Lance Stephenson plays for the Liaoning Flying Leopards and is one of the players looking to be released from his deal to return to the NBA. A player needs a “letter of clearance” from FIBA, the international governing body, to do so. No players have been granted one as of yet. “FIBA is sympathetic to the situation, but there’s no clarity,” said one prominent agent with clients in China. “It’s complex, and everyone who is working on it is going hour to hour.”