The Detroit Pistons signed veteran guard John Lucas III to a 10-day contract, the team announced Monday.
The Pistons have been looking for another point guard since Brandon Jennings suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on Jan. 24. Terms of the deal with Lucas were not disclosed.
Lucas, who just completed his season in China after signing a lucrative deal with Fujian Quanzhou Bank, was released in October by the Washington Wizards.
Lucas, 31, spent last season with the Utah Jazz, his fourth NBA team after previous stints with Houston, Chicago and Toronto.
He is the first of an expected flurry of arrivals of NBA veterans who have been playing in China this season and hope to return to the league as soon as their Chinese contracts are completed. Other familiar names on the radar of NBA teams include Andray Blatche, Metta World Peace, Sebastian Telfair and Bobby Brown.
Possessing an unguaranteed contract for this season with the Jazz, Lucas found himself at the heart of two trades last summer, first moving from Utah to Cleveland as part of a multiplayer swap in July and then going from Cleveland to Boston in a Sept. 25 deal just before the Cavaliers opened training camp.
With no need for another point guard, Boston agreed to waive him a few days after trading for him to allow Lucas to find a new team, leading to the deal with the Wizards.
The Pistons did explore trading for a veteran guard after losing Jennings, with sources saying that the New York Knicks' Pablo Prigioni was among Detroit's initial targets. But Stan Van Gundy, in his dual role as Pistons coach and team president, has been adamant about refusing to part with any future picks -- even second-rounders -- in a trade for a guard. That prompted the Pistons to scour the free-agent market and laser in on Lucas.
Lucas averaged 27 points, seven assists and five rebounds per game for Fujian and possesses the shooting threat Van Gundy covets from all of his perimeter players he uses to surround big men Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe.