Guard J.R. Smith made it official Tuesday, signing to play basketball this season in China, according to Yahoo Sports.
Citing a source, Yahoo said Smith signed a one-year deal with Zhejiang Wanma of the China Basketball Association.
Smith and Nuggets free-agent forward Wilson Chandler are now the two highest-paid players in the Chinese league, according to Yahoo. Neither player can return to play in the NBA until the end of the Chinese season, which lasts through March.
This news came on a day the start of the NBA season was thrown into doubt after players and owners remained divided over the salary cap structure at a key labor meeting.
Tentative plans to talk again today were scrapped, and no further sessions were scheduled.
Union executive director Billy Hunter said players were prepared to make a “significant” financial move, but found owners unwilling to budge off their positions.
Commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver countered that the union insisted the current cap remain exactly as is before they would agree to any further discussions.
“The way it looks right now we may not start on time,” union president Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers said. “We can’t find a place with the league and our owners where we can reach a deal sooner rather than later.”
Training camps are scheduled to open Oct. 3.
Denver Post wire services
