Former NBA forward Mario Hezonja has no interest in returning to the league, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net relays. Speaking to Russia’s Tatar-inform, Hezonja said, “I didn’t get the respect I deserved. Also, in my opinion, the NBA is more a show than the game itself.” He’s playing for UNICS Kazan this season. He played five seasons in the NBA, most recently a 53-game stint with Portland in 2019/20.
We have more from the basketball world:
- Free agent guard Walt Lemon Jr. is signing a summer contract in the Canadian Elite Basketball League with the Ottawa BlackJacks, Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw tweets. Lemon holds NBA experience with the Pelicans and Bulls. He played 42 games with Fort Wayne, the Pacers’ G League affiliate, this year.
- The Salt Lake City Summer League will be held on July 5-7, according to a Jazz press release. The Grizzlies, Thunder and 76ers will be the other participants along with the host Jazz.
- Tamika Tremaglio, the new executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, favors expansion, Andrew Cohen of Sporttechie.com reports. “We do want more teams, I think it’s good for the business,’’ she said. “Ideally, we hope that there will be more teams popping up in the U.S.’’ In a Spotrac piece, Keith Smith points out compelling reasons for expansion, including the amount of cities interested in having an NBA team, the deep talent pool and the cash infusions from expansion fees.
