Lance Stephenson To Play In China

AUGUST 8: Stephenson’s deal with Liaoning is now official, tweets Carchia.

AUGUST 1: Lance Stephenson is taking his talents abroad. Liaoning of the Chinese Basketball Association will add the veteran shooting guard, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. It will be a one-year, $4MM deal, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

Stephenson played for the Lakers last year on a one-year, $4.45MM deal, in what many considered a surprising development. During his lone season in Los Angeles, he scored 7.2 points per game and made 37.1% of his shots behind the arc on nearly three attempts per game.

The nine-year veteran was drafted No. 40 overall by the Pacers in the 2010 draft. He spent his first four seasons in the league in Indiana and returned for a second stint during the 2016-17 campaign. He also made stops in Charlotte, Los Angeles (playing for both the Clippers and Lakers at points in his career), Memphis, and New Orleans.

Stephenson is the latest in a string of veteran players who are headed to the Chinese Basketball Assocation after spending part or all of the 2018/19 season in the NBA. Ekpe Udoh, James Nunnally, and Ian Clark are also reportedly joining Chinese teams.

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