Aron Baynes is being strongly pursued by Yao Ming’s former Chines team, the Shanghai Sharks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.

ESPN sources say Yao Ming’s Shanghai Sharks are among teams in China making a hard push to sign Aussie C Aron Baynes away from San Antonio — Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) September 19, 2014

The news of Aron Baynes being pursued by the Shanghai Sharks comes shortly after a rumor that the San Antonio Spurs were open to a sign-and-trade involving the Australian big man.

Aron Baynes played decently for the San Antonio Spurs last season, posting averages of 3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.3 minutes of action. He did struggle with his field goal percentage though, only shooting 43.6% from the field.

Baynes, 27, also played with the Australian national team in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. He played fantastically there, leading Australia in points and rebounds with 16.8 and 7 respectively.

If Aron Baynes were to sign with the Shanghai Sharks, San Antonio would still own the his rights for subsequent seasons since Baynes is currently a restricted free agent.

The 6-foot-10 center’s preference is to play in the NBA in the upcoming season,however, after his outstanding performance at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Aron Baynes has garnered a lot of interest from overseas.

The San Antonio Sours still have one open roster spot heading into training camp, which starts September 27th, and if Baynes were to sign with Shanghai, the Spurs would have to cross another candidate off their list.

Stay tuned to Air Alamo for this developing story.

Also, follow Air Alamo on Twitter @AirAlamo for updates throughout the day!