Former Mavs Guard Delonte West Enters BIG3 Draft
DALLAS - Despite having some recent legal trouble in Florida, it appears that former Dallas Mavericks guard Delonte West is getting back on track as he tries to revive his basketball career.
After trying out for the BIG3 league in March, West performed well enough in those tryouts to receive a ticket for the league’s draft pool on Wednesday. West will now enter the BIG3 draft later in the summer, hoping to continue rebuilding himself and showcase his abilities to the world once more.
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West, 38, has for years struggled with mental issues and more, with the Dallas Mavs organization, led by owner Mark Cuban, trying to offer assistance. substance abuse issues and homelessness in recent years. In 2020, Cuban helped West enter into a drug rehabilitation facility, with Cuban offering to pay for his treatment. And a year later, West had advanced from being a patient at the Florida rehab center to getting a job there.
West played for four different NBA teams from 2004 to 2012. With the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averaged 10.3 points, 3.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds per over three seasons. He finished his NBA run in Dallas, when during the 2011-12 he played in In 44 games, starting 33 of them, as he averaged 9.6 points, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.
The October 19 arrest report states that West, for eight seasons an NBA standout, was apprehended by police at about 9 p.m. after he was found “yelling and banging on the glass doors” at the Boynton Beach Police Department entrance.
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Per the police report, West was “screaming profanities” while holding open containers of beer and vodka. West allegedly walked away from police, who ordered him to stop, but he continued to refuse to stop.
The police report states that West “began to place his hands inside the waistband of his pants,” which prompted an officer to “unholster and initialize” a Taser. West was then handcuffed, but “continued to be belligerent and screaming profanities” while officers searched him and moved him into their patrol car.
As always, we're thinking good thoughts for Delonte West, on the court and off. Perhaps he’ll get drafted by a BIG3 team and find comfort in playing competitive basketball again.
