Now 32 years old, Daniel Theis has spent each of the last eight seasons playing in the NBA. Although a bit undersized for the position (listed at 6-foot-8), his grit and determination had teams mostly utilizing him at the center position. After being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, the team waived him a day later. Now reports are that Daniel Theis is close to agreeing on a deal with AS Monaco Basket in the EuroLeague.
Eight-Year Veteran Expected To Leave NBA For EuroLeague
Daniel Theis Reportedly Close To Joining AS Monaco In EuroLeague
Lacking much depth at the center position, the New Orleans Pelicans utilized Theis in the rotation throughout the season. That was up until Wednesday. New Orleans dealt Theis to Oklahoma City for cash and a 2031 second round pick swap. The Thunder waived him the following day. While it wouldn’t have been surprising to see another team come in to add Theis, even if it was as a third-string center, it looks like a different route will be taken.
According to SDNA (article is written in Greek and needs to be translated to English), AS Monaco Basket of the EuroLeague is the large favorite to acquire the center and getting close to adding Theis to join their team.
AS Monaco is currently one of the better teams in the EuroLeague. They own a record of 16-10, which is only bettered by two EuroLeague teams.
Fans of the NBA would recognize some of the names on AS Monaco’s roster. Those that used to play in the league include Elie Okobo, Nick Calathes, Mike James, Jaron Blossomgame, Georgios Papaginnis, and Donatas Motiejunas. Their head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, also had a 31-game stint with the Houston Rockets in 2006-07.
Eight-Year NBA Career Coming To A Close?
Entering this season, even before all their injuries, it was evident that the Pelicans had little depth at the center position. Theis started the first five games for New Orleans until the team inserted rookie Yves Missi with the starters. Theis remained in the rotation though. In 38 appearances (nine starts), Theis posted averages of 4.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 16.3 minutes. He shot 47.3% from the field, 24.3% from beyond the arc, and 83.8% from the free-throw line.
Prior to this season with the Pelicans, Theis donned the jersey of five other NBA teams during his career. He was also a member of the Boston Celtics (twice), Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and Los Angeles Clippers.
For a brief while, Theis was a full-time starter, particularly in his first stint with Boston. He has started 160 outings in his career, and 115 of those starts came in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. Those were his two most productive years in the NBA as Theis combined to average 9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks, mostly with the Celtics but also 23 games with the Bulls in 2020-21.
In 411 career regular season games (160 starts), Theis has averages of 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. He has also appeared in 41 postseason contests, with 40 of those coming with Boston (one with the Clippers).
Photo credit: © Scott Kinser-Imagn Images
