Denver Nuggets free agent J.R. Smith won't be back in the NBA any time soon if a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, ending the current lockout. Smith has signed a contract with Zhejiang Wanma of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Financial terms of the one-year deal have not yet been learned, but when rumors first broke of this, he was supposedly going to receive $3 million for the year, a record contract in the CBA.
Wojnarowski further reports that Smith was close to a deal with Shanxi, but they backed out at the last moment. Smith now joins teammate Wilson Chandler as another big-name NBA player to sign with a Chinese team. Kenyon Martin is reportedly also in discussions to play in China this upcoming season.
Should the NBA start back up before Wilson's and Smith's contracts end in March, neither of the two is able to return until their deals end. The CBA only accepts NBA players not under a current contract and does not provide opt-out clauses.
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