Yuta Watanabe, who recently returned to Japan from the NBA, has received a contract offer from a B-League third-division team based in his native Kagawa Prefecture.
The Kagawa Five Arrows announced their intent to sign the Japan national team star on Thursday, with team president Naoto Ikuoka calling Watanabe a "treasure" of the western Japan prefecture.
"This is an unusual and special occasion for Kagawa Prefecture. We had no hesitation at all about the offer," Ikuoka said.
The Five Arrows' offer is one of many the 29-year-old Watanabe is expected to field in Japan, with the former NBA player considered hot property in his homeland.
Watanabe played for Kagawa's Jinsei Gakuen High School before moving to the United States and enrolling at George Washington University.
At a press conference in Tokyo on April 21, Watanabe said, "I'm looking for a (local) team that is serious about wanting me. I want to devote all my energy to the team with passion."
The 2.06-meter wing averaged 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game across his six-season NBA career, the longest stint for a Japanese player in the world's top league.
He played for the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.
