And-Ones: Withey, Nunnally, K. Porter, NBA 2K
Former NBA center Jeff Withey, who has logged over 200 career games for New Orleans, Utah, and Dallas, is exploring opportunities in China after parting ways with his Turkish club last month. According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link), a report suggesting that Withey has reached a deal with the Shanghai Sharks is inaccurate, but the big man has tried out for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
Meanwhile, another former NBA player, James Nunnally, is a candidate to head back overseas after being waived by the Timberwolves last week. As Carchia relays, Nunnally continues to weigh his options after being linked to Spanish team Baskonia.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Top 2019 draft prospect Kevin Porter Jr. has been suspended for “personal conduct issues” by USC, the team announced over the weekend. Trojans head coach Andy Enfield said after Sunday’s game that the suspension is indefinite, per J. Brady McCollough of The Los Angeles Times. “We’ll re-evaluate his future with the program this week,” Enfield said. In his most recent 2019 mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony had Porter, a freshman guard, coming off the board at No. 11 overall.
- One executive who spoke to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports today cautioned against reading too much into reports on trade discussions or inquiries (Twitter link). “Be careful of these reports of teams talking,” the executive told Smith. “I mean, everyone is talking to everyone else. It’s trade season. Of course we’re all talking. I have 20 conversations a day at least that go nowhere as far as deals go, but it just takes one.”
- The NBA, NBPA, and 2K announced today in a press release that they’re extending their partnership. The agreement, which ensures that NBA teams and players will continue to appear in the NBA 2K franchise for the foreseeable future, is believed to be worth $1.1 billion over seven years, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal, who notes (via Twitter) that’s more than double the value of previous deals.
And-Ones: A. Brown, Hanlan, Draft, Africa
Former NBA swingman Anthony Brown and Serbian team KK Partizan Belgrade have officially parted ways, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Brown’s deal was supposed to run through June, but the two sides agreed to terminate it just a month after it was finalized.
In other international basketball news, former Spurs second-round pick Olivier Hanlan has signed with German club Telekom Baskets Bonn, according to an announcement from the team (hat tip to Sportando). Hanlan signed with San Antonio in September, but was waived a few days later, so the Spurs no longer have his NBA rights.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have updated their 2019 mock draft (Insider link), with Zion Williamson now claiming the No. 1 spot, followed by Duke teammate R.J. Barrett at No. 2. Givony and Schmitz also zero in on players whose stocks have recently improved or fallen, with USC’s Kevin Porter (No. 21 to No. 9) and Murray State’s Temetrius “Ja” Morant (No. 16 to No. 10) among the big risers.
- The NBA, which unveiled a new training facility at its basketball academy in Senegal this week, has “big plans” for Africa, writes Ken Maguire of The Associated Press. NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum suggests that the league believes the number of African players on NBA starting rosters (13) could double within a decade, Maguire notes.
- In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks examines some NBA roster moves or salary-cap decisions that didn’t receive a ton of attention at the time, but have paid off so far, including the Grizzlies‘ acquisition of Garrett Temple.