After signing Guerschon Yabusele earlier this week, French team ASVEL Basket is bringing aboard another former NBA player, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed veteran guard Norris Cole to a two-year deal.
A two-time NBA champion with Miami, Cole appeared in 360 career regular season NBA games from 2011-17 for the Heat, Pelicans, and Thunder. He has played in international leagues since then, spending time in Israel, Italy, and Montenegro before joining ASVEL this week.
Here are more international updates from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA first-round pick Sam Dekker, who spent the 2019/20 season playing for Lokomotiv Kuban, has parted ways with the Russian club and is now a free agent, the team announced (Twitter link). Formerly of the Rockets, Clippers, Cavaliers, and Wizards, Dekker was Lokomotiv Kuban’s averaged 13.1 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 10 EuroCup games, with 11.4 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 19 VTB United League contests.
- In an interesting story for ESPN.com, Baxter Holmes takes an in-depth look at how the NBA’s international players have handled the last three months, with many of them far removed from their home countries where friends and family members may have been affected by COVID-19. As Holmes details, Pelicans forward Nicolo Melli says he’s become closer with Spurs guard Marco Belinelli, and Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari – the NBA’s other two active Italian players – by staying in frequent contact during the pandemic.
- In case you missed it, former NBAers Jeremy Pargo and Malcolm Delaney are joining teams in Israel and Italy, respectively.