Former NBA lottery pick Mario Hezonja informed Real Madrid on Monday that he was exercising his opt-out clause to return to the NBA, and league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link) that the veteran forward has received interest from multiple teams, including some of the clubs that are in the mix for LeBron James.

However, a report from Nacho Duque of the Spanish outlet Marca indicates Hezonja’s move back to the NBA may not be so simple (hat tip to Eurohoops). At the time the 31-year-old told Real Madrid he was exercising his out clause, he hadn’t received a formal offer from an NBA team and didn’t pay the Spanish club his $1MM buyout fee, according to Duque.

Hezonja’s representatives have been in contact with Real Madrid and offered to increase the buyout amount, but the ball is in the team’s court, Duque writes, suggesting that Madrid could opt to hang onto the Croatian forward since he hasn’t technically met the requirements of his opt-out clause.

If Hezonja does end up paying Madrid a buyout and leaving for the NBA, there’s also no guarantee that he’d be assured of a regular season roster spot, which could open the door for him to return to Europe in the fall and join a new team, according to Duque, who says Dubai Basketball and Olympiacos are among the clubs keeping a close eye on the situation.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• New Mavericks forward Santi Aldama headlines Spain’s roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifying games in late August (Twitter link). Celtics wing Hugo Gonzalez, Thunder big man Aday Mara, Clippers forward Baba Miller, and Aldama’s Mavs teammate Sergio de Larrea are the other NBA players who are part of the the preliminary 15-man squad.
• Add Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill Laurie – who are worth $17.8 billion, per Forbes – to the list of parties considering bidding for an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, writes Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Several groups are reportedly interested in owning a potential Las Vegas team, including one fronted by former Disney CEO Bob Iger and another led by Bill Foley, the owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.
• Zach Kram of ESPN assigned offseason grades to all 30 teams, giving his lone “A” grades to the Spurs and Jazz. On the other end of the spectrum, the Pelicans got a D from Kram, while the Magic and and Wizards each earned a grade of D+.