The Lance Stephenson experience may be headed back to the NBA, with the veteran guard wanting to return to the league after going unsigned through free agency this summer.
Stephenson has struggled to maintain a job in the league since his short stint with the Los Angeles Lakers while playing alongside former rival LeBron James during the 2018-19 NBA season.
Stephenson played in China during the 2019-20 campaign, and after stints with the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers, he missed all of last season.
Now Stephenson wants another shot to help a team in the NBA, and he has two teams he’d prefer to play for in 2023-24, with the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets circled on his wishlist, according to Tashara Jones of the New York Post via Legion Hoops.
Lance Stephenson is planning a return to the NBA.
“I think it is time for a New York team. I want to play for the [Brooklyn] Nets or the Knicks either one would do.”
(via @TasharaJones, https://t.co/PIe4eOeMPI) pic.twitter.com/STYGxDKoom
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 26, 2023
With most rosters in the NBA already set, it will likely be no easy task for Stephenson to find a new home in the league, especially after sitting out all of last season and teams probably wanting to be blown away in a workout to consider signing him on a veteran minimum deal.
However, stranger things have happened in the NBA, and it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that things end up going his way to give him a shot at making the Knicks, Nets, or another team’s roster before the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
There’s also a chance that a team starts working the waiver wire during the season to account for an injury or two, with a need for a savvy veteran that doesn’t mind putting some effort in on the defensive end of the floor.
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