Six-year NBA veteran Cole Anthony spoke to Olgun Uluc of ESPN about his surprising recent decision to sign with Melbourne United in Australia’s National Basketball League, acknowledging that the move to the NBL at age 26 makes him something of an outlier.
“Yeah, it’s unprecedented to have players who are really in the prime of their career — I was a first-round (NBA) draft pick, been in the league six years now — to just up and leave,” Anthony said. “But I felt like this was the best path for my development as a whole; as a human being, but also as a basketball player.”
According to Uluc, Anthony’s one-year contract will make him the highest-paid import player in Australia’s top basketball league. However, the former 15th overall pick said that money wasn’t the motivation for heading Down Under.
“For me, I was looking at it like: this is a very well-respected league, where I can come and potentially carve a path for myself back to the NBA,” Anthony explained. “It wasn’t a money play. I’m blessed enough to be in a position right now where that wasn’t the driving factor of this decision.
“At the same time, (former teammate) Joe (Ingles) is here, coach Jacob (Chance) is a dude who just came back from the NBA… so I can relate to him on some level with that. All things (considered) — way of living, no language barrier, coming to a place I’ve always wanted to come to since I was young; I’ve never been — I’m excited to get down there soon. I thought about it heavily, for a long time… and, alright, this feels right.”
We have more international notes
Pacers two-way player Ethan Thompson is expected to be waived by Indiana in order to sign a one-plus-one contract with the Serbian team KK Partizan, according to reports from Nova.rs and Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops). While there have been no official announcements yet from either Partizan or the Pacers, Thompson heading overseas would clarify the roster situation in Indiana, where second-round pick Braden Smith has been expected to sign a two-way contract and the team doesn’t currently have a two-way slot open. Parting ways with Thompson would allow the Pacers to make room for Smith alongside two-way players Jalen Slawson and Kobe Brown.
Türkiye’s roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers will feature a handful of current and former NBA players, including Sixers big man Adem Bona, forward Cedi Osman, guard Furkan Korkmaz, and center Omer Yurtseven. However, as Eurohoops details, a pair of notable names will be missing — Rockets center Alperen Sengun and new Mavericks wing Tarik Biberovic aren’t among the players on the national team’s preliminary roster for contests vs. Lithuania on August 28 and Iceland on Aug. 31.
The Lewis family, which owns a majority share of Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, is among the potential bidders for a London-based team in NBA Europe, according to Jack Pitt-Brooke and Sam Joseph of The Athletic. American technology billionaire Nikesh Arora also reportedly has interest in becoming the controlling owner of NBA Europe’s London club.