The Atlanta Hawks today traded the rights of David Andersen to the Houston Rockets for a future second round pick, cash and future considerations, it was announced by Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund.
Previously selected by the Hawks in the second round of the 2002 Draft – the 37th pick overall – Andersen is an Australian professional basketball player who has played internationally since the 1998-99 season, most recently in the Spanish League with FC Barcelona.
In Euroleague play this past year, the 6-11 forward-center averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 23 contests (.544 FG%, .800 FT%), and in 36 games in ACB Spanish League competition, he tallied 10.0 ppg and 4.1 rpg (.480 FG%, .810 FT%).
Andersen, 29, started playing basketball at the Australian Institute of Sport (high school) and signed his first contract with the Wollongong Hawks of the Australian National Basketball League. Following one season, he signed a multi-year deal with Italy’s Virtus Bolonga (1999-03), with whom he won several titles in his four years there.
In the summer of 2003, he switched to the Italian club Montepaschi Siena, with whom he won another Italian Championship.
The next season, Andersen joined the Russian Super League club CSKA Moscow, and in four seasons, he earned All-Euroleague first team honors in 2004-05. That same year, CSKA reached the Euroleague Final Four.
He also competes as a member of the senior Australian national team, participating for his country in the 2008 Olympic Games.
