SEPTEMBER 12, 8:15am: Kelly’s deal is official, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.
SEPTEMBER 7, 8:53am: Free agent power forward Ryan Kelly is poised to head overseas for the coming season, according to international basketball reporter David Pick, who tweets that Kelly has struck a deal with Spanish team Real Betis.
Kelly, 26, has spent the majority of the last four years with NBA teams, appearing in 147 games for the Lakers in his first three seasons before joining the Hawks for 16 games last season. In total, the Duke alum has averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 163 regular season contests (19.2 MPG) since being drafted 48th overall in 2013.
Kelly, whose salary for 2017/18 was non-guaranteed, was traded from Atlanta to Houston in late June when the Rockets were collecting non-guaranteed contracts. However, his salary would have become fully guaranteed if he’d remained under contract through July 7, so the Rockets waived him on that day.
Real Betis, also known as CB Sevilla, is coming off a season in which it posted a 9-23 record, so Kelly will be tasked with helping turn the club’s fortunes around in 2017/18.