Devon Hall signs with Cairns Taipans in the NBL

Devon Hall was selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft, but it’s going to be at least another season before the Virginia alum makes his debut with the Oklahoma Thunder. The UVA standout signed an agreement to take his talents to Australia to play in the NBL for the Cairns Taipans this coming season.

Hall will join Penn State’s DJ Newbill and Maryland’s Melo Trimble on the Taipans, and head coach Mike Kelly is enthusiastic about what Devon brings to the team.

“He is a worker,” Kelly told the NBL in a press release. “From everyone I have spoken to about the work ethic he had at Virginia, he did the extras before and after training. I love that about him already, just knowing that he continually wants to get better. That is one of the things we are trying to do here at Cairns is just get better every day.”

After improving each season in Charlottesville, Hall finished his career for the Wahoos averaging 11.7 points and 4.2 rebounds rebounds per game. He shot 45% from the field and 43% from three for the season, and had an ACC second-best 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. His performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the All-ACC Tournament Team, All-ACC Second Team, All-ACC Defensive Team and All-ACC Academic Team.

Hall is looking forward to the opportunity this season. “I’m very, very excited to be coming to Australia,” said Hall. “The league looks real competitive and I think this will be a good experience for me professionally and personally.”

This move makes sense from a playing time and competition standpoint as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s roster is full after some off-season trades. Playing in Australia with the NBL will offer Hall more money and potentially more playing time than he would have gotten with the G-League, and the option still exists to play in the G-League following the conclusion of the NBL season. According to NewsOK, the Thunder still own Hall’s NBA rights.

The NBL season runs October to March, meaning Hall could catch the end of the G-League season in March-April with OKC. Hall played five games for the Thunder in summer league games, averaging just over 15 minutes, 5.4 points, and 1.2 assists per game.