Clark agrees to deal to play in China
Orlando Magic free agent Earl Clark(notes) has reached an agreement on a one-year contract with Zhejiang of the Chinese Basketball Association, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The deal will pay Clark in the “high six figures,” one source said.
Clark, a 6-foot-10 forward, has played 93 games for the Magic and Phoenix Suns in parts of two NBA seasons. He will stay the full season in China without an out clause to return to the NBA should the league-imposed lockout end.
Clark, 21, averaged 11.9 minutes a game for the Magic, after coming over from the Suns with Jason Richardson(notes) and Hedo Turkoglou as part of the Vince Carter(notes) trade in December. The Suns made Clark the 14th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft out of Louisville. For Clark, a developing and talented player, the chance to play significant minutes on the floor during what could be a long lockout was a deciding factor to go to China.
