Al Jefferson Reportedly Opts to Play in China over Signing Pacers Contract
Veteran big man Al Jefferson will reportedly play in China next season.
According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, Jefferson chose a "nice payday" in China over re-signing with the Indiana Pacers.
Jefferson signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Pacers prior to the 2016-17 season, but Indiana parted ways with him this offseason.
The 33-year-old faded in and out of head coach Nate McMillan's rotation all season long in 2017-18, and the result was 36 total appearances at a career-low 13.4 minute-per-game clip. All told, he averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.
That came on the heels of averaging 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 2016-17.
In 915 career NBA regular-season games with the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Pacers, Jefferson carries averages of 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.
In three of his 14 NBA seasons, Jefferson averaged better than 20 points per game with the last such instance coming in 2013-14.
Needless to say, Jefferson's preferred back-to-the-basket style of play is something of a relic as teams try to target more versatile bigs who can face up and operate as off-the-bounce playmakers.
But with a tried and true method of getting buckets down on the low blocks, Jefferson still has something to offer—even if it's overseas.
With the Pacers signing Kyle O'Quinn to serve as Myles Turner's backup at center, Jefferson became expendable from Indiana's perspective.
Jefferson will now look to enjoy success in the Chinese Basketball Association much like former NBA stars Stephon Marbury, Gilbert Arenas and Tracy McGrady did previously.
