Orlando Magic’s free-agent Earl Clark signs a deal with Chinese team
Zhejiang Lions: NBA News
Orlando Magic’s free agent Earl Clark was recently rumoured to be close on inking a deal with a Chinese team. These rumours turned out to be true and it has been confirmed now that Earl has signed a one year pact with the Chinese
Basketball Association team Zhejiang Lions.
Earl’s contract does not include the escape clause, meaning that the player will not be able to leave his team midway through the season if the NBA owners and the players union reach a deal on the new Collective Bargaining agreement.
According to a source, Clark, who had earned $2 million in the previous NBA season will receive a cheque of “high six figures” from his contract with the Chinese team. The amount is much lower than Clark has been earning from the
National Basketball Association and as such this was a very big decision for the young forward.
Earl being a free agent this summer might have been a big part of the equation. With the lockout situation getting more complicated after the first meeting on Monday between the players and the league, this was perhaps the best
option for the 23 year old, who has mostly been used a role player in his NBA career.
The money factor and the fact that the Magic did not commit to the forward before the league went into the lockout might have also affected his decision. Clark played with the Magic from December and appeared in 33 games for them.
In those games, he scored at an average of 4.1 points, 2.5 rebounds in nearly11.9 minutes per game.
The 225 pounder was part of a trade late last year that sent Vince Carter and Marcin Gortat to the Phoenix Suns and in return the Florida based franchise acquired Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu.
The Suns picked up Earl as 14th overall from the 2009 NBA Draft. He achieved this spot in the draft because of his excellent contribution in University of Louisville quest to the Big East Title. Because of his heroics, the team
was able to grab the No. 1 ranking at the collegiate level for the very first time in their history.
However, things didn’t go according to plan after he joined the NBA. Clark failed to put up a good show in the NBA during first season with the Suns and averaged only 2.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. He was sent to the NBA
Development League consequently where he joined Iowa Energy in March 2010.
Clark is still considered as a skilful player, but anyone in his situation might have done the same to earn the money. Now with this contract at least he has made sure that he will get his next pay cheque no matter whatever happens
in NBA.
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