The Queensland rivalry looks to fire up once again, with Brisbane pillaging an MVP from their cross-town rival.
According to his agent, Ara Vartanian, Travis Trice has signed with the Brisbane Bullets with an “NBA out” clause, meaning he can join the NBA any time during his contract.
Interestingly the Bullets have not announced the signing of Trice, perhaps saving it for a special announcement, but it has been confirmed by both his agent, the Cairns Post and US sports agent David Pick.
Source: Travis Trice, Bucks summer guard, signed with Brisbane Bullets of Austrailia’s NBL, but has a NBA out.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) July 1, 2017
The 24-year-old Trice finished the 2016/17 season with averages of 14.3 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds for Cairns and was awarded the Taipans’ Most Valuable Player award. Trice will join Torrey Craig, Mitch Young and Shaun Bruce and become the fourth member of the Taipans to ditch Cairns for Brisbane in the past two seasons.
Like many of the high-scoring point guards we saw dominate the league last season, Trice will be spending the next few weeks testing his chances and hopefully fulfilling his childhood dream of making NBA.
Trice will join Casper Ware, Bryce Cotton and Kevin Dillard as the compete in NBA summer league competitions over the coming month, Trice set to play with the Milwaukee Bucks.
At guard number 1 Travis Trice!!! #Ownthefuture pic.twitter.com/8F8lTATE2v
— BUCKS NATION (@nation_bucks) July 3, 2017
The Bucks summer league team will include future Boomers star, Thon Maker.
Trice’s play in the NBL last season earned him a place on the Westchester Knicks NBA D-League squad (now known as the G-League) where he excelled, shooting over 50% from beyond the arc.
With Brisbane’s two other import slots being filled by Torrey Craig and Stephen Holt, Trice’s acquisition creates one of the best backcourts in the league, with both Holt and Trice being able to handle the passing duties while the other plays off the ball.
Trice’s defection should make for an exciting Queensland derby between the Bullets and the Taipans. Today it was announced by the NBL that the two teams will face off against each other in a spectacular New Years Eve clash.
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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.
