Josh Boone wants to return to the NBA
After opting to go overseas than to wait for an NBA team to sign him, former New Jersey Nets centre Josh Boone expressed his intention of returning to the big league, hoping to have another opportunity to
prove that he belongs to the elite class of basketball players in the world.
Boone, who averaged four points and five rebounds in 63 games with the New Jersey Nets last season, met with several teams during the off-season including the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, but no
deal materialized.
The 25-year-old centre was also invited by several teams to their respective training camps, but Boone opted to sign with the Zhejiang Chouzhou of the Chinese Basketball Association after not receiving a
guaranteed deal from any NBA team.
“It should be short term,” said Boone to the North Jersey
Record when asked how long he is planning to stay in China. “I know, as do a lot of others, that I am an NBA-level player. But unfortunately some decision-makers didn’t view me as being worth anything. I will have to see what happens with the lockout
next year. But I’d like to come back.”
The former University of Connecticut standout, Boone, who was the 26th-overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, spent four seasons with the Nets and averaged 5.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game, but New Jersey
opted to sign Johan Petro as Brook Lopez’s backup, although he is still hoping that his former team will have a good year.
“I wish them the best,” Boone said. “And I hope things are better for them this year than they were last year.”
So far the Nets are having a better start than last season, but their new head coach is not impressed with how they are performing lately, especially their big men, including emerging star Brook Lopez. “He
just needs to improve,” Johnson said referring to Lopez. “We have to do a better job of getting him better shots. He has to be more aggressive.”
Johnson is also unhappy with Petro’s performance and said that they will look for other options, which gives hope for Josh Boone, although he still needs to fulfil his commitment with his Chinese club.
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