Starting 5 of Players Who Are Overseas
Every season some highlights pop up of former NBA players who are killing people in random foreign basketball leagues. Today I saw one in particular that got me thinking of who else is randomly playing in a league that isn't the NBA. Heres a starting 5 of former NBA players who currently play overseas somewhere.
Point Guard: Norris Cole
The fact that Norris Cole isn't on an NBA roster at the moment honestly surprised me. Cole isn't a great player by any means but he was giving Miami and New Orleans some pretty solid minutes when he was healthy for them. I will never forget watching him kill the Celtics in the 4th quarter of a game in 2011. Just came out of no where and murdered them in cold blood. He is currently playing for the Shandong Lions in China along wth former Sacramento Kings forward Jason Thompson. Cole is currently averaging 25 points/5.6 assists/3.5 rebounds per game on 44% shooting from the field. With teams needing depth/guard help (I'm looking at you New Orleans and Philly) don't be surprised if Norris Cole ends up being on an NBA roster at some point this year.
Shooting Guard: Jimmer Fredette
We're going to go ahead and play small with this back court with the man, the myth, the legend Jimmer Fredette at shooting guard. While he was in the NBA he played 32% of his minutes as a SG so I feel like thats good enough. Is Jimmer going to guard anyone at all? Certainly not. Might not even be able to guard me, a 5'10 and washed up athlete. Is he going to shoot from anywhere and drill jumpers in your eye? Of course he is. Jimmer is currently playing in China as well for the Shanghai Dongfang Sharks along with Celtics draft pick and future star Guerschon Yabusele. Naturally, Jimmer Fredette is going off on everyone in the CBA averaging 40 points/6 rebounds/4 assists per game shooting 52%/45%/89%. This is after he didn't return to the New York Knicks who had him on a 10-day contract last season. Im not saying losing Jimmer is the worse than signing Joakim Noah to a 4-year contract but its worse than signing that bum to a 4-year contract. In reality is Jimmer Fredette going to get back to the NBA? Probably not. The bright side is he finally gets a chance to shoot from wherever he wants and get paid for it. Oh and I almost forgot, he has already dropped 50 in a game this year.
Small Forward: Alexey Shved
If you aren't aware of who Alexey Shved is I genuinely feel bad for you. While in the NBA for 3 years he bounced around in Minnesota, Houston, Philadelphia, and New York. You may ask, why would you want Alexey Shved on your team? My answer is simple, he was unbelievable in 2K for absolutely no reason. If you saw my post about players who were waived this season you would no that. I am all about guys who get buckets in 2K when in reality they aren't good at all in real life. Shved is currently playing in the VTB United League which is the 1st tier of Russian professional club basketball. Will Shved end up back in the NBA? One can only hope. And if he does Im praying for anyone who plays me in 2K because its a wrap.
Power Forward: Josh Smith
Pretty positive NBA GMs just totally forgot that Josh Smith is a person because how is he not on an NBA roster? I mean he isn't great but he did beat the Clippers by himself in the playoffs that one time and he is for sure better than some guys who have NBA contracts right now *cough* Tyler Zeller *cough*. Smith is playing in China right now for the Sichuan Blue Whales. The other day he put up 41 points, 19 rebounds and 5 blocks. He also took 18 threes and made 7 of them. This was a against personal favorite and 2K legend Yi Jianlian. If Josh Smith were to end up in the league at some point this season it wouldn't be that big of a surprise considering how dumb some GMs are along with the fact they will pay anybody to play for them (see Ian Mahinmi and Festus Ezili's contracts for example).
Center: Amar'e Stoudemire
Pretty weird move by Amar'e here retiring from the NBA and deciding to play in Jerusalem of all places. I loved watching this guy play when he was in his prime. Dunking on everybody and swatting shots into the third row then starring down the person he just emasculated. He was just a monster. Then he just started getting hurt and doing weird stuff like bathing in red wine. He's only averaging 7 points and 6 rebounds a game while shooting about 44% from the field and I honestly didn't know he was overseas until I saw this incredible video of him offering a referee his glasses because he didn't like a call.
Such a legend. Never forget when he used to murder grown men in the NBA.
