NBA Rumors: CBA Star Open To Call-Up, Weighs In On Brooklyn Title Chances

Andrew Nicholson has been doing well in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), where he has been playing since 2017.

The 19th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft last played for the Brooklyn Nets, one of the favored teams to win the NBA title this year.

The 6-foot-9 cager last saw action in the NBA in 2017. He was limited to 10 games, and his numbers were not that great.

He played only 10 games, averaging three points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.1 minutes of action.

Nicholson was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Allen Crabbe but never got to suit up after he was waived..

Since moving to the CBA, he had stints with the Guangdong Southern Tigers (2017-18), Fujian Sturgeons (2018-19), Guangzhou Loong Lions (2019-20) and then returned to the Sturgeons where he is lined up at present.

The Canadian appeared at the May 12 episode of the East Asia Super League (EASL) discussions on Clubhouse where he was asked different questions.

When asked about the possibility of playing once more in the NBA, the St. Bonaventure product was open to it if any team would need his services.

“Whichever team needs a guy like me, which I’m sure a lot of, I’m always available to play. For me, basketball is a passion. Whatever team I play on, I’m always going to do my best, give my 110%. So whenever there is an opportunity for me to go, I will go and make the best out of the situation,” Nicholson said.

Being a former Net, Nicholson was also asked about the chances of his former team winning the NBA title.

The 31-year-old admitted that he has not followed the league that much since he was busy playing in China.

However, he stressed that the Nets do have firepower but pointed out that team connection will be the key for Brooklyn to win it all.

“I have been following the NBA this season being in China. I’ve seen highlights but haven’t actually seen the games. Based on their talent, seeing who they have brought in the squad, they have a lot of firepower. It’s just that, would it all connect? So playoffs, it’s not really all about firepower. Playoffs is about teams connected,” Nicholson stated.

To illustrate, Nicholson stressed the run of the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat last NBA season.

While both teams had the necessary firepower, the Canadian shared that two have something more that would be the key to winning an NBA title.

“As you saw last year, look at Denver and Miami. They had some firepower, but there were teams there that had a lot more. The fact that they made it that far showed that you have to play team basketball. It’s going to be interesting to see. I’m home now and I can watch the games and I’m interested to see what happens,” he ended.