Former Los Angeles Lakers' assistant coach Jim Cleamons had been hired by the Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) today, local reports said.

Guangsha's general manager Ye Xiangyu told media that Cleamons had arrived in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, yesterday.

"There were several offers from teams of the National Basketball Association (NBA), but Mr. Cleamons finally chose the Guangsha," Ye said.

Cleamons, 62, will take the place of former head coach Wang Fei, who resigned earlier this week due to healthy problems.

Cleamons has been an assistant under head coach Phil Jackson with both the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers for a long period. He was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks for a slight period from 1996-1997.

He was hired as an assistant coach by the Lakers on July 19, 2006.