Ex-Los Angeles Lakers center Robert Sacre will join the B. League's Sunrockers Shibuya, a basketball insider told The Japan Times.
According to the source, the 27-year-old big man is scheduled to arrive in Japan in early January. The annual single-elimination All-Japan Championship is being played at that time, so he is expected to begin playing with his new team after the tournament ends on Jan. 9.
The Sunrockers will resume their B. League regular season on Jan. 18 against the Kawasaki Brave Thunders in Yokosuka.
Sacre, a 213-cm player, was taken in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Lakers. He played in 189 games (35 starts), averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds, in four seasons for the Western Conference club.
Sunrockers head coach BT Toews said earlier this month that the team, which is in third place in the Central Division with a 12-13 record through Sunday's contests, was going to make a roster change to improve its offense. Shibuya currently ranks 11th in the 18-team first division with 73.8 points per game.
Sacre, who has dual citizenship (United States and Canada), is a Gonzaga University product and his father, Greg LaFleur, was an NFL tight end for the St. Louis Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts.
Staff writer Ed Odeven contributed to this report.