Boston Celtics second-round draft pick Marcus Thornton has inked a deal to start his professional career in Australia, which bucks a trend of stash players chasing better money in Europe.
Thornton, the 45th pick in June's draft, will play for the Sydney Kings of Australia's National Basketball League, the team announced Wednesday. Sydney head coach Damian Cotter noted that, “It’s a great acquisition for this club. Marcus’ versatility, athleticism and skill set are going to cause matchup problems for opponents, and he’ll be coming in to a situation where he will have the opportunity to lead a very talented team."
The fact that Thornton is headed overseas next season isn't really a surprise -- the Celtics openly communicated that their fourth and final pick of the 2015 draft would have to embrace being an overseas stash or NBA Development League player -- but heading to Australia would be a bit of an eyebrow-raiser. So why would Thornton consider it?
• The double dip: Australia's NBL plays only a 28-game regular-season that runs from October through February. Like many European leagues, it's a low-intensity game/training schedule with the added benefit of an early finish date. There's the possibility that Thornton could return stateside in early March and potentially get a month of additional experience (and pay) in the NBA D-League. Heck, there's always the possibility that Thornton could sneak onto Boston's roster by season's end -- assuming a spot opened as part of in-season maneuvering (Example: Grant Jerrett, who started his career in the D-League and signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder late in his rookie campaign. Jerrett inked a four-year deal -- with the final two seasons nonguaranteed -- that following offseason).
• Location, location, location: There's certainly more money to be made in professional leagues in Turkey and Spain, but Australia is trying to entice more talent. The NBL introduced a "marquee player rule" last season in which teams can go beyond the league's $1 million salary cap. The Kings landed maybe the biggest name in league history last season by signing Josh Childress and there's excitement in Sydney about potentially adding another NBA-caliber player in Thornton next to Childress. There are other benefits to Sydney that should entice stashable players, including the weather and a lack of a language barrier. Hop HERE to read a Q&A with Childress in which he gushed about his NBL experience thus far.
The 22-year-old Thornton, a product of William & Mary, averaged 5.1 points on 31.6 percent shooting during eight appearances for Boston at summer leagues in Utah and Vegas. He struggled a bit initially, but grew more comfortable, putting up 21 points in a win over Miami last week. He averaged 11 points on 45.5 percent shooting over Boston's final three games in Vegas.
