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After finding out there is no escape from the contracts they signed in China, Wilson Chandler and Aaron Brooks could soon find out there’s also no escape from restricted free agency when they return to the NBA. Many of the players who signed overseas during the lockout were still under contract to their NBA team, but were able to receive necessary FIBA letters of clearance as long as their overseas contracts allowed their return to the NBA once the lockout ended. As a result, players such as the Nets’ Deron Williams played part of the Euroleague season, and then were given their release to return to the U.S. in time for the start of the NBA season. HoopsWorld

Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, China, Aaron Brooks 

“Who cares how [Martin's release] happened. Our team and the rest of the other teams [with NBA players] are now in a tough spot. Once this precedent is set, what can we do?” asked Ye Xiangyu, general manager of the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, the team Wilson Chandler plays for. “There’s nothing we can do.” “About this, I can only say we are very angry,” she added. “Before the season we made a lot of preparations. We talked for a long time about all the different steps we would need to take to make this work. Now this whole thing has been blown wide open. This year our team invested a lot of money. We had big plans for this season. We spent human and material resources to make it happen. But if this is how this situation is going to be handled, we’ve spent everything for nothing.” NiuBBall.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Kenyon Martin, FIBA, Wilson Chandler, China 

Bryan Colangelo talked about Andrei Kirilenko and Wilson Chandler as possible roster additions during the first quarter of the Toronto Raptors – Washington Wizards game on February 3rd, 2012 at the Air Canada Center. Canada.com

Toronto Raptors, Free Agency, Bryan Colangelo, Andrei Kirilenko, Wilson Chandler 

But restricted free agent Wilson Chandler is a high priority for the Nuggets, who soon will dispatch GM Masai Ujiri to China to touch base with Chandler in person. Denver will try to sign Chandler to a multiyear deal. But Chandler and fellow restricted free agent Aaron Brooks (Suns) play for teams expected to go deep into the playoffs, potentially delaying their return to the NBA until well into March. CBSSports.com

Denver Nuggets, Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, Aaron Brooks 

Several other Americans are still playing in China, including former Knick forward Wilson Chandler and former Nuggets and St. Benedict’s Prep guard J.R. Smith, who on Wednesday dropped 60 points in a Chinese league game, hitting 14 of 18 3-pointers. Smith is considering the Knicks, Clippers, Lakers, Thunder and Bulls, league sources told SNY.tv. ZagsBlog.com

Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Free Agency, Wilson Chandler 

Sam Amick: On Wilson Chandler front, he's optimistic Denver will offer a long-term deal when he returns from China. He is Nugs' restricted free agent. Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, China 

Not Chandler. If the Turkish league or the Spanish league was content to rent N.B.A. players for a few months, the Chinese league most definitely was not. China had demanded its own indelible stamp from the foreign players: a signature on a binding contract that forbade them to return to the N.B.A. before the end of the Chinese season, no matter what. They were trapped. “I made a decision,” Chandler told me when I visited him in Hangzhou in the middle of December. “You make a decision, you live with it.” The C.B.A. regular season ends on Feb. 15, but because the Zhejiang Lions are likely headed to the playoffs, Chandler’s exile will probably last a few more weeks after that. New York Times

Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, China 

After dozens of telephone calls, and a soul-searching getaway weekend in Miami with Luchey, Chandler chose China over Italy. The Chinese league is a hybrid in the same way China’s economy is a hybrid, with some of its 17 teams still owned by local governments or sports bureaus and other teams privately owned by Chinese millionaires willing to spend for foreign talent. The Zhejiang Lions, a privately owned team, offered Chandler more than $2 million, far more than the Italian offer. The Chinese league also played a schedule similar to that in the N.B.A., with three games a week from November to February. Chandler preferred to play more games, because he had lost past off-seasons to rehabbing injuries and wanted to hone his skills. Chandler also was eager to work with the new head coach of the Lions, the longtime Los Angeles Lakers assistant and N.B.A. lifer Jim Cleamons, who moved to China for opportunity as well. New York Times

Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, China 

When Wilson Chandler returns from China in the next few weeks, he will be a restricted free agent. The Denver Nuggets can match any offer that Chandler receives, but that won’t stop the Toronto Raptors from pursuing the 24-year-old. Toronto is expected to make a large offer to Chandler, according to multiple sources close to the situation. The Raptors will have to wait for the Chinese Basketball Association’s season to end before they can attempt to sign the small forward. Chandler’s team, Zhejiang Guangsha, is on pace to make the playoffs, which means he won’t be available until Zhejiang is eliminated from the postseason. HoopsWorld

Toronto Raptors, Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, China 

Chandler has several other options as well. He may sit out for the remainder of the 2011-12 NBA season and wait until July to sign with a new team. Several contenders have also expressed interest in Chandler, hoping to sign him as a one-year rental that would allow him to compete for a championship and then test free agency again after the season. Not many teams have money to spend in March, which is why waiting until July to sign a long-term deal could be the best option for Chandler. HoopsWorld

Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, China 

With seven more games to go in the Chinese Basketball Association regular season, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, Wilson Chandler, Patty Mills and Aaron Brooks’ NBA return from a one-year stint in China is approaching its end. But, with all of their teams in good position for the CBA playoffs, that end may not come until after February. The anticipation behind each of their individual returns is pretty obvious — the five players, all of whom signed in China during the NBA lockout, will be highly coveted free-agents whenever they are eligible to sign with NBA teams. The question isn’t whether or not they’ll sign back in the NBA — all wil receive high levels of interest from a number of different teams — but rather when they will legally be able to put pen to paper on a contract. And depending on the success of each player’s individual team in China, the answer will likely be sometime in March. NiuBBall.com

Kenyon Martin, Wilson Chandler, China, Aaron Brooks 

Zhejiang Chouzhou, Smith’s team, was once positioned towards the top of the league, but have since slipped out of the playoff picture after losing six of their last eight. But, only one game out with a very easy remaining schedule, the Golden Bulls could very easily put themselves back in with a few wins. Smith leads the league in scoring with 34.2 points per game. Martin and Mills’ team, Xinjiang Guanghui, like Zhejiang Chouzhou, is also one game out of a post-season position. With five of their last seven games at home, a place where they’ve lost once all year, Xinjiang could also be in the playoffs as well. Two players who have not been mentioned thus far, Rodney Carney and Josh Powell, both of whom play for Liaoning Hengye, who are currently in fifth place at 14-11, would be playing playoff hoops if the season ended today. But their 2-9 road record will be under the microscope when they travel to play five of their last seven away from home, four of which are against teams with winning records. NiuBBall.com

Kenyon Martin, Josh Powell, Wilson Chandler, China, Aaron Brooks, Rodney Carney 

The Raptors are shopping. They’d like to pick up another draft pick or two, but the real need is at Small Forward. Sources close to the process say the Raptors plan to make life hard on the Denver Nuggets with regards to restricted Wilson Chandler. Wilson is waiting for his clearance from China after dominating in the CBA. HoopsWorld

Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Wilson Chandler, China 

In the conflict with the fans, Smith’s girlfriend’s hand was injured, and there were rumors she cried in the locker room. Many people worried that Smith would leave China before the end of this CBA season, using this incident as an excuse. Even before this took place, it was rumored that Smith and Wilson Chandler would not be back to the CBA after the break for Chinese New Year. According to Zhao Bing, the GM of Zhejiang, Smith will not leave China before the end of season. “He will go to Hong Kong after the game with Bayi for the extension of his visa. Then, he will absolutely be back.” Smith’s sister said via Twitter: “This CBA season is ending, Smith will of course finish it.” Multiple sources said Chandler plans to return to the U.S. during the Chinese New Year, and may not come back. SheridanHoops

Wilson Chandler, JR Smith, China 

Chandler, who will be a restricted free agent when he returns from China, will weigh his options but there’s a strong possibility that he ends up re-signing with the Denver Nuggets. General manager Masai Ujiri wants to bring back Chandler after trading for him last February. Chandler’s agent, Chris Luchey, confirmed that the two sides have been in contact frequently throughout this process. “We speak to Masai quite often, in great detail about the future of the team and about a potential extension with them,” Luchey told HOOPSWORLD. “One day at a time is all we’re doing.” HoopsWorld

Denver Nuggets, Free Agency, Wilson Chandler, China 

Another Chinese league player of interest also would be ex-Knick Wilson Chandler, who still is playing in Asia and also wouldn't be eligible until March. Multiple sources said Chandler would love a return to the Knicks, who reluctantly traded him to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony deal last February. New York Post

New York Knicks, Free Agency, Trade, Wilson Chandler 

J.R. Smith would like nothing more than to follow Kenyon Martin out of China and back to the United States. But a source close to the situation said we shouldn't expect other NBA players - Smith, Wilson Chandler or Aaron Brooks - to follow Martin's example and make an early exit from the Chinese Basketball Association. ESPN.com

Free Agency, Kenyon Martin, Wilson Chandler, China, Aaron Brooks 

Thus, expect Smith, Chandler and Brooks to finish their seasons in the CBA. Smith, who tried to leave his Chinese club after suffering a controversial knee injury in his first game, recently sought a break with his club, Zhejiang, but according to a source, Smith was told that if he leaves, he would have to repay all the money he's already made plus the $500,000 buyout. And of course, he wouldn't be able to sign with an NBA team until Zhejiang ends its season. So Smith is staying put. ESPN.com

Free Agency, Kenyon Martin, Wilson Chandler, China, Aaron Brooks 

There has been talk that NBA players can buy out of their contracts for $500,000, but even that sum isn't going to move CBA officials to clear guys to play in the NBA. "China will let these guys go home, but they’ll stop your money or even ask you for some of the money back, and you can’t play for another team around the world until your team in China’s season is over,'' the source said. ESPN.com

Free Agency, Kenyon Martin, Wilson Chandler, China, Aaron Brooks 

Chandler and Brooks, both of whom are in favorable situations in China, are not looking to leave the CBA early, according to the source. ESPN.com

Free Agency, Kenyon Martin, Wilson Chandler, China, Aaron Brooks