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Iowa basketball: Talks of Aaron White to NBA on hold

By Andrew Wade

SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 22: Aaron White #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes drives against Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the 2015 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament at Key Arena on March 22, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 22: Aaron White #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes drives against Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the 2015 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament at Key Arena on March 22, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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Former Iowa basketball player Aaron White was drafted by the Washington Wizards in the 2015 NBA Draft. Could he finally be heading to the NBA?

Aaron White is one of the best Iowa basketball players in the Fran McCaffery era and arguably in the history of the program, yet we haven’t seen him play a single minute of NBA action. Since being drafted by the Washington Wizards in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft, White has spent his entire career overseas playing professional basketball in Germany, Russia, and Lithuania.

That could be changing soon though.

Aaron White is officially a free agent in Europe and the Washington Wizards could be in the midst of a full-blown rebuild after a disappointing 32-50 season. Star shooting guard Bradley Beal could be traded, star point guard John Wall is recovering from another injury, and the Wizards are unlikely to resign Jabari Parker.

While they hold the 9th overall selection in the upcoming 2019 NBA Draft, they have zero selections in the second round, and they hold the rights to White.

It makes for an intriguing scenario.

Despite inaccurate reports from reporters that White was close to signing with the Wizards (which White abruptly shut down), this is a story worth following.

https://twitter.com/Aaron_White30/status/1135859657778565120

In four seasons in Europe, White has developed into one of the best players on the other side of the pond. his team, Zalgiris is coming off back to back championship runs, and White was an integral part of each of those runs.

This past season, he averaged 8.2 points per game while shooting 52% from the field and collecting 4.2 rebounds per game. The Wizards need more depth, but they are currently missing a General Manager or a general sense of direction. Do they tear this thing down or do they attempt to rebuild? Does either of those choices impact the chances they want to sign White?

Possibly, and for White, does he want to move his family back to the United States for a possibly unstable future or does he want to stay overseas where he can make pretty lucrative money playing for an international squad.

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In the meantime, while he decides the future of his career, White will be participating in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) which begins play in mid-July. Unfortunately, he will not be playing for the Iowa United, but if they were to meet it could make for an interesting situation as he matches up against former teammates Peter Jok and Nicholas Baer.

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