Former NBA starters Ricky Davis and Greg Ostertag have decided to make an NBA comeback through the NBA Development League, league sources told Ridiculous Upside on Thursday night. Both players have signed D-League contracts and will find out their new teams after clearing waivers on Tuesday afternoon.
Davis, 32, last played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2009-10 season before being released midseason after the team acquired Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. The high-scoring swingman has since spent time playing abroad in France, Turkey and China, but has apparently decided the best route toward an NBA comeback is by signing to play in its official minor league.
Davis is probably best described as a bit enigmatic, but the swingman was known as a gifted scorer during his 12-year NBA career -- beginning as a first round draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets in 1998. The former Iowa Hawkeye has averaged 13.5 points per game during his NBA career thus far, but scored a career-high 20.3 points per contest for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2002-03 season.
Ostertag, 38, is in a bit of a different boat as he hasn't played professional basketball since the 2005-06 season ended an 11-year NBA career spent mostly with the Utah Jazz. The 7-foot-2 center averaged a paltry 4.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 756 career NBA games, but apparently has decided to make an attempt at resuming his basketball career.
Once Ostertag is claimed, he'll become the oldest player in the D-League, an honor currently held by the Idaho Stampede's Antoine Walker. This surprisingly isn't the first comeback I've written about involving the Dallas native, by the way, as Ostertag was mentioned as a possibility to join the Texas Legends last season.
Both players will have to go through the waiver process, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the Cleveland Cavaliers owned Canton Charge pick up one of the two as they currently sit atop the waiver wire. Following the Charge in the wire rankings are the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Reno Bighorns, Dakota Wizards and Tulsa 66ers.
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