Justin Hamilton Signs To Play In Spain

Two-year NBA veteran center Justin Hamilton has signed with Valencia Basket of Spain, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Suns were close to making Hamilton a partially guaranteed offer last week, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities heard, but by that point it seemed Valencia was already zeroing in, as Paco Garcia Caridad of the Spanish outlet Marca reported 10 days ago that the team was nearing a deal with the 25-year-old.

Hamilton ended this past season with the Timberwolves, who gave him his first opportunity for significant playing time in the NBA. He averaged 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game across 17 appearances for Minnesota, nine of them starts. The Wolves had claimed him off waivers from the Pelicans, who released him a couple of weeks after acquiring him from the Heat in the three-team Goran Dragic trade.

Still, Minnesota elected not to make Hamilton, the 45th overall pick from 2012, a qualifying offer worth only slightly more than $1.147MM. He’ll head back overseas, where he spent the 2012/13 season playing for KK Cibona in Croatia and Latvia’s VEF Riga.

Will Hamilton return to the NBA at some point? Leave a comment to let us know what you think.

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