Marreese Speights: Headed to China

Speights agreed to a contract Monday with the Guangzhou Long-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, freelance reporter David Pick reports.

Since Speights signed a one-year deal with Orlando last summer, he won't officially become a free agent until July, when his contract with the CBA club should become official. After struggling to find playing time and seeing his efficiency decline with a rebuilding Magic club in 2017-18, Speights was unlikely to garner much more than another one-year contract with minimal guaranteed money from NBA teams. His deal with Guangzhou likely contains more favorable terms, and should afford him the opportunity to potentially return to the NBA once the CBA season concludes at some point between February and May, depending on if or how deep Guangzhou advances in the playoffs.