Andray Blatche signs with Chinese basketball team

MANILA, Philippines – Fresh off his impressive outing at the FIBA World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas center Andray Blatche has signed a one-year deal with the Chinese Basketball Association’s Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers.

The news was announced on the Twitter account of ASM Sports, which represents the 28-year-old native of Syracuse, N.Y. An email to the team asking for confirmation had not been returned by Sunday morning.

Blatche became a naturalized Filipino citizen earlier this year to bolster the Philippine men’s national basketball team. He normed 21.2 ppg and 13.8 rpg in 5 games, leading Gilas to a 1-4 record in their first World Championship appearance in 36 years. (RELATED: How Andray Blatche embodies #puso)

Official: @drayblatche has signed a 1 year deal with the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers.

— ASM SPORTS (@ASM_SPORTS) September 20, 2014

Blatche was drafted out of high school in 2005 by the NBA’s Washington Wizards, where he played for seven seasons before moving to the Brooklyn Nets in 2012. Blatche has averaged 10.1 ppg and 5.3 rpg in 564 career games.

Blatche was originally expected to join the Philippine team for the ongoing Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea but was declared ineligible due to the Games’ strict 3-year residency rule for naturalized athletes. He was instead replaced by fellow naturalized player Marcus Douthit.

The 6-foot-10 Blatche will move to the small forward position behind Chinese giants ZhengDong Tang and Wei Su, according to a depth chart on asia-basket.com.

He’ll be joined by fellow NBA free agent Jordan Crawford who averaged 13.7 ppg, 5.7 apg and 3.1 rpg for the Boston Celtics last season.

Last season Xinjiang lost in the CBA Finals to the Beijing Ducks – which is led by former NBA star Stephon Marbury – in six games

(RELATED: Stephon Marbury’s career finds new life in Asia)

Basketball journalist Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the deal is worth $2.5 million and that Blatche can sign with an NBA team by March. The Flying Tigers had previously boasted NBA alums like former All-Star Kenyon Martin and Sacramento Kings guard Quincy Douby. – Rappler.com