Veteran NBA center Cole Aldrich has officially signed with China’s Tianjin Gold Lions, as Nicola Lupo of Sportando relays. Jeff Goodman of Stadium first reported last week that Aldrich was expected to head to China, but didn’t specify which team the big man would be joining.
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Aldrich, who will turn 30 in three weeks, spent the last two seasons in Minnesota, playing a limited role for the Timberwolves. In 2017/18, he appeared in just 21 games and played only 49 total minutes.
While his contract with Minnesota covered the 2018/19 season, Aldrich’s salary for the coming year only featured a modest partial guarantee, so the Wolves waived him in June before the full guarantee kicked in, making him an unrestricted free agent. He subsequently received a camp invite from the Hawks, who released him last Tuesday.
For his career, Aldrich – the 11th overall pick in 2010 – has recorded 3.1 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 339 regular season games for the Thunder, Rockets, Kings, Knicks, Clippers, and Timberwolves.