Basketball 365 - United Kingdom    


Latest News
BBL
England Basketball
NBA
Students
National Teams
General News
Leagues
Teams
Players
Fixtures
Results/Reports
Standings
TV & Radio Listings
Features
Interviews
Profiles
Multimedia
Photos

Message Board
Chat Central
Mailing List
Competitions
Links

UK Directory
B:365 Shop
Sitebuilder

Contact Info
FAQ & Help



John Amaechi
 
John Amaechi signed a 4-year deal with the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Friday
(AhmedPhotos.com)

 
 

Utah Jazz sign John Amaechi

July 20, 2001
Salt Lake City, Utah


The Utah Jazz unveiled John Amaechi as the newest member of their playing roster on Friday.

After passing a medical in the morning, he met the media in Salt Lake City that afternoon.

Amaechi, who had previously been courted by the Jazz last summer prior to signing on for an additional season with the Magic, now faces the exciting prospect of lining up alongside NBA veterans Karl Malone and John Stockton, plus the talented young Russian forward Andrei Kirilenko - their 1999 first-round draft pick - who recently arrived in Salt Lake City from CSKA Moscow.

The news certainly caught the Orlando media on the hop, as they had expected Amaechi to re-sign as a free agent, but the big man spots at the Magic have become very crowded, with this week's acquisition of both Horace Grant and Patrick Ewing, in addition to their recent draft picks Steven Hunter and Brendan Haywood who play the power forward and centre spots respectively.

By his own admission, Amaechi had a tougher time with the Magic this past campaign, but still posted an average of 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds a game during regular season play.

As per team policy, salary details were not revealed, but Amaechi is expected to ink a multi-year deal with the Jazz.

A product of Joe Forber's youth development programme in Manchester, John Amaechi will now likely find his name posted on the lists of the UK's sporting high earners, but one suspects it's not money that's the motivating force in his world, having passed on a sizeable offer from the LA Lakers last summer.

After graduating from Penn State in 1995, Amaechi had a brief initial spell in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which he followed up by playing for European teams in Greece, Italy and France, as well as the 1997/98 season spent with the Sheffield Sharks here in the BBL.

B365 Multimedia
 John Amaechi interviewed at the BBL Finals in May: Click here

Discuss This Page
Email This Page

Copyright © 2000-2005 Basketball 365 Limited. All Rights Reserved.