Report: Australia's Joe Ingles a 'virtual lock' to land with NBA team this season

Australian Joe Ingles, who spent last season with Euroleague champion Maccabi Tel Aviv, and is currently dazzling scouts for his home country in the FIBA World Cup, has emerged as a "virtual lock" to land a guaranteed deal with an NBA team for the upcoming season, ESPN's Marc Stein reports. 

The 26-year-old Ingles had a fairly disappointing season in Tel Aviv, averaging just 6.4 points, three rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 22.5 minutes per game, through he did shoot a sterling 53.3 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. 

At 6-foot-8, Ingles is blessed with the combination of size, shooting and ballhandling ability that's basically become the new NBA currency (with popular shorthands like "versatile" and "floor spacer" and "point forward").

Ingles has guided Australia to a 2-1 record, with perhaps his biggest performance coming on Tuesday, when he scored a team-leading 18 points (on 7-of-11 shooting) to help knock off previously-undefeated Lithuania, 82-75.

Stein cites the Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies as two of the "handful of NBA teams pursuing Ingles," noting that Sixers coach Brett Brown previously coached the Australian national team, and that both Ingles and Grizzlies center Marc Gasol played with FC Barcelona, with Gasol "widely known to be one of Ingles' biggest fans."  

To see what all the fuss is about, check out Australia in action against Mexico in Game Four of World Cup group play at 7:30 AM ET on Wednesday.