P.J. Tucker came into the NBA more than a decade ago and crashed out almost immediately. He was a 6-foot-6 player stuck between positions—too small to be a forward but too big to be a guard. The league had no place for him. After playing only 83 minutes in the NBA, he disappeared to another continent.

“P.J. was in, out, and to a large degree forgotten about by a lot of people,” said Andre Buck, his agent.

Then...