Metta World Peace will sign a $1.43 million contract on Thursday night with Sichuan of the Chinese Basketball Association, making him the league’s highest paid import player this season, sources told RealGM.

World Peace’s deal will be for one season, and he’ll search for a contract in the NBA once the Chinese season ends, sources said.

World Peace, 34, will be the most decorated NBA talent in China next season – a one-time champion, All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year in 15 mostly productive seasons. He had received a level of NBA interest before the overseas deal.

World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, had immense individual and team success in stops with the Indiana Pacers (2002-06) and Los Angeles Lakers (2009-13). He played in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004, and the 6-foot-7 forward won an NBA title with the Lakers in 2010 when he filled the void of Trevor Ariza and made impact shots and defensive stands alongside Kobe Bryant.

After being released by the Lakers under the amnesty provision last summer, World Peace signed with the New York Knicks and averaged 4.8 points in 29 games in one year with his home team. World Peace went to high school in New York and played two collegiate seasons at St. John’s University.

World Peace averaged 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists over his NBA career with six different teams. He was the 19th overall draft selection of the Chicago Bulls in 1999.

Byron Mullens has signed a contract with Shanxi Zhongyu in China.

Mullens is the third foreign player to round out Shanxi's roster.

Mullens signed with the Los Angeles Clippers last offseason and was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers before the NBA trade deadline.

Stephen Holt has signed a professional contract with a team in Germany.

Holt, who averaged 8.6 points in the Las Vegas summer league, passed on a training camp invitation from the Atlanta Hawks.

Holt hopes to play for the Hawks again in summer league next year.

Artem Klimenko plans to play next season in Russia with BC Avtodor Saratov, and the undrafted seven-footer has become comfortable with continuing to cultivate a relationship with his most interested NBA suitor in the Dallas Mavericks, league sources told RealGM.

Ever since Klimenko went unselected in the June NBA draft, the Mavericks have pursued an arrangement to monitor the 20-year-old’s development in Russia over the next season or two.

Klimenko is expected to head to the United States at some point in the summer to visit the Mavericks and their staff, sources said.

Throughout the NBA pre-draft process, Klimenko intrigued teams with his versatility, mobility and outside range. He had been under late consideration by the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers in the second round. Many around the NBA believe Klimenko needed to strengthen physically, strengthen his core work, but his size and potential intrigue everyone.

Klimenko had also played with BC Avtodor in the VTB league before declaring in the draft.

Before finalizing his contract to return to the NBA, Sebastian Telfair rejected one of the most lucrative proposals in professional basketball overseas – a two-year, $7 million deal from a team in the Chinese Basketball Association, his agent Joel Bell told RealGM.

Telfair starred in the Chinese league a season ago, averaging 26 points and six assists, and a club came to him with an offer of $3.5 million per season once word trickled of his agreement with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Still, Telfair – once a prodigal point guard out of New York – pressed for his comeback into the NBA and finalized the deal in Oklahoma City.

In nine NBA seasons, Telfair, 29, has averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 assists and 21.6 minutes. He had been somewhat a lost player, bouncing around the NBA before re-engaging himself as a point guard in one-plus seasons with the Phoenix Suns.

Telfair closed the 2012-13 season with the Toronto Raptors.

Nikola Mirotic has secured a $3 million buyout with Real Madrid in order to come to the Chicago Bulls, reports HoopsHype.

Mirotic was the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and has since developed into one of Europe's best forwards.

Because he was drafted three years ago, Mirotic is not subject to the rookie salary-cap scale, and the Bulls likely will need to use some of their cap space to contribute to his buyout and sign him to a long-term contract.

The Bulls can pay up to $600,000 toward Mirotic's buyout, but anything over that amount would be considered a signing bonus and be charged to the Bulls' cap. 

Shams Charania of RealGM reports that the two sides believe they don't have significant ground to cover, but no deal is imminent.

The Bulls' decision to move forward with Mirotic at this point signals that they will be moving on without Carlos Boozer next season. Boozer can either be amnestied or traded.