The Winnipeg Sea Bears made a huge addition on Thursday.
The club signed a former NBA big man in seven-foot centre Byron Mullens just days before the start of training camp.
Mullens played five seasons in the NBA and appeared in nearly 200 games with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Bobcats, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers.
The now-35-year-old averaged around seven points and four rebounds per game after being selected 24th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Mullens doesn’t know much about the league, the team, or even Winnipeg but is excited about the prospect of playing in a sold-out building.
“That’s what you want to play for,” said Mullens. “You don’t want to go to an empty gym and just play, feels like pickup. Kinda get that excitement of going there and playing in front of — I heard 10,000 fans or something crazy. So, I’m looking forward to it. Man, it’s going to be exciting.”
Mullens was most recently playing in Taiwan after coming out of retirement.
“I hope I bring a championship there,” said Mullens. “There’s one thing I’ve never won in my career and that’s a championship. So, that’s one thing that I hope to get before I do hang it up finally.”
The Sea Bears open training camp on Monday and have already sold out their home opener on may 24 against the defending league champion Scarborough Shooting Stars.
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