Yuta Watanabe has officially signed with Japan’s Chiba Jets, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.
The contract terms weren’t released but it is expected to exceed $5MM, which would be the highest in B.League history.
Watanabe’s decision to return to his home country was reported last month. Watanabe, who finished last season with the Grizzlies, declined his $2.65MM player option at the end of last month.
Watanabe, 29, was born and raised in Japan, then played his college ball in the U.S. at George Washington from 2014-18. The undrafted 6’9″ forward spent a pair of seasons with the Grizzlies from 2018-20 and two years in Toronto from 2020-22. He enjoyed his best NBA season in Brooklyn in 2022/23, averaging 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game off the bench while ranking among the league leaders in three-point percentage (44.4%).
Watanabe’s solid showing with the Nets earned him a two-year, minimum-salary contract from the Suns last summer, but he ended up not playing a major role in Phoenix, averaging just 13.2 minutes per game in 29 appearances before being traded to Memphis in February as part of the three-team deadline deal that sent Royce O’Neale and David Roddy to the Suns. He played just five games for the Grizzlies due to a wrist issue and personal reasons.
This summer, Watanabe is playing for Japan in the Paris Olympics.
JUNYA WANTANABE ON MY REEEEE
Better turn heads
Guess he got tired of the US.