Lance Stephenson is currently playing for the Nuggets’ G league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. He ultimately hopes to get another chance to play in the NBA, as he told Bob Kravitz of The Athletic.
“I want to show everybody I’m a different guy and I’ll do anything I can to contribute to a team,’” he said. “My whole mindset is getting back to the NBA. I feel like I belong there. That’s my destination. And I’ll never quit trying.”
Stephenson, who is averaging 19.5 PPG and 7.4 RPG for the Gold, hasn’t appeared in the NBA game since the 2018/19 season, when he played in 63 regular-season games for the Lakers.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- A successor for Gregg Popovich as Team USA’s head coach has yet to be named. Popovich said that Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau would make an excellent choice, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. “Oh sure, there are a lot of guys up here that would be fantastic and he’s one of them,” Popovich said. “I think that experience is great and the people that they’re looking at, they’re all great candidates and I think everybody is going to be happy with the final selection for sure. He also was really helpful and supportive during my last four or five years with this, talking to him about how it all goes, giving advice.”
- The Basketball Africa League will have an expanded second season, according to an NBA press release. The season will begin on March 5, 2022, in Dakar, Senegal, and will include stops in Cairo, Egypt, and Kigali, Rwanda. The BAL will once again feature the to 12 club teams from 12 African countries and will expand to a total of 38 games over three months.
- Seton Hall big man Tyrese Samuel has caught the eye of NBA scouts, Adam Zagoria of NJ.com writes. According to Zagoria, 25 NBA scouts from 17 teams will be in attendance on Thursday when the Pirates play Texas. There’s a chance Samuel could enter the draft after this season, depending on the feedback he gets.
Ty Samuel has game & this Hall/UT game is lit but the 2 young bigs I’m most hyped about in this upcoming draft is KJ Lofton & Michael Foster. Lofton probably remind alot of people of Big Baby Davis or Vernon Carey Jr with his build but his pro career gonna be more similar to his fellow LaTech alums Malone & Millsap. Mike Foster on the other hand is a prototypical NBA 4 & Id be surprised if he’s not a lottery pick next summer even tho it seems that few are projecting him that high rn
Tre Mitchell is actually sorta dominating Ty Samuel rn. He’s the 1 looking like the future NBA player. Great game so far tho
Arizona Wildcat center Christian Kokoko is another Big man to keep an eye on. He recently had a monster game against Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson.
I been meaning to watch Arizona all yr but haven’t gotten a chance except for small snippets & then I’m usually focused on Ben Mathurin. Don’t the big guy from Mali that was with Gonzaga last yr play with Arizona now too? I forget his name
Ballo is his last name I think
^ Christian Koloko
Zagoria is usually pretty tied in to local situations. But I know the SHU program better than he does, and I suspect the NBA infatuation with Samuel as an early entry draftee is likely dated. Not that it couldn’t revive. He’s an elite athlete who at times has flashed real BB skills to with it, and his slower than hoped for development since his FR year can possibly be explained by circumstances. But, regardless, he’s still raw, and his NBA draft designation will likely be as a pure 4 (one position big), which raises the bar. He’s a JR who’s yet to break the starting lineup. I think the scouts will advise him to go back to school (and the gym) next year.