Andray Blatche played for the Philippines team Gilas Pilipinas at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in China. (Photo : Facebook/Andray Blatche)
Former Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets player Andray Blatche, who currently has the "richest" contract in the Chinese Basketball Association, will continue to play for Asian rival Philippines.
Blatche recently signed what is recorded to be the most expensive contract in the Chinese Basketball Association with the Xingyiang Flying Tigers. The deal will be for three years at $7.5 million and it was also mentioned by the Nets Daily that "there won't be any NBA outs."
It just seems right because Blatche seems comfortable with his current situation and does not appear to have any interest in returning to the NBA. The CBA has become a haven for NBA players who could not play their way to an NBA contract or players like Greg Oden who may not endure the physical rigors of the big league.
Andray was one of the more promising players since high school because of his combination of size and skill. However, he has not been able to translate those into a fulfilling NBA career as he was criticized for being "unprofessional" and sometimes "out of shape."
The demands of playing a full NBA season may not sit well for Blatche and the CBA, with a forgiving 30+game- season and relatively lax defense allows NBA players to thrive, like Blatche who recorded averages of 31.1 points, 14.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.8 steals per game in 38 games in his debut season.
It was also reported that Andray Blatche has renewed his contract to be the naturalized player of the Philippine men's basketball team, also called "Gilas Pilipinas."
As reported by the Philippine Star, Gilas Pilipinas and Blatche's representative Maria Espaldon have worked on the terms of the playing contract of the naturalized player for in preparation for the Olympic qualifier in July 4-10 which will also be held in Manila.
Blatche already having affirmed his commitment to play with Gilas as in the qualifier, which the Philippines has to win in order to join the Rio Olympics. China booked its ticket to Rio by beating the Gilas in the FIBA-Asia Championships last October.
