In addition to games vs. Golden State (October 7), at Sacramento (Oct. 13), and at Golden State (Oct. 16), the Trail Blazers‘ preseason schedule includes a home matchup with the London Lions on the afternoon of Oct. 12, the team announced today (Twitter link).

It has become relatively common over the years for teams from professional leagues in Europe, Asia, and Australia to come stateside to face an NBA club or two during the preseason. However, this will be the first time that a team from the United Kingdom has ever shared the court with an NBA squad, the Lions noted in a press release.

The matchup will be especially meaningful for Lions head coach Tautvydas Sabonis. The brother of Kings center Domantas Sabonis and the son of former Trail Blazers star Arvydas Sabonis, Tautvydas put out a statement about the game within the team’s press release.

“I’m excited to be playing a preseason game against an NBA team, and all the more so against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, a city that holds a lot of meaning for me and my family,” he said. “It will be fun to come back. As for the game itself, it will be a great test for our guys to try themselves against an NBA team, and a great boost for the growth of British basketball.”

We have more on the Trail Blazers:

• The Trail Blazers have hired Ameer Bahhur as the head coach of the Rip City Remix and James Brocato as their director of basketball innovation, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Bahhur had been with the Magic in recent years, serving as the team’s head video coordinator and as an assistant coach, while Brocato was hired by the Mavericks in 2014 and had been their director of analytics since 2015.
• Negotiations between the Trail Blazers and the city of Portland have been rocky, but Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (subscription required) still doesn’t view relocation as an imminent threat for the franchise. As Highkin outlines, if Seattle and Las Vegas are earmarked for expansion, there aren’t many other viable markets for the Blazers to go to, and the team is receiving more financial backing from its local governments than the SuperSonics did during their final years in Seattle. Additionally, Highkin is skeptical that commissioner Adam Silver would allow a team with the Blazers’ history and fan base to move while he remains on the job.
• In case you missed it, the Trail Blazers signed free agent forward Jeremy Sochan to a training camp contract on Sunday. Sochan, a former lottery pick who won a title with New York in June, is expected to compete for a spot on the regular season roster.