TUESDAY, 8:06am: Douglas is set to ink with the Jiangsu Dragons for $1MM, according to Nick Bedard of Basketballbuddha.com. Presumably, the arrangement is for this season only.
MONDAY, 10:06am: Free agent guard Toney Douglas will play in China this season, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The move is somewhat surprising, since the five-year NBA veteran and 2009 first-round pick was a contributor down the stretch for the Heat this past season, and he drew NBA interest this summer. The terms aren’t clear, and neither is the identity of the Chinese team that has the deal with Douglas, but most NBA veterans who go to China do so on one-year deals that allow them to return stateside well before the end of the NBA season, thanks to the Chinese Basketball Association’s abbreviated schedule.
The Bulls reportedly pursued the 28-year-old last month before coming to terms with Aaron Brooks. Douglas started 17 games for the Heat last season after a midseason trade brought him from Golden State, though he averaged just 4.2 points and 1.8 assists against 0.7 turnovers in 15.2 minutes per game for Miami. The Heat largely buried him on the bench during the postseason, putting him on the floor for a total of only 29 minutes in 10 playoff contests.
Still, the David Falk client was a regular part of the rotation for the Knicks, Rockets and Kings during the first four years of his career, averaging 20.3 MPG over that span. He’s set to join Al Harrington, Byron Mullens, Metta World Peace and top-notch 2015 draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay among the noteworthy players who’ll play in China this year.