The Bay Area Dragons are dead-serious both in their coming campaigns in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup and the East Asia Super League inaugural Season 1.
The club announced on Wednesday the signing of former NBA players Andrew Nicholson and Myles Powell as the Dragons’ imports in their bid to win the championships in the two separate meets.
The 6’10” Nicholson from Canada, spent five seasons in the NBA where he was a first round pick of the Orlando Magic in the 2012 draft. He also suited up for the Washington Wizards and the Brooklyn Nets, and most recently, played for the Daegu KOGAS Pegasus in the Korean Basketball League.
He also represented Canada in the 2015 FIBA AmeriCup and 2015 Pan American Games.
Nicholson is expected to reinforce the Dragons in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup, where the PBA height limit for imports is 6’10” and below.
Powell meanwhile, stands as the second import for the team that will represent Greater China in the EASL.
The 25-year-old Powell signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2021-22 NBA season and appeared for 14 games with the team.
He last played for the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League.
The 6’2” Powell was also a member of Team USA that took home the bronze in the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru.
Dragons’ management was ecstatic about having Nicholson and Powell coming on board with the team as imports.
“Andrew Nicholson is someone that we’ve been keeping an eye for a while. His size is undeniably an advantage on the court, but it’s his skillset and his approach to the game that really attracted our attention,” said Dragons general manager Liu Quansheng.
“He was a strong inside presence and can knock down shots from beyond the arc as many Chinese fans have seen when he played three season the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). We can’t eait to start working with Andrew.”
Brian Goorjian, the multi-titled coach of Bay Area Dragons, is likewise high on acquiring the service of Powell.
“We have signed a standout young scoring guard who has had a sensational college career and worked his way up from the G League to the NBA. I’m very excited he has chosen to play for the Bay Area Dragons which Myles sees as a pathway back to the NBA,” said the 68-year-old Goorjian, who steered the Australian national team to the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Nicholson and Powell are expected to boost an already formidable Bay Area roster led by Duncan Reid, considered as the best player in Hong Kong SAR, and Chinese national team big man Liu Chuanxing.
“By recruiting a multi-championship and Olympic medal winning coach, releasing a domestic roster full of top tier players from Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR, and now signing two high level imports with NBA pedigree, the Bay Area Dragons are creating quite a bit of positive noise in the global basketball community,” said EASL advisor Bryan Colangelo.
“Andrew Nicholson’s lofty skill level, extensive international experience and veteran presence will be accretive to head coach Goorjian’s basketball program, while Myles Powell brings youth and elite scoring potential to an already gifted group of players.”