THURSDAY, 11:08am: Gomes will play for the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, who’ve claimed him from the D-League player pool, Reichert reports (on Twitter).
TUESDAY, 12:59pm: Eight-year NBA veteran Ryan Gomes has signed a D-League contract, a league source tells Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). The D-League waiver system will determine which NBA team’s affiliate he’ll play for. The 33-year-old combo forward made 371 starts in 487 NBA appearances after the Celtics made him the 50th overall pick in 2005, but he’s been out of the NBA since Boston released him nearly two years ago to the day.
Gomes also played for the Timberwolves, Clippers and Thunder in between his Celtics stints, the last of which covered less than a day, as he’d gone to Boston from Oklahoma City as part of the three-team Courtney Lee trade involving Memphis on January 7th, 2014. He was a surprise addition to the Thunder opening night roster that season, and his five regular season appearances that year are his only ones since 2011/12. The Clippers waived him via the amnesty clause in the summer of 2012, clearing the $4MM they owed him for 2012/13 from their cap. L.A. signed him as a free agent in 2010 following a relatively successful three-year stint in Minnesota that included a career-high 13.3 points per game in 2008/09.
The former consensus All-American at Providence appeared in two games for Laboral Kuxta Baskonia of Spain last season before leaving the team, reportedly over a lack of playing time. He had been one of several free agents among the players amnestied since the reinstitution of the amnesty provision in 2011, as I noted Monday. He’ll remain eligible to sign with any NBA team regardless of the D-League affiliate he ends up with, and with the D-League showcase running Wednesday through Sunday, he’s in line to draw the eye of plenty of NBA scouts.