JR Goes To China
Smith is therefore tied to China through at least mid-February, when the league’s regular-season ends, his agent, Leon Rose, told SI.com on Wednesday. The uncertainty over the lockout — and the possibility of the 2011-12 NBA season’s being canceled entirely — was “definitely a factor” in Smith’s decision to sign with Zhejiang, Rose said. Though Rose would not reveal Smith’s salary, he did not dispute reports that the deal would make the 26-year-old the highest-paid player in CBA history — a designation he’d earn with a salary of just over $3 million.
