http://www.nba.com/news/china_010315.html;$sessionid$YK2UWWNNRBIAXFMDAYSCFFA?nav=A rticleList Wang Zhizhi's status beyond this season still undecided China Says Star Center Can Join NBA BEIJING, March 14 (AP) -- They're tall, talented and form the towers of China's "Walking Great Wall." Dallas selected Wang with the 36th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft. After two years of hesitation and negotiations, China has decided to let one of its top basketball players -- 7-foot-1 tall Wang Zhizhi -- join the NBA. Speculation is mounting that 7-5 Yao Ming won't be far behind. Forget about China's entry into the World Trade Organization. For sports-crazy Chinese fans, having Wang and Yao in the world's top basketball league would be proof indeed that China is joining the global elite. With their Nike endorsements, ardent fans and towering physiques, Wang and Yao are poster-boys for how market-reform China sees itself: more open, international and growing stronger by the day. The two young players could help China and the United States -- whose ties are often strained -- understand each other better. Call them the 21st century follow-up to "pingpong diplomacy," the 1971 visit to China by the U.S. table tennis team that helped thaw the Cold War. Wang will be the first to go. For the moment, his army-run team, the Bayi Rockets, needs the 23-year-old center for another championship run in China's six-season-old professional league. The Rockets' best-of-five finals against Yao's Shanghai Sharks conclude by March 25 at latest. After that, the Rockets and the Chinese Basketball Association have decided Wang can join the Dallas Mavericks for the rest of the NBA season, association spokesman Xu Minfeng said. The Rockets previously had refused to release Wang after the Mavericks drafted him in 1999. Whether Wang remains in Dallas next season or returns to China still has to be negotiated, but "this is the first step," said Xia Song, an agent and TV basketball commentator involved in the talks. Wang would be the first Chinese player to make an NBA regular-season roster. As a soldier, Wang will apply for his U.S. visa through China's Ministry of Defense. The towering Yao could be a harder catch. Speculation about the 20-year-old boiled after Bill Duffy, an agent for NBA players Steve Nash and Antonio Davis, met Shanghai's mayor and officials from the government-run TV station that owns the Sharks in late February. "The meetings were very productive and we're both moving our best foot forward," Duffy said in a telephone interview. "The details obviously are critical. We're going to work on that over the next month or so." The Sharks have sent mixed signals, perhaps pushing for the best possible deal. State-run newspapers quoted team managers as saying they would release Yao only at an "appropriate time, for an appropriate team and under appropriate conditions." But after the Sharks beat the Rockets 116-105 in the finals' opening game Sunday, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Shanghai's coach as saying Wang and Yao were ripe for the NBA. "Yao Ming is better than Shaquille O'Neal in skill," Xinhua quoted Li Qiuping as saying. "Watch his jumps. Nobody at his age, of that height, can do them like him." Duffy says Yao could be the No. 1 pick if he joins this year's NBA Draft. But he also says persuading Chinese officials to release the prized player is a long process. "It's taken me three years to, I think, establish a consistent presence in their minds that I'm not just poaching their talent but trying to create a good working relationship with them," Duffy said. "There's a courtship period where they have to become familiar with me and what we're trying to do and the whole concept because it's so new to them. But they are very intelligent people and they're open to it." Duffy says he also has secured the release of Menk Batere, the 6-11 Beijing Ducks center who has piqued the Toronto Raptors' interest. Yao, Wang and Menk formed the front line of China's basketball team that placed a disappointing 10th at the 2000 Olympics. Together, the three are known as China's "Walking Great Wall." Snaring Wang, and possibly Yao and Menk, too, could only boost the NBA's already large following in the world's most populous nation. Seven NBA games are broadcast in China each week, and basketball can lay claim to being the second most popular sport after soccer. The NBA's presence in China dates back at least as far as a visit by the Washington Bullets in 1979, the year China and the United States opened diplomatic relations. ------------------ [This message has been edited by JayZ750 (edited March 15, 2001).]
How come China gets 7 games and I only get 4 or 5? ------------------ "We messed with the Bull, and we got the horns." -- Larry Brown "quote" from AirBullard.com
Man I hope Dallas doesn't get this Zhi Zhi clown. Think about this -- Shawn Bradley and Wang Zhi Zhi. Any young 7-1 guy would be a good addition to a team... Dallas doesn't need any more good additions. "Yao Ming is better than Shaquille O'Neal in skill," Xinhua quoted Li Qiuping as saying. "Watch his jumps. Nobody at his age, of that height, can do them like him." ??!? Ming might be taller than Shaq, but he is skinny. Shaq will just overpower him. And also, who cares about his "jumps"? Since when do your "jumps" make you better than everybody including Shaq? ------------------ PrEsident of The Danforth Langhford FAN CLUB... He IS our future All-Star Small Forward
Good point. When you're 7'6" what does it matter how high you can jump? ------------------ Why is Gonzaga always given a double digit seed? Just move them to the Sweet 16 where they belong and let them play from there.
Yeah, I predict some severe disappointment on both sides when these guys come over... the game is just played differently. Hopefully these Chinese officials aren't expecting these players to become the greatest players in the NBA anytime soon. ------------------ "all your base are belong to us!" "you have no chance to survive make your time!"
While I don't think these Chinese guys are going to be the dominant players some folks think (especially not at first), I would hope that Wang could become a solid NBA center for the Mavs. It's too hard to know how foreign players will do. Maybe Wang will surprise us and really be a great player. I don't think it is going to happen, but when dealing with players making a transition from one level to another, it's often hard to tell who will be successful and who will not be. ------------------ Houston Sports Board Help Finance My Movie - Buy A T-Shirt or Make a Donation
Actually, despite being 7'1" Wang is projected as a small forward. He has a game similar to Dirk Nowitzki. He runs the floor, handles the ball and shoots the three. ------------------
Wherever he plays, I hope he works out for them, though it would seem that another small forward (especially one who's apparently more of an outside player) wouldn't be what the Mavs really need. ------------------ Houston Sports Board Help Finance My Movie - Buy A T-Shirt or Make a Donation [This message has been edited by mrpaige (edited March 16, 2001).]
Ching chang chong.. Those mega-tall players suck a$$.. Muresan & Bradley both sucked.. 7 foot centers like Shaq, Admiral, Dream, Duncan, etc. are the ones you should have in your team. Not some skinny chinese small forward wannabeeeeeeezz.. ------------------ Lifeform Assembled for Violence and Intensive Sabotage
What kind of b.s. post is that? If you think the guy sucks fine, but leave the racist comments out. I can't even understand how someone who uses the spelling "kewl" for "cool" has any room talking sh** about anyone or anything. ------------------
Fonzie, How old are you? That's fine if you think that tall skinny centers suck, but like wong said....lose the racist attitude. That Ching Chang Chong s*** is straight from elementary school.... People like you make me sick. [This message has been edited by AxSomebody (edited March 19, 2001).]
