The NBL's 'almost' players

Lamonte Turner's time at the Kings was done before it even started, but he isn't the first player to ALMOST play down under.

Someone who was probably famous once said, ‘you can’t miss what you never had’.

But I call bulls*** on that.

Us Aussie basketball fans know the feeling all too well, especially when it comes to players that never ended up featuring on our shores.

Hugh Greenwood | Photo credit: FIBA

Recently the Sydney Kings signed Lamonte Turner, before he was quickly turned back after failing his team medical. Sadly the remnants of Turner’s non-time in the league will only likely be remembered 10 years from now by a random eBay li`sting of a Kings jersey with his name on the back.

However, there are others who, perhaps more famously, we didn’t get to see.

Whether it be broken contracts, extended club talks, or even a promise at a bar, some well-known names ALMOST played down under.

Here are some of them…

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Andrew Bogut 1.0

The NBA lockout gave us Patty Mills playing for the Melbourne Tigers, and it was just one insurance deal away from giving us Andrew Bogut in the NBL as well.

Now, as we all know, Bogut did end his career in the league playing for the Sydney Kings, but he was supposed to play for the club much earlier in life.

The Aussie big man had signalled his intent of playing in the NBL while the NBA was sorting out its CBA. A number of clubs pursued the superstar, with the Sydney Kings eventually winning out. However, they were unable to insure his AUD$39 million Milwaukee Bucks contract, leaving fans ruing a missed opportunity.