UCLA basketball: Reeves Nelson expected to join Lithuanian team

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Former UCLA forward Reeves Nelson, who was dismissed from the Bruins last week, is expected to sign a contract to play professional basketball with a Lithuanian team as early as Friday, said his father, Brian.

Contrary to reports, Reeves has not signed a contract yet, but one is expected to arrive via e-mail soon. ‘I’ve been given an indication that something will be in place today,’ Brian Nelson said.

If all goes through, Reeves Nelson could leave the day after Christmas.

His father declined to reveal the terms of the contract or the team it was with because it had not yet been received, but he did confirm that the team is in Lithuania.

‘He’s ready to go,’ Brian Nelson said. ‘He has indicated to me, this is for the money now. He’s taking it very seriously.’

Brian Nelson said there were a few professional teams ‘that were quite frankly spread out’ throughout the world that showed interest in Reeves, but based on the information, he decided to choose this one.

‘He does not have an agent at this point, but he has someone working on his behalf,’ Brian Nelson added.

Brian said his son ‘100%’ plans to make himself eligible for the next NBA draft and is done playing college basketball.

Gary Porter, Reeves Nelson’s coach at at Modesto Christian, said he worked out with Reeves on Friday morning in Modesto,

‘He just seemed grateful that he’s going to get a chance to do something, maybe make some changes in his life,’ Porter said. ‘He seemed pretty excited about going over there, a place where maybe he can start over.’

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