According to reports, former Miami Heat guard Rodney McGruder is close to agreeing to a contract to play for Milan, Italy’s Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, a professional basketball team in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
McGruder, who was a member of the Heat from 2016–17 to 2018–19, last participated in an NBA game for the Detroit Pistons in 2022–23.
During his NBA career, the 32-year-old also played for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Over the course of his NBA career, McGruder has averaged 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 36.0 percent from beyond the arc while shooting 42.0 percent from the field.
Over the course of three seasons, McGruder made 162 appearances with the Heat, 112 of which were starts. McGruder, a Kansas State University product who went undrafted, established a reliable position for himself in Miami, averaging 23.5 minutes per game for the Heat.
Arguably his best season was his first with the Heat, appearing in a career-high 78 games, 65 of which he started. For Miami that season, McGruder averaged 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
He played in 56 games and made four starts during his one-year stint with Los Angeles. After that, the shooting guard played for the Pistons for three seasons, although he was not as active as he was with the Heat.
McGruder made 32 appearances in 32 games with Detroit last season, including 12 starts. In 16.4 minutes per game, he averaged 5.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists.
McGruder doesn’t seem to be looking for a new avenue to further his basketball career by playing abroad as he doesn’t have an NBA team this season.
Another former Heat player is guard Shabazz Napier, who was a first-round selection and participated in the 2014–15 campaign with the team, on the roster of Olimpia Milano.
Olimpia Milano’s roster also includes a few other former NBA players. If McGruder’s contract is approved, it appears that he will be joining a strong team and getting to catch up with Napier, who probably had some similar experiences with the Heat in the past.
McGruder wants to play in Europe, so hopefully he can find a good role at Olimpia Milano.
