29-year-old former 2013 NBA lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad is hoping to return to the NBA after spending the past four seasons abroad, writes Dana O’Neil of The Athletic. Muhammad indicates that he has worked out for the Kings and has received interest from the Mavericks.
Muhammad was selected with the No. 14 pick out of UCLA in 2013 and spent the majority of his NBA tenure with the Timberwolves. After Minnesota waived him in the spring of 2018, he latched on with the Bucks. Since then, he has suited up for a pair of CBA clubs, the Shanxi Brave Dragons and the Shenzhen Aviators. During the 2021/22 season, Muhammad played briefly with the Nuggets’ NBAGL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. He next joined the San Miguel Beermen of the Phillippine Basketball Association.
“It was a big adjustment,’’ Muhammad said of his time abroad. “The language barrier — I needed a translator to talk to my teammates — the food. I got down on myself.’’
Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former Nets small forward Dzanan Musa has inked a deal with top EuroLeague power Real Madrid, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. The 6’9″ wing, still just 23, was selected with the No. 29 pick by Brooklyn in 2018. From 2018-20, he appeared in a total of 49 games for the Nets, averaging 4.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 1.1 APG while shooting 37.6% from the floor. Musa spent the 2021/22 season with another Spanish team, Club Baloncesto Breogán, for whom he averaged 20.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 3.1 APG.
- Another recent Net, point guard Mike James, has opted to re-sign with AS Monaco on a two-year deal, according to Eurohoops. James, 31, was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team during his 2021/22 season with AS Monaco, averaging 16.4 PPG, 5.7 APG and 3.4 RPG. The 6’1″ James last suited up in 13 games for the Nets during the 2020/21 season, averaging 7.7 PPG, 4.2 APG and 2.5 RPG across 18.2 MPG.
- Former NBA reserve guard Jerian Grant has signed with the Turkish club Turk Telekom, per Eurohoops. Grant, now 29, was selected with the No. 19 pick out of Notre Dame in 2015, and logged time with the Knicks, Bulls, and Magic, before landing with the Wizards for his last NBA season, 2019/20. The 6’4″ vet holds career NBA averages of 6.1 PPG, 2.9 APG, 1.9 RPG and 0.7 SPG across 279 games. Grant spent the 2021/22 season with Italian EuroLeague club Olimpia Milano. During his games played within the Italian League, he averaged 7.4 PPG 2.7 APG and 1.9 RPG.
Monaco is definitely not a Spanish club
Lol, remember when Muhammad was considered the next big thing in HS basketball. Then they found out he was like 20 playing HS ball
He is exactly one year older than what he was listed as in HS. After it was revealed, people made it out to be like his 1 year age advantage was the only reason he was an NBA prospect which is ridiculous. You can’t average 13.5 points per game in an NBA season without talent.
He was born in 1992, and was part of the 2012 recruiting class. Also he stinks, he just put up decent numbers on bad team and he was out of the league at 25
That doesn’t dispute anything I said. He was still a lottery pick after they found out he was exactly one year older. Also was offered a 4 year 40 million extension that he turned down. Fans these days really think it’s easy to average 13.5 in the NBA whether you’re a “good player” by NBA standards or not. He had natural scoring ability that had nothing to do with age.
He was lazy and started less then 20 games in his career. He stinks
Still, the amount of scoring talent required to be lazy and still score 35 points on the 73-9 Warriors shows he was a legit NBA prospect.
Yet another FORMER Timberpuppie.
It’s the yearly Muhammed tryout circuit.