And-Ones: Burke, Gates, Korkmaz, Kagame

Nine-year NBA guard Trey Burke is signing on with Puerto Rican club Mets de Guaynabo, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

The former All-Rookie First Teamer out of Michigan played for the Jazz, Wizards, Knicks, Mavericks and Sixers across his nine NBA seasons, posting averages of 9.6 points, 3.1 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 steals across 498 total regular season contests from 2013-22.

Burke has been tooling around the G League for the past two years, first with the Stockton Kings and next with the Mexico City Capitanes. Across 10 Showcase Cup contests with the Mexico City Capitanes, the 6’1″ vet posted averages of 21.7 points on a .465/.429/.864 slash line, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.0 steals a night.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

• Former Pelicans small forward Kaiser Gates has inked a contract with Spanish club Joventut Badalona, per Penya.com. After going undrafted out of Xavier in 2018, the 6’7″ wing mostly played in the G League, for the NBAGL affiliates of the Bulls, Celtics, and Nets. He also suited up for Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem in 2021/22. Gates was briefly on a two-way deal with New Orleans during the 2023/24 season, though he appeared in just one game before being waived.
• Longtime former Sixers swingman Furkan Korkmaz could be nearing a deal with French club AS Monaco Basket, reports Kevin Martorano of Sportando. After suiting up for multiple pro clubs in his native Turkey, the 6’7″ swingman was selected with the No. 26 pick by Philadelphia in 2016. He was finally dealt to the Pacers at the February trade deadline, as part of a three-team deal to acquire Buddy Hield. Indiana cut him a day after the trade.
• As the NBA has looked to broaden its brand recently, it appears to have gotten into business with a man seen by many as a dictator, per Mark Fainaru-Wada of ESPN. Rwandan president Paul Kagame, considered guilty of major human rights violations by the U.S. State Department, negotiated a new $104MM basketball facility for the country as part of the league’s growing NBA Africa business. “The conversations that we’ve had with Paul Kagame have all been about improving the lives of Rwandan people,” league deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said of the relationship. “How can we create, how can we inspire and connect people through the game of basketball to make Rwandan peoples’ lives better.”