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Report: Andray Blatche to make $2.5M with Chinese team

Brad Penner / USA Today Sports

Andray Blatche's decision to spend the upcoming season in China rather than the NBA can probably be summed up in one word: paper.

Blatche's deal with the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers will pay him just shy of $2.5 million, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. That number is notable because it's nearly double the $1.3 million he could have earned on a minimum contract and a shade above the $2.1-million bi-annual exception.

It's unclear if any NBA team would have been willing to offer Blatche the bi-annual amount, considering the tepid interest in his services. The center met with the Toronto Raptors in early July and reportedly got a look from the Los Angeles Clippers in early August, but both teams filled their rosters via other avenues.

By the numbers, the Blatche would be a no-brainer at the minimum, and it's a bit surprising that his name didn't come up in more rumors. He's averaged 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds on 46.7 percent shooting over nine seasons, and the past two years were perhaps his best two seasons statistically. Obviously teams are concerned instead with the alleged attitude issues that have followed Blatche, rendering him a tough player to work with.

There's one other interesting financial wrinkle with the human GIF's new contract: by signing in China, Blatche continues to stick it to the Washington Wizards. The Wizards used the amnesty provision on Blatche in 2012, less than two years after they gave him a sizable contract extension. Per the terms of an amnesty buyout, the Wizards are still paying Blatche $8.5 million for this season, a number that would have shrunk by whatever amount Blatche earned in the NBA.

With the jump overseas, Blatche now makes his $2.5 million plus the $8.5 million owed to him by the Wizards. For as much as this decision may be about the experience of playing in China, expanding his global reach, or a lack of NBA interest, it's also very much about stacking paper to the ceiling.

The Chinese season ends early enough that Blatche could conceivably return to the NBA later this season, as others have done in the past.

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