Rodrigue Beaubois will not join Rytas Vilnius after the Lithuanian club filled its perimeter vacancy by signing former NBA guard Matt Thomas on Saturday, November 14.
Thomas arrives on a free transfer after agreeing to a mutual contract termination with Unicaja Malaga just one day earlier, according to BeBasket. His signing brings an immediate halt to speculation linking Beaubois to the reigning Basketball Champions League titleholders.
At 32 years old, Thomas brings extensive high-level experience to Vilnius. The former Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Chicago Bulls sharpshooter has appeared in 139 NBA regular-season games. He also logged EuroLeague minutes with Panathinaikos and ALBA Berlin.
His tenure in Spain proved exceptionally brief. After signing with Unicaja Malaga—who also compete in the Basketball Champions League—the American guard appeared in only two continental fixtures and three Liga Endesa contests. His most productive outing came on November 3, when he scored 20 points in 19 minutes alongside Amine Noua against Reggio Emilia.
Rytas turned to the transfer market out of necessity following long-term injuries to its backcourt. Guards Martynas Paliukenas and Ignas Urbonas have remained sidelined since late October, leaving the coaching staff short on perimeter rotation pieces for both domestic and European fixtures.
Elsewhere in the Basketball Champions League ecosystem, RASTA Vechta secured guard Kihei Clark through June 2027 while parting ways with D’Mitrik Trice. Trice, formerly of Fos-sur-Mer, quickly secured a new contract with Austrian side Vienna, who compete against Nancy in the FIBA Europe Cup.
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