San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair heads to Russia: NBA Lockout News
As the National Basketball Association lockout looms into the third month, more players have started signing contracts with the international teams. The latest addition to this list is San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair, who
has signed a one year deal with the Russian team Krasnye Krylya Samara.
The news broke in after Blair’s agent Happy Walters left a message on his social networking website account that his client had made the right choice to play “against some great teams and will use the extra minutes to get ready
for the season, stay in shape and work on new areas of his game.”
Like the previous contracts of the other NBA players, Blair’s pact also includes an escape clause that will enable him to return to the United States whenever the lockout issue settles down.
With the signing of this contract, Blair becomes the fourth NBA player to play for a Russian team, after Nenad Krstic, who had signed with CSKA Moscow, while Timofey Mozgov and Chris Quinn joined Khimki Moscow’s roster. This move
has also signified the importance of Russia as a credible destination for the NBA players during this lockout.
The 22 year old forward, who was drafted by the Spurs as the 37th overall from the second round of the 2009 draft, has a history of knee injuries. For his stint though, he is covered by insurance.
Blair, who had improved his career scoring in the previous season, scored at an average 8.3 points, seven rebounds and one assist per game. In doing so, he maintained a shooting rate of 0.501 percent from the field and 0.657 percent
from the free throw line. DeJuan achieved these stats while playing just 21.4 minutes in each game and his inclusion will definitely add steel to Krasnye Krylya’s roster.
Blair holds two years of NBA experience under his belt that will definitely help the Russian team, which is based in the city of Samara. Krasnye Krylya is one of the top teams in the Russian Super League. Prior to Blair, former
NBA players like Gerald Green, Aaron Miles and draft pick Joe Alexander also represented the team in 2010 season.
However, it remains to be seen, how quickly these NBA players will adjust into a completely different atmosphere after spending so much time in the American league.
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