Could a return to the NBA be in the cards for Carlos Boozer? According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), the veteran big man is playing his way into contention for an NBA job. Boozer, who signed a deal last summer to play in China for the 2016/17 season, is a member of the Guangdong Southern Tigers, who are currently just one win away from a spot in the Chinese Basketball Association Finals.
Booazer, who is playing on a team with other former NBA players Donald Sloan and Yi Jianlian, has averaged 17.7 PPG and 10.6 RPG in 45 games for the Tigers this season. Still, it’s hard to imagine a current NBA contender clamoring to sign him when the CBA season ends, unless one of those teams suffers a frontcourt injury or two down the stretch.
Here are a few more updates and notes from international basketball leagues:
- Nets general manager Sean Marks is headed overseas to scout a game between CSKA Moscow and Darussafaka Dogus on March 22, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Standout CSKA guard Milos Teodosic, who has expressed a desire to make the leap to the NBA later this year, is one player Marks will likely have his eye on in that matchup.
- Pick also notes (via Twitter) that former Pittsburgh guard Brad Wanamaker, who is currently playing for Darussafaka Dogus, has an NBA out in his deal. Wanamaker tells Pick that he met with Brett Brown last summer and was “real close” to signing with the Sixers.
- Former NBA center Ryan Hollins, who was recently cut by CB Gran Canaria in Spain, is headed to Italy after agreeing to terms with Fiat Torino, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. If Hollins remains overseas for the rest of this season, it will be the first year he hasn’t played an NBA game since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2006.
- After receiving a pair of 10-day contracts from the Hornets earlier this year, rookie center Mike Tobey returned to the team’s D-League affiliate. However, Tobey has now left the Greensboro Swarm and signed with Valencia in Spain, as Chris Reichert of The Step Back tweets.