Former Phoenix Suns guard Yuta Tabuse will return to the Link Tochigi Brex for the 2009-10 season along with Takuya Kawamura, the JBL club said Friday.
Tabuse, the only Japanese ever to have played in the NBA, will join the Brex in August, while Kawamura, the Japan Basketball League's leading scorer last season, has already started practicing, the Brex said.
Tabuse made his NBA debut with the Suns in their season opener on Nov. 3, 2004. But he was released after averaging 1.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 4.3 minutes in just four games.
Aiming to make a comeback on the world's biggest stage, the 175-cm player received an invitation from the Dallas Mavericks to take part in a two-day mini camp in June but was forced to miss out because of a heel injury.
Meanwhile, Kawamura, the JBL's leading scorer last season, failed in his bid to earn a spot in the NBA earlier this month after being added to the Suns' roster in the Las Vegas Summer League.
"It was a total disappointment over there, but I learned to play smart," Kawamura said at a Friday news conference.
"I'd like to try again next year."