{"id":264046,"date":"2025-11-05T10:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/264046\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T10:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:05:11","slug":"next-star-nba-draft-prospect-noa-kouakou-heugue-set-to-leave-perth-wildcats-early-for-french-team-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/264046\/","title":{"rendered":"Next Star NBA Draft prospect Noa Kouakou-Heugue set to leave Perth Wildcats early for French team, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Noa Kouakou-Heugue\u2019s time in the NBL is reportedly coming to an end.<\/p>\n<p>As first reported <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OlgunUluc\/status\/1985654757709824071\" title=\"x.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">by ESPN<\/a>, the NBL, Perth Wildcats, and Kouakou-Heugue\u2019s management have been in discussions regarding his future with the club.<\/p>\n<p>Those talks have since progressed, with sources indicating a decision has been made for Kouakou-Heugue to depart \u2013 and an official announcement from the club is expected soon.<\/p>\n<p>Ten Perth <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Lachy_Reid\/status\/1985977193068199996\" title=\"x.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">reported he will depart<\/a> on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkbasketball-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-basketball-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" title=\"kayosports.com.au\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The French prospect has averaged three points, two rebounds, and shot 66% from the field in limited minutes this season, showing glimpses of the talent that first drew attention from NBA scouts.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761200708_112_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Kouakou-Heugue joined the Wildcats as part of a reported two-year developmental plan under the NBL\u2019s Next Stars program, with the goal of preparing for a projected first-round selection in the 2027 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n<p>However, his limited opportunities in Perth have reportedly prompted a reassessment.<\/p>\n<p>CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA &#8211; OCTOBER 22: Noa Kouakou-Heugue of the Wildcats is cheered by teammates on the Bench during the round six NBL match between Cairns Taipans and Perth Wildcats at Cairns Convention Centre, on October 22, 2025, in Cairns, Australia. (Photo by Emily Barker\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s understood Kouakou-Heugue is seeking greater playing time, and French club \u00c9lan Chalon are keen to secure his signature.<\/p>\n<p>\u00c9lan Chalon compete in France\u2019s top division, the LNB \u00c9lite, and have a strong history of producing NBA-level talent \u2013 with notable alumni including Clint Capela, Udonis Haslem, and Thabo Sefolosha. The club currently sits ninth in the standings with a 3-3 record to start the new season.<\/p>\n<p>If the move eventuates, it could shift Kouakou-Heugue\u2019s camp toward targeting the 2026 NBA Draft rather than the original plan with the Wildcats.<\/p>\n<p>If confirmed, it would be a disappointing development for the NBL\u2019s Next Stars program \u2013 losing one of its most promising young prospects before he\u2019s had the chance to complete a full season of development in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>The other current Next Stars are Karim Lopez (NZ Breakers), Dash Daniels (Melbourne United) and Malique Lewis (SEM Phoenix).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Noa Kouakou-Heugue\u2019s time in the NBL is reportedly coming to an end. As first reported by ESPN, the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-264046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}