Metta World Peace joins CBA

A screen grab shows Ron Artest tweets that he has officially joined the Sichuan Blue Whale Basketball Club of China Basketball Association (CBA) on Monday.

Metta World Peace, the ex-NBA star formerly known as Ron Artest, will join the Sichuan Blue Whale Basketball Club of China Basketball Association (CBA), it was announced on Monday.

The 34-year-old former NBA All-Star forward, who once played with Yao Ming on the Houston Rockets, has become the latest high-profile former NBA player to bring his high tops to China, following Stephon Marbury, Tracy McGrady and others.

"I'm excited to announce I am officially a member of the Sichuan Blue Whale Basketball Club! Big season ahead for us!" World Peace posted on his Twitter account.

World Peace is known in China as "Ci Shiping", which is a literal translation of "Metta World Peace". A source close to the CBA said his one-year contract will make him one of the highest- paid CBA players in history.

The highest-paid to date is Kenyon Martin who earned more than $2.7 million per year with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

World Peace played a key role in winning the NBA Championship for Los Angeles Lakers in 2010. In his last full NBA season, he averaged 12.5 points and 5 rebounds per game for the Lakers in 2012-2013.

He signed a two-year deal with the New York Knicks in 2013, but was waived by the team after they bought out his contract in February.