When you walk around the Yuanshen, you quickly realize that this is Yao Ming’s house. His image adorns the walls, the banners and the advertisements, whilst his retired jersey hangs from the rafters. During home games, Yao watches from his private box up high in the arena, looking down on players and fans alike like an emperor.

Yet if Yao is the liege of Shanghainese basketball, then Liu Wei is very much the heir-aparant. The two man are childhood friends, playing in same youth team together before both found themselves called up to the Sharks at the age of seventeen in 1997. There, under the tutaledge of coach Li Qiuping, they won a CBA title together, beating the then mighty Bayi Rockets in 2002, having lost to the military side in the two previous finals.

Lifting the trophy would be Yao’s last act for the Sharks before the NBA beckoned and the giant centre would not return to the team in an official capacity until 2009 when he bought the ailing basketball club. Yao and Liu were re-united in Shanghai but with an odd twist; one man was now technically the boss of his close friend.

Though Liu also made it to America, it never worked out like it did for Yao. On trial with the Sacrimento Kings in 2004, Liu played against his old team mate in the ‘China Games’, two preseason matches between the Kings and the Houston Rockets that  got obviously high viewing figures in Asia. This was as close as the guard came to making the NBA; Liu played thirty-four minutes over three games, scoring two points and getting four rebounds. Sacrimento didn’t pick up the option and the point guard returned to carry on playing for the Sharks.

Yet inspite of not being able to make it to the NBA, Liu Wei remains a popular, well-respected figure in Chinese basketball. As well as captaining his country, he has won one gold medal with China at the FIBA championships and two at the Asian Games. Last year, he became the first player in the CBA’s history to score 6000 points, 1600 steals and 700 assists. Within China’s social media sites, he is one of its most ‘liked’ figures, and fans at the Yuanshen will still gather by the players’ tunnel before and after games to reach down to Liu for a high five or an autograph.

There have of course been controversies, most notably in 2008, when along with three other team mates, he got involved in a post game confrontation with Gabe Muoneke, then playing for the now defunct Yunnan Bulls. The American was chased and cornered by the players in front of Muoneke’s family in what the CBA referred to as ‘[an] incident [that] was abominable and serious in nature, casting a terrible influence over society and seriously harming the CBA’s brand and reputation”. The point guard had the book thrown at him, and was fined heavily and suspended for ten games.

Its testament to his popularity however, that despite the Muoneke incident and the Sharks record in recent years (they have only had two winning seasons since 2002), Liu is still an important figure to the Shanghai supporters, who fete him with the same adoration as other fanbases in other sports might regard Derek Jeter, Paolo Maldini or Mario Lemieux; one-club players who have stayed with their team through thick and thin. Their mistakes on and off the court are excused by the supporters because these players have become fused to the very identity of the club. By staying around for so long, they have shown the same passion and commitment to the team as the supporters do.

Liu’s willingness to give his all for the Sharks has been well documented, although as he gets older, it will need to be stored and used carefully. In a recent CBA game against Lioaning, with Shanghai falling behind to a high scoring offense,  Liu, who had previously hobbled off due to knee pain, dragged himself back onto the court to help with the chase. It was ultimately fruitless as Shanghai were beaten decisively and Liu may well have made the injury worse (he would leave the subsequent game against Guangdong Tigers in the first quarter and has missed every Sharks game since then) but it underlined his desire to help his team win.

Liu will be thirty-two by the end of this CBA season and depending on the state of his body, he could play for a few more years to come. In a young team with masses of raw potential, the guard might be tempted to keep on playing into his thirties as his team mates mature, although he has also suggusted an interest in coaching.

When he does call it a day, Liu’s number will almost certainly be retired and raised to the rafters along with Yao’s. The two friends then will probably end up sitting together in the owner’s box, watching the team they led to a title almost a decade ago move onto its next chapter. Yao has already secured his legacy and in what time he has left, Liu will be seeking to make his already lengthy list of achievements that little bit longer.

Picture: QQ.com

Two men exchanged pleasantries via Weibo on Wednesday night, one complimenting the other on a job well done. So far, so normal, considering this is China’s leading social networking site, with over 25o million registered accounts. Yet the big difference was who was doing it; Stephon Marbury, two-time NBA All-Star, now with the Beijing Ducks, was congratulating  J.R. Smith, the former Denver Nugget, on playing his part in Zhejiang Golden Bulls’ victory over Guangdong Leopards that night.

Both men are the star name for their respective CBA teams, but their fates will differ after this season. Smith has already stated he will return to the NBA in the summer of 2012; Marbury will be 35 by then and the chances of finding a starting job back in America are unlikely.

Moreover, the Weibo feeds show the different adventures each man is having in China. Marbury, whose weibo address is in his own name, whilst Smith’s still has the serial code from its initial registration, posts pictures of himself on the Beijing underground on the way to practice, and can’t help himself from doffing his cap to his Chinese audience. He regularly posts pictures of himself with fans and showing a politicians touch for populatity, recently slammed current China coach Bob Donewald for his perceived mistreatment of Yao Ming. A fan asks him what his next move with be and the reply is imediate “I would Love to End My Career here in Beijing. That would be a Perfect ending [sic]“.

Smith on the other hand struggles to hide the fact that his time in China will be a year at the most. His Weibo account has recently been compelling viewing due to the American publicly arguing with his club’s owner over the internet about the physios he can use and Smith’s subsequent absconsion to Beijing. Determined and idioscentric like the majority of young, up-and-coming athletes, Smith’s recent behavior underlines the frustrations of a man who simply wants to play basketball and when not clashing with his boss about who can treat his injury, is knuckling down for a season of basketball and then retreating to his house away from the unpredictable country he has now found himself in. In the build up to his matches, he posts messages constantly- all he can think of is getting on the court and playing. In his downtime, he fires out questions about where he can buy Xbox 360 games in Shanghai or even where his nearest mall is, as if stocking up with supplies until the next game.

Both Marbury and Smith share a clear love for basketball but whereas the former is throwing himself into his new enviroment, the latter is simply trying to understand it. “Coming from the US it’s a 180 difference but being willing to understand an willing to learn is key![sic]“, Smith admits to Marbury in response to the latter’s post-game Weibo post. Marbury on the other hand, relentlessly lambasted during his later days in New York, seems liberated by the respectful passion of Chinese basketball fans and the aura of Beijing itself; “I’m so happy we have another game for all of Beijing to see. It’s a blessing playing basketball in China!”, he announces, shortly after professing his love for Beijing Guaon in the Chinese Super League. Another time, he appologises for not being able to oblidge all the autogragh hunters who find him in and around the city. He has business links here too, one of which is the online retailer for his Starbury brand of trainers and seems very much settled

Via Weibo, the outlook of the two men are easy to read. Marbury, a trailblazer for coming to China in the first place, may well become even more remarkable for staying in China. He has already talked about moving into coaching and has admitted to making notes and watching the technical bench from afar during the Ducks pre-season games, although its foreseeable that Marbury could be playing for a while longer. “When your mind is right, the body is easy to condition. CHINA gives me the peace within to have a clear mind and a free loving heart. I love China because of the peace and love it breeds[sic]” came another recent post. Smith, on the other hand, knows that his talent makes his antics tolerated but probably will not get away with it for more than one season, “Just want to say thank you to my teammates! I know I’m not the easiest to understand but they are willing to help me get threw everything[sic]“.

It’s unlikely that Smith will be posting notices on Weibo in 2013 but Marbury will hope to be around for a while longer, existing as a quasi-Yoda figure sending messages of support to  newly arrived NBA exiles but at the same time becoming further engrained in the city he now calls home.

Photo: china.org.cn

The ongoing NBA lockout has understandably been a massive coup to other basketball leagues around the world, who have invited a number of its currently unpaid players for a spot of moonlighting in a variety of interesting locations. Deron Williams is in Turkey, Tony Parker and Rudy Fernandez are turning up for teams in their native France and Spain, and players from the basketball’s most lucrative league  can be found plying their trade in Israel, Russia, Brazil, Poland, South Korea, Slovenia, Serbia, Lithuania and Montenegro to name but a few.

China has also got in on the act but with a crucial difference. Though the NBA lock-out allows for players to play for other teams, the majority of the players playing overseas have opt-out clauses in these invariably year-long contracts that will allow them to return to the NBA if and when the labour dispute ends. China on the other hand is taking a firm line with teams in the CBA reaching out to NBA players, insisting that only free agents can be signed, all of whom will be expected to fulfill the duration of their CBA contracts.

This caveat has not slowed CBA teams making deals with a variety of close-to-household names and the depth of new talent arriving into the Chinese league remains impressive;

Foshan Dragons – Gerald Greene

Jiangsu Dragons- Dan Gadzuric

Jilin Tigers- Cartier Martin

Liaoning Dinosaurs- Josh Powell and Jermaine Martin

Xingiang Guanghui Flying Tigers- Kenyon Martin

Zhejiang Golden Bulls- J.R. Smith and Josh Boone

Zhejiang Lions- Wilson Chandler

Amongst the new arrivals, that include the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft (Kenyon Martin) and a two-time champion (Powell, albeit tentatively), all bar Jermaine Martin have play-off experience in their career and all of them played anywhere from often to continuously  during the last NBA regular season. Only  Kenyon Martin and Gadzuric are in their 30′s and in the cases of Smith and Chandler, are players approaching their prime. For CBA fans, who have spent last season with only the aging, broken Stephon Marberry as their sole marquee name, the NBA’s problems are Chinese basketball’s gain.

Likewise, the short term benefits for the free agents are clear to see. Though there won’t be an immediate exit route back to the NBA, what they can look forward to are regular games and the chance to develop (something Chandler has already acknowledged) whilst the rest of the NBA’s players head to Europe to play (but not too hard lest they injure themselves too close to the lockout finishing) or stagnate through inactivity. Equally important is the fact that all of the new arrivals will being paid handsomely;  Zhejiang will be paying Smith a cool $3 million salary for his year in East China, Kenyon Martin will be taking home $2.65 million,  whilst Chandler can expect to make somewhere between$2-$3million. By comparison, Shanghai’s presumably new starting centre, Tseng Wen-ting will be taking home $310,000 during the same time frame.

The sudden chaos in American basketball has created an unexpected bonanza for the CBA, certainly in the short-term but it remains to be seen what will happen when the 2012-2013 season rolls along.

Firstly, the CBA is still a small league where its highest-points-in-a-game record is still held by Andre Emmitt, a journeyman who played six games for Memphis in his rookie season in 2004 and has since diligently moved from weak league to weak-ish league, picking up high points per game averages in Venezuela, France and Belgium as well as China. A similarly nomadic guard, Leon Rodgers hit a record fifteen three-pointers in a game in 2008. For a country as crazy about basketball as China, its domestic league measures up poorly in comparison with its European counterparts and the arrival of out-and-out ‘big’ names will give the CBA the legitimacy that a developing league needs to improve, both in terms of marketability but also standard of play. Further along from 2011, one of the core criteria for assessing how Chinese basketball utilised this unexpected diaspora of NBA talent will be if it will still be possible for unremarkable players to score 71 points in a game, or whether the admittedly temporary arrival of top drawer talent can rubber stamp the CBA as a respectable, competitive league that can continually attract competent, talented athletes.

Secondly, the CBA will be faced with the challenge of maintaining the fan interest that will be created by the arrival of Mssrs Smith, Chandler et al once they have returned to the States. Ideally, team owners will resist the urge to raise prices for CBA matches too much this season (although you obviously can’t afford to pay someone three million dollars for thirty-two games without some gameday price raise) and find ways to  keep the arenas and gymnasiums full once the current crop of stars have moved on.Whilst the CBA shouldn’t become a lucrative elephants graveyard, the idea of NBA players considering Chinese teams in free agency shouldn’t be so unusual anymore and owners, players and agents alike will no doubt be aware of the marketing potential that would come with being part of a successful Chinese team and through it, a more widely supported and attended CBA.

Ultimately, the greatest benefactors from the NBA lockout chaos should be the Chinese basketball players themselves. The arrival of players like Smith and Chandler could be a gimmick that is coyly exploited for one year and then China will return to watching basketball on their tv screens rather than live and in person. Yet it could easily be the spark that improves the CBA, the quality of players it can attract and with time, the standards of the players it produces for the NBA and the national team. The upcoming CBA season promises to be an exciting one for obvious reasons but in the long-term, it may also be one that shapes the league’s progression and ambition for a decade to come.

Photo: SI.com

4) Make the CBA All-Star Game mean something

Having attended last season’s CBA All-Star Game at the Wukesong Basketball Arena (now known as the Mastercard Center) an empty feeling was left from what was expected to be an exciting evening. While it was interesting to see imports Quincy Douby and Stephon Marbury try to one up each other in scoring, the rest of the game seemed rather lackluster. The players were just going through the motions as most were gearing up for the playoffs.

While it pales in comparison to the NBA’s version, league officials, sponsors and organizers can do much more to make it an entertaining evening for fans and players. First, instead of scheduling the game at the end of the regular season, arrange at the midway point. It would not hurt the league if they put the regular season on hold for one week.

Second, make the All-Star more fan interactive. Arrange some activities outside of the host city’s arena. Allow them access to the players for pics, autographs and maybe arrange a friendly game between some of the players and a few fans who may have won a contest arranged by a sponsor. This is what keeps the fans coming back and they will more likely remember that moment than just sitting in a cold arena watching a meaningless game.

The CBA's annual All -Star Game would be more interesting if they put something on the line

Third, in regards to the game itself, how about putting something on the line that will get players to be more competitive. The best thing to put on the line is that the winning conference gets home court advantage in the CBA Finals. How many players with teams in playoff position would kill for that incentive? Though I am not much of a fan of Major League Baseball, it has worked for them. Doing this will also make the players feel like they are doing something to promote the league.

This cannot be asking too much.

5) Development of younger talent must be changed

This has always been a contentious issue among basketball experts and it is one that will not end at any point in the future. The sport system in China has had it successes as attested to by the country’s improvement in the medal standings in international events such as the Summer Olympics. However, sports such as basketball have to be approached differently.

An interesting article written by a group of students from the University of Pennsylvania provides good detail as to how talent is selected. Basketball talent cannot be determined from a young age. It takes time for potential talent to be noticed and, on occasion, some late bloomers in the sport are found. CBA teams could be selling themselves short if they overlook players who could be stars for their teams. This leads to player development.

The development of China’s basketball talent must be approached from multiple angles. Sports schools will always have a role in the development of basketball players, but they cannot develop all of them. Interscholastic sports programs at high school level could play a role in developing future players for the national teams. Of course education is strongly emphasized, but having student-athletes has not hurt the opportunities for those in other countries.

In addition, the national body should look into developing an amateur basketball league similar to the United States’ Amateur Athletic Union. By establishing an amateur league, players of the same age can be put into competition against one another in actual games which will enhance many facets of their skills with proper coaching. More importantly, a well run amateur league can increase the player pool that the league and the national team needs.

6) Eliminate the nonsensical points system from the league

Does a basketball league really need to award points to a team after their games? It’s one thing to do it in football or ice hockey, but to use it in basketball standings is just ridiculous. If anything, the CBA’s use of awarding points is rather confusing. Basketball is a game of wins and losses. A points system is not needed to determine which teams should enter the playoffs. The league can set the standings based on win-loss percentage. Should two teams be tied at the end of the season for a playoff spot (use the final playoff spot as an example), then look at who has the better record in head-to-head games.

The league can make it easier on themselves and avoid any controversy if they just nix the points systems forever.

7) The league as well as the clubs must do more for the fans

It’s no secret that sports leagues around the world survive on fans showing up to games, buying merchandise and showing undying support to their local teams, no matter win or lose. The CBA and its teams should recognize this and show their gratitude in return.

If the league wants to grow and maintain their fan base, they need to encourage the teams to do more in their respective cities. Have players visit schools, organize community outreach programs, basketball camps for youths and other activities to show the fans that their support is much appreciated.

Players can also be proactive and do these things themselves. Back in 2002, Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, when he was playing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, was concerned about the enthusiasm of the home fans. It believed it wasn’t loud enough in the Target Center. What did he do? He bought drinks for the first 10,000 fans that came to the arena for their next home game. That may not be a huge gesture, but it is one that fans will be remember for many years.

Basketball fans are the group the CBA should be focusing on more if the league wants to grow

The CBA may not come across problems such a player strikes or lockouts, but they have to do much more to keep fans satisfied.

It is no doubt that basketball is used as a tool for national pride. That is understandable. However, unless the domestic league makes the necessary changes to improve, the chances of the national team progressing further in international competition will slowly dwindle. Some basketball officials maybe starting to see this, but they have to step up reforms in the game as soon as possible or future basketball stars and a thriving league could be lost.

Photos

China.org

Daily Life

A new CBA season and a new team for guard Stephon Marbury

Aside from the Euroleague, the only other basketball anyone will possibly be watching this year is from the China Basketball Association as players and owners work feverishly to hammer out a deal to save the NBA season. With the start of the 2011-2012 season approaching there is a lot of anticipation an excitement.

Defending champions, the Guangdong Southern Tigers, will try to match the Bayi Rockets record for the most overall CBA titles, which stands at eight. They stand a good chance of accomplishing it with the temporary return of forward Yi Jianlian. Meanwhile, last season’s finalists, the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers, will try to overcome their defeats in the past three CBA Finals by winning their first ever championships with recent additions including national team coach Bob Donewald. Attention will be focused on some of the free agents signings from the NBA, especially former Denver Nuggets stars J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin and Wilson Chandler. Lastly, Beijing basketball fans will be paying close attention to new signing Stephon Marbury, as he tries to erase their memories of Steve Francis once and for all (He’s probably already scored major points with fans in the capital for taking the subway to and from practice).

The season looks promising for the CBA

This could possibly be one of the most exciting seasons ever since the league started in 1995. However, there is still much work that needs to be done to make the CBA the top league in all of Asia and the latest incident does not help their cause.

Despite the fights and questionable officiating, the CBA still has a chance of improving its reputation and this seven-point plan could be used as a platform to steer them in the right direction:

1) The media could do a better job of promoting the league

One problem that the league needs to address is its coverage on television. Watching the games of the week on television shows that even the media lacks any motivation to promote the league to its domestic base. This has got to change if the CBA is to be successful.

One of things that can be done is for league officials to follow in the steps of the NBA and start its own channel (CBA TV). Provide year-round programming on its own channel that gets basketball fans more insight on the players, teams and games. This has worked for the NBA and it can work in China.

Another move that could work is for national and provincial channels to show more commitment to the league. Instead of having play-by-play commentators and analysts in a studio covering the game, get a team out to the arenas to cover the game. Hire sideline reporters to interview coaches and players prior to the game, at halftime and after the game.

If there is so much effort put into showcasing the NBA during its season, the same can be done for the domestic league.

2) CBA referees should be better trained and evaluated throughout the season

It’s not the easiest job in the game, but CBA referees are the most scrutinized, by the fans and media at least. Missed calls or phantom calls during important games have made referees the target of ridicule and objects thrown from the stands. Last season could be used as a great case study for what is wrong with officiating in the league.

So what is reason behind some poor decision-making by the referees? Many reasons could be thrown out, but the real question is how to alleviate the problem? CBA officials made the right move to bring in foreign referees during the latter stages of the playoffs and finals, but that can only be done for so long.

The CBA must put more investment into training their own referees. Development is key to the improvement of referees and one of the best steps that can be done to improve the quality of the officiating is by conducting annual training sessions before the start of the season. Bring in experienced referees from abroad and have them sit down with local referees to examine game film and show them how they can improve their performance on the court. Put the referees in practice games where officials can evaluate their performance and point out their mistakes before they go into actual games in the season.

If it were up to Coach Donewald, this referee would be getting further training.

The CBA should also develop an evaluation system for referees. Monitor their progress during the regular season and choose the top referees to officiate playoff games. If a referee makes careless mistakes that affect the outcome of a game, then punish him like other leagues do. By doing nothing, referees do not learn from their mistakes.

If the league can punish players for infractions, then referees should be given equal treatment.

3) Follow the example of the Euroleague and expand the FIBA Asia Champions Cup to a league format

The basketball version of the UEFA Champions League has proven popular in Europe as some of the top teams ranging from Barcelona to CSKA Moscow compete in the league annually. It provides some of Europe’s top players, as well as foreign imports, quality competition that they may not always get from teams in their domestic leagues.

Currently, FIBA Asia organizes a Champions Cup tournament that invites some of the top teams on the continent. While it is a rather commendable effort on the part of the officials, the tournament can be improved by inviting the top club teams from China, South Korea, Japan and other Asian nations. Add in clubs from Australia and New Zealand (FIBA Oceania representatives) and an expanded format of the club competition can be very strong.

This can only help Chinese basketball players as they will get a chance to challenge themselves and enhance their skills against competition outside of their own domestic league. In addition, an expanded FIBA Asia club competition is going to attract fans as they will be attracted by visiting teams they don’t normally see.

An Asian Champions League for basketball can work in this region, but it will take basketball officials in China and other nations to get it up and running.

(Part 2 to be posted next week)

Additional Articles

• NBA owners’ dual wants put more games in jeopardy
• Yao’s Retirement Forces China to Rethink Basketball System
• NBA Lockout: Why the NBA Is a Lock To End the Lockout Soon
• If I Ruled the (NBA) World

Photos

Hoop China

Chinaassistor

News-MSN

Could this man be wearing the uniform of a CBA team during the lockout?

With all of the hoopla around former Houston Rockets’ center Yao Ming’s retirement, some may have forgotten that the NBA is still in lockout mode. As players and owners still haggle over an agreement, many of the top NBA stars have had a lot of free time on their hands this summer and it looks like they will still have a lot of down time come September when teams should be heading into training camp getting ready for the new season.

So what does an NBA player do while he is banned from team facilities or contacting anyone remotely affiliated with his team?

Perhaps Kevin Durant will bring his game to China for a brief period?

The Oklahoma Thunder’s star forward, Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Lakers’ guard, Kobe Bryant recently made appearances in China hosting basketball clinics. Bryant’s teammate, Pau Gasol and newly crowned NBA champion, Dirk Nowitzki, are back in Europe with their respective national squads preparing the 2011 European Basketball Championships. Meanwhile, KFC is trying to entice one of their former employees, the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade, to comeback and work for them.

Despite all of the tours or international basketball ongoing at the moment, the big question is what will these players do come September if there is still no end to the lockout? Some players are already considering playing basketball elsewhere in the world.

Things started off with New Jersey Nets’ point guard Deron Williams signing with Turkish league team Besiktas. Slovenian national team guard Sasha Vujacic otherwise known as the future Mr. Maria Sharapova, followed in the steps of his Nets teammate by also signing with a Turkish team, Anadolu Efes.

This is only the beginning as more players maybe looking to what options they have overseas in order to stay fit while negotiators try to hammer out a new agreement.

Some serious thinking is needed by CBA teams

One of the options that some players may look at is playing in the Chinese Basketball Association. The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard and Durant have been on record as to saying that they are considering the possibility of playing in the Chinese basketball league should the lockout persist.

While many basketball fans in China maybe drooling over the idea of having a few top NBA stars in China’s top league, one needs to take a step back and be totally realistic about this prospect.

First, a CBA team signing a player the likes of Howard, Durant or anyone else would be a huge coup and most likely fill arenas in every CBA city. However, teams are probably considering whether it would be worth the gamble offering a lot of money to a player when the lockout could possibly end at any point. It would definitely be a poor investment on the part of a CBA team to part with so much money. Certainly, many of these teams are also wary of the whole Steve Francis fiasco during the previous season.

If anything, the CBA teams would most likely pursue offering a contract to a host of NBA free agents that are on the market. The likes of Russian Andrei Kirilenko, Tyson Chandler and, yes, Yao Ming’s former teammates in Houston, Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier are in the pool of players possibly looking for new teams. Perhaps a stint over in the ‘Middle Kingdom’ would be useful for them.

Second, if any of the top NBA players are strongly considering to play in China during the lockout, they have to realize that there are only a few big market cities in the country. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou can certainly provide these players with a rather comfortable life off the court, but would any of them be willing to sign for teams in Liaoning, Jilin or Shanxi?

In addition, how will the players adapt to the lack of luxuries they receive while playing in the American ‘Association’? They have to face the reality of playing in cold gyms, changing in makeshift locker rooms and possibly sharing a room with a teammate while on the road. These are certainly things they haven’t experienced since high school. There is going to be a lot they will have to sacrifice and adapt to if they choose to play in China.

Wukesong Basketball Arena: NBA players won't be seeing the inside of this place

Third, there is no guarantee that fans will see any of the top NBA stars in the league due to the strict rules that are imposed on teams by the CBA. With the number of foreign players allowed on each team limited, the amount of minutes they can play limited and a strict salary cap imposed, this could lead to most players looking to the European leagues or other places to play.

While it may seem like a smashing idea to have the rare opportunity of a star NBA player on a CBA roster during the lockout, fans should not hold their breath on this. It going to be a long time until there is confirmation that the 2011-2012 NBA season will be canceled and a few of the well-known ballers signing contracts with teams here.

Photos

For the Record Sports

Yiqiyou

The NBA's key to the Chinese market on the verge of retirement

The imminent retirement of Houston Rockets’ center Yao Ming comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Shanghai native’s career from his early beginnings in the game. Persistent injuries over the past few seasons have allowed the towering center to only play in a handful of games. Coming off of his most recent injury, a stress fracture of his ankle, may have put the writing on the wall for the former Shanghai Sharks star.

Throughout last week and this week there has been much talk about Yao’s retirement and his plans for the future. There has also been some discussion about the future of the National Basketball Association in the Chinese market. Some consider the retirement of Yao as a huge blow to the NBA in the Chinese market.

In a recent online poll conducted by Weibo, 57 percent of the participants said they would stop watching the NBA after Yao’s retirement. A few things must be noted when analyzing this online poll as it is not exactly scientific.

First, it is not easy to know whether these participants are regular followers of the NBA or just casual fans since Yao Ming joined the league in 2002. Most likely it is the latter, but that does not mean the NBA will lose its hardcore followers in China.

Second, besides Yao being the face of the league in China, how many other players could those who took part in the poll identify? This goes back to the previous assumption that most of those that took part in the poll are casual fans. Of course, most know of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and the Miami Heat’s LeBron James, but are they familiar with other stars in the NBA?

Washington Wizards’ forward Yi Jianlian is in the league; however, he may not have the star power as his former teammate. Having changed teams on a couple of occasions during his time in the US, he has not been able to stamp his authority as of yet.

Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard will always have a presence in China

Third, China is a market that not only the NBA wants to be in, but even the players, individually, want to be in as well. Players such as Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Kevin Garnett choose to spend part of their summer holidays here in order to increase their profiles. Even jersey sales in China show that fans here are following other players in the league than Yao.

Yao Ming’s retirement from the NBA will be a disappointment, but it will not spell doom for the league in the Chinese market. What could spell its doom is the lingering lockout saga which sees no sign of ending.

Photos: CNS

Slam Counterkicks

When the lanky Shanghainese first landed in Houston in 2002, few expected him to achieve what he now stands for. In his nine seasons of playing in the NBA, Yao Ming averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds per game. Yet his contribution to basketball and the NBA cannot be told by these stats, as Yao basically globalized the sport more than anyone in history.

The news came out yesterday from Yahoo Sports that the 7-foot-6 player is to retire soon due to left foot and ankle injury, which already cost him the past two seasons. Yao’s injury was a typical result of over-playing. Since the 2004 Athens Games, the “Moving-Great Wall” constantly found himself moving over the Pacific Ocean to reunite with his Chinese teammates for glories in the Asian Champs, the Olympics after at least four surgeries.

Yao Ming to Retire Soon

There’re claims from both sides, the Rockets and the Chinese sports bureau, about the other’s irresponsible role in playing Yao too much to a degree that even the Shanghai native himself tried to downplay the spat a number of times. At the age of 30, Yao can probably still play a reduced role in the NBA, but decides retirement as his best option for future career development. And what he left after the retirement are a multiple layers of assets that cannot be easily measured.

Yao Ming’s humble image and witful, humourous talk not only made his countrymen proud, but also made Chinese kids glue to the game. For sport in China, the most valueble legacy after he leaves should be those boys playing hoops around the country. There’re, according to the NBA’s estimation, 300 millions of Chinese playing basketball. And most of these 300 million grew up watching Yao Ming play in Shanghai and then Houston and drew inspiration from him. The game would not only make the next generation of Chinese more athletic and healthy, but more team-work oriented through competitions on the court.

But for the moment, this vast player base doesn’t equal the height of Chinese basketball, as there’s a great divide between grassroots and pro players. The CBA, the country’s basketball association, doesn’t really interested in organizing non-professional league in schools. In recent years, sports brands assumed CBA’s role in doing that, because for them, schools are excellent opportunities to market their brands and products. Chinese basketball could further unleash its potential given proper restructure work of league-building.

The professional league, the CBA, has its own faults too. After 17 years of operation since its establishment in 1995, the basketball players in the country still cannot be traded. This correlates with China decades-old sports school system, in which a player, like Yao Ming, is found, trained and developed in a local sports school and then supplied to a local club. Of course no Chinese club wants to lose a player in Yao’s stature, but an average bench player would also find it very hard to move due to a lack of regulation on players’ trading. The move-around of players every season is mainly done behind the closed doors between local sports bureaus and clubs, with so much guanxi involved. The result? You get only three champion teams in the past 16 seasons and familiar faces every year in the CBA All-Star Game.

Yao Ming Left Due To Foot Injury

Yao may not be as fortunate as Mengke Bateer and Sun Yue, who received their NBA champ rings respectively with the Spurs and Lakers and, more important, both are still playing. Yet his fortune allowed him to do something his national teammates have never dreamed of. In 2009, Yao purchased Shanghai Sharks, his former team before joining the Houston Rockets in the Chinese top league. The team is reportedly costing Yao RMB 20 mln a season, but the new management he brought to the Sharks is strikingly positive and could herald change in the CBA if more investors come in.

On 20th this month, Yao will get back to his hometown to announce his future plans. His decision of retirement will become yet another lesson to many Chinese kids looking up to him but few had a chance experiencing themselves: When things go wrong, we move on. Let it be said that Yao is the greatest player in the history of sport in China so far and, as his name ‘ming‘ suggests, Yao’s legacy will be carried on in the generations to come.

Photo: Netease

Previously:

• What can Yao get from the Sharks

The CBA All-Star Game, first sports event after the Wukesong Arena turned MasterCard Center

The awkwardness largely set the tone for the All-Star Game. It looked the organizers tried to reach the fans but failed for not trying enough. They have a beautiful stadium, the first NBA-style arena in China, and the All-Star Weekend is the first sports event after the Wukesong Sports Center reached the sponsorship deal with MasterCard. The fans at the MasterCard Center were excited in the beginning and mostly in the first two quarters. But some of them started to leave in the third and, by the end of the match, people around us were almost all gone. There’s something lost in-between and you feel the fans and the game were still disconnected.

They’re disconnected before entering the arena. No CBA merchandise or any related products were offered at the MasterCard Center except what you saw in the picture below. The products were cheap but the vendor said he actually had a great business in the Rookie Game Night on Saturday.

Unlicensed CBA posters, the best you can find in Wukesong. But are there licensed ones?

The opening was reminiscent of the Beijing Games when the rookies staged lip-syncing. And speaking of the rookies, they’re no better than the all stars in performance. The lack of talents made people started leaving after the 2nd quarter. I was told a majority of tickets on Saturday were given out free but can’t confirm if that’s true. The All-Star Game, as in previous seasons, were dominated by imported talents. And for last night it was more of a Quincy Douby vs.Stephon Marbury match. Most Chinese athletes seemed uninterested and somewhat out-of-place. It gave you the feeling that they’re not used to this idea of an All-Star Game or themselves participating in it, but many of them had at least 3+ years of playing in the All-Star.

It looks the CBA cares about its brand but does not know where to begin after 15 years of practices. It’s always easy to copy, but when the audience can taste the original flavor everyday at home, why buy the tickets to watch your games? The silver lining for the CBA guys’ that the stadium was half-full by the end of the 4th quarter. They got some fans, but not professional enough to keep them and make them happier.

A Chinese investment group is trying to sign a deal for a 15 percent minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo from New York Times.

A Russian billionaire is being challenged by an American politician over previous company investments. Is this cause to also go after a Chinese investment group that is finalizing a deal to purchase the Cleveland Cavaliers?

Mikhail Prokhorov, left, is being challenged by a U.S. official over whether one of his companies was funding Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, right. Photo from the New York Post.

A New Jersey congressman is demanding an official inquiry into Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who is about purchase the New Jersey Nets, for his apparent business dealings in Zimbabwe. The move threatens to crumble the $200 million USD deal and whether the team will ultimately be moving to Brookyln.

According to the New York Post, the congressman is challenging Prokhorov on whether one of his companies violated a federal rule that forbade any United States or U.S.-based subsidiary company from doing business with current Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

I bring up the challenge to Prokhorov because an investment group from Asia is still finalizing a deal to purchase a 15 percent minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported in 2009 that the deal is being led by Jianhua “Kenny” Huang, a Chinese businessman who has brokered deals with the New York Yankees and other U.S. sports teams in the past.

In December 2009, China Sports Review wrote an op-ed on the proposed deal to purchase a stake in the Cavaliers franchise, and asked why Albert Hung, another apparent front man connected with Huang to purchase the Cavs, and an individual with strong ties to the Communist Party, had not been subjected to any backlash by the American public in the wake of an influential CCP member investing in a U.S. sports franchise.

It would seem prudent in the wake of a U.S. government official calling out Prokhorov and his dealings in Zimbabwe that both the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers organization are absolutely certain there are no ghosts in the closet with the Asian investment group. Then again, maybe Prokhorov was a little too cavalier in the lead-up to finalizing the Nets deal. After all, what billionaire flashes an automatic rifle on CBS’ 60 Minutes interview and admits the reason he’s become so wealthy is by nefarious dealings in Russia?

Recent public spats over Chinese Renminbi currency appreciation have been cause enough for American politicians to cry foul when it comes to China. Huang, who has a history with American sports franchises might not be under the microscope, but there has yet to be a public disclosure of the other Asian partners involved in the deal. One can imagine NBA Commissioner David Stern is hoping his foreign investors’ pasts do not catch up with them when it comes to business in the National Basketball Association.