be over, and not the way the club hoped. ONE reports that the American guard is instead heading for Valencia Basket, with the Israeli champions' advanced talks with him breaking down.
Brooks became available after his own club, ASVEL Villeurbanne — the French project built around Tony Parker — was forced to slash its operating budget from roughly 59 million euros to around 24 million after a major funding source fell through. Multiple European outlets reported the club is now working through unpaid dues to last season's squad and shedding recently signed players it can no longer afford, Brooks among them.
That sudden availability had made him one of the more coveted names on the market, and Maccabi moved quickly. According to ONE, the Israeli club held advanced negotiations and viewed the 28-year-old as an ideal fit to strengthen the guard rotation — with one added motive: insurance against a possible exit for Lonnie Walker IV, who is reportedly working toward a mutual split from Maccabi despite still being under contract, with Partizan Belgrade among the suitors.
But per ONE's reporting, the deal foundered not over money but over Brooks' own reservations about relocating to Israel with his family given the security situation in the country. The outlet says that concern, rather than any competing financial offer, was the decisive factor in him looking elsewhere.
Valencia is where ONE says he will land for next season. Spanish outlet Deportevalenciano separately reported the club is in advanced conversations with Brooks, describing him as fitting the scoring, three-point shooting profile Valencia wants to add to its backcourt. It's worth noting the picture elsewhere in Europe has been less settled — Sportando and other outlets had Real Madrid as the frontrunner for Brooks in recent days, with Valencia, Partizan and Crvena Zvezda all also in the mix — so the move has not yet been formally announced by either Valencia or Brooks himself.
Brooks is no stranger to big-name European suitors chasing him. The Waco, Texas-born guard went undrafted out of Houston in 2019 and bounced through the G League before NBA stints with the Rockets, Raptors and Nets. He moved to Europe in 2024, joining Olimpia Milano, where he won last season's Italian league and cup double and was named MVP of the Italian Cup — form that made him a EuroLeague-wide target the moment ASVEL's finances collapsed.
For Maccabi, missing out on Brooks leaves the backcourt question unresolved just as the Walker situation drags on. The club has been busy elsewhere this window, with reported moves for Daniel Theis and Armando Bacot, but a proven, three-point shooting guard of Brooks' recent pedigree does not come around often on the open market in early August.
ASVEL, for its part, is reportedly turning to Kyler Edwards as a possible replacement for Brooks, part of a broader scramble to reshape a roster that was meant to challenge for Europe's top honors before the budget news hit.
