{"id":40023,"date":"2025-08-02T13:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T13:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/40023\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T13:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T13:05:09","slug":"ex-la-lakers-and-golden-state-warriors-3x-nba-champion-signs-new-deal-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/40023\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors 3x NBA champion signs new deal in Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>After a one-year absence from the NBA, a former veteran center will now play in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Forging a solid career spanning over a decade in the NBA is not every player\u2019s cup of tea, especially as a role player.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the low odds, there are players who have done it, and former <a href=\"https:\/\/nbaanalysis.net\/tag\/dallas-mavericks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Dallas Mavericks<\/a> star <a href=\"https:\/\/nbaanalysis.net\/tag\/javale-mcgee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">JaVale McGee<\/a> is among those names.<\/p>\n<p>However, McGee failed to find a team last season after a short stint with the <a href=\"https:\/\/nbaanalysis.net\/tag\/sacramento-kings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Sacramento Kings<\/a> for the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"941\" height=\"627\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1803362296-941x627.jpg\" alt=\"JaVale McGee #00 of the Sacramento Kings arrives before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.\" class=\"wp-image-174802\" \/>Photo by Sam Hodde\/Getty ImagesJaVale McGee signs new deal with Illawarra Hawks<\/p>\n<p>At 37 years old, McGee is undoubtedly out of the prime of his career. It was evident from his averages of just 4.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game for the Kings in 46 games.<\/p>\n<p>While no NBA team offered McGee a deal, the former <a href=\"https:\/\/nbaanalysis.net\/tag\/golden-state-warriors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Golden State Warriors<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/nbaanalysis.net\/tag\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">LA Lakers<\/a> veteran found a new home in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, the 3x NBA champion is heading to the Illawarra Hawks, the team announced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdding JaVale McGee to our program is a game-changer. His leadership, athleticism, and championship mentality will elevate our group and energise the Illawarra community. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe signing of JaVale reinforces the club\u2019s commitment to sustained success and global recognition,\u201d Hawks\u2019 GM Mat Campbell said (h\/t <a href=\"https:\/\/dallashoopsjournal.com\/p\/javale-mcgee-signs-nbl-illawarra-hawks-dallas-mavericks-contract-nba-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>McGee will begin this new chapter in his career following a 16-year stint in the NBA after being selected as the No. 18 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n<p>JaVale McGee is still making more than $2.2m annually from the Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n<p>While McGee is no longer in the NBA, let alone with the Mavericks, the organization\u2019s one poor decision is still causing them a financial burden.<\/p>\n<p>For context, the Mavs offered McGee a three-year, $17.2 million deal in 2022. However, it quickly became clear that the veteran center\u2019s best days were behind him as he was waived in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of clearing the debt in a single swoop, the Mavericks decided to stretch McGee\u2019s remaining amount until the end of the 2027-28 NBA season.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the 3x NBA champ will still earn above $2.2 million per year from the Mavericks until the end of the above-mentioned campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a one-year absence from the NBA, a former veteran center will now play in Australia. Forging a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,35466,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-40023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-javale-mcgee","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}