RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Los Angeles Lakers are finalizing a deal to bring China star Yi Jianlian back to the NBA, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN that the Lakers and Yi have agreed to terms and are in the latter stages of cementing a one-year deal in the $8 million range for the veteran forward to return to the NBA for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
The Lakers, sources said, tried in the summer of 2015 to sign Yi and renewed those efforts in the wake of the former lottery pick's strong play in Rio on his fourth trip to the Olympics as a cornerstone player for China.