Herbalife Gran Canaria confirmed Tuesday that Australian Boomers star Brad Newley will be ending his contract with the club on June 30. He has also informed the team he will not be returning next season.
This should be no surprise to Aussie Hoopla readers who read that Newley had reached an agreement with the Sydney Kings over a month ago.
Due to any basketball player being unable to sign with any team while still contracted to another, Newley seemed to be simply waiting for his European commitments to be fulfilled before any announcement could be made.
The talented forward who spent four seasons in Gran Canaria was offered a new contract for the upcoming Liga ACB (Spain’s Division I basketball league) season but refused to sign due to a “substantial” offer from another club.
Gran Canaria had hoped to Newley would return for another season but via a statement released from the club Newley stated that he feels this is the “best” move for the future of his family.
It seems what’s best for the Newley’s is returning to Australian soil.
During Newley’s four seasons with the club he helped Gran Canaria return to Eurocup competition (Europe’s second highest basketball competition). He was a motivational leader within the group and averaged 8.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game over his career there.
This season the talented forward led the “Granca” into the Spanish league finals defeating Valencia Basket in the quarterfinals, Dominion Bilbao Basket in the semifinals, until ultimately falling to dominant Euroleague club Real Madrid.
The 81–85 Gran Canaria loss was felt to be a valiant effort against a powerhouse like Real Madrid who fields a number of Spanish National team stars, has won 32 Spanish League titles and recently won the the Euroleague championship (2014-15).
The Sydney Kings are expected to announce Newley’s signing within the next hour.
He will become the sixth player to sign with the Kings this year, joining Julian Khazzouh, Kevin Lisch, Jason Cadee, Jeromie Hill and Mirko Djeric
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Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
