Former NBA Indiana Pacers guard Joe Young to play in China

World
Europe

Former Indiana Pacers guard Joe Young will be leaving the NBA to play professional basketball in China. The 26-year-old Houston native has agreed to a one-year deal with the Nanjing Tongxi Monkey King of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), according to Vigilant Sports.

Young, the son of former NBA player Michael Young and cousin of Paul George, was picked by the Pacers in the second round of the 2015 draft after playing in college at Houston and Oregon.

He made 53 appearances last season with the Pacers, averaging 3.9 points and 1.2 rebounds per play. He shot 43 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three-point land.

"Got things finalized and just truly honored about this opportunity," Young said.

In explaining why he made the move to China, he said, "Great team, great coach. I heard a lot of great things about the organization. Me and my team came together and decided what was best for me at this particularly time.

"I know it's a different pace. At the end of the day, basketball is basketball and I just have to adjust to it," he added.

It should be noted that Joe Young is not the first Pacers player to head to China this summer. Al Jefferson joined the Xinjiang Flying Tigers earlier and now will be squaring off with Young in the CBA next season.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency