March 19, 2013
Ira Newble - An assistant coach with the Austin Toros after previously holding the same role with the Canton Charge.
April 11, 2010
- Ira Newble
Newble fell out of the NBA in the summer of 2008. He spent the 2008-09 season in Israel, averaging 14/6 in a few games for Bnei Hasharon, but finding work this past summer wasn't as easy. Newble first signed with Greek team Aris, yet the team released him after only a couple of weeks when personal issues kept Newble in America for longer than Aris were willing to wait. Aris had secured Newble a visa, but Newble said he was unable to make a flight the team had arranged for him, and so they signed Mike Kakiouzis instead. They're more ruthless about things like this in Greece.
After that, he signed in Cyprus with Keravnos, a team he had played for 10 years earlier before his NBA career. However, Newble didn't play there either; for reason unknown (due to the almost on-existent nature of Cypriot league basketball coverage), Newble's stay with the team was very short. He then moved to Spain in January to play for Caceras, a LEB Gold team that Wayne Simien played for last year. But Newble didn't last long there either, getting injured in his first game and leaving after only three. (A local Spanish newspaper says that Newble was "cut for lack of personal adjustment." That's a bit too voodoo for my liking.) Newble was then reported to have signed for Santurce in Puerto Rico, but he never appeared for the team, and was replaced by Marqis Gainous before the season started. Supposedly, he cancelled the contract to return to America to work out for the Cavaliers.
All told, that's four teams in eight months, spanning two continents and forty million miles (roughly), at least two of which that he didn't play for, and possibly only three games played in total. A tough year for Ira Newble.