Chinese Star in Warriors' Future? JORGE L. ORTIZ Sunday, March 25, 2001 GARY FITZSIMMONS and Bill Duffy are currently engaged in different missions with one common theme: They both could have a large impact on the Warriors' future. Fitzsimmons, the Warriors' assistant general manager and top talent evaluator, planned to make a whirlwind tour of this weekend's NCAA Tournament sites -- Anaheim, San Antonio, Philadelphia and Atlanta -- as he scouted college players who may be eligible for the June 27 draft. After that he'll attend the McDonald's All-Star Game, the premier showcase of high school seniors, in Durham, N.C. In the meantime, Duffy's pursuing a much more exotic talent. The Walnut Creek-based agent, who represents such NBA players as Steve Nash and Antonio Davis, is trying to deliver the biggest prize in amateur basketball -- China's 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming -- to the NBA's eagerly awaiting arms. If the team that drafts him happens to be Golden State, well, Duffy would have his client just a drive away. For now that possibility remains a bit distant. While the Warriors are doing their part, losing 19 of their last 20 to move into strong lottery position with the league's second-worst record entering the weekend, Duffy still has a fair amount of work ahead of him. With former Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon running interference, Duffy is trying to get permission for Yao to enter the draft. The agent is negotiating with Oriental TV, parent company of Yao's team, the Shanghai Sharks, and also with city officials and even the player's parents. He expects to get a definite response within three weeks. Duffy said Chinese government officials favor Yao getting a chance to showcase his skills in the NBA, so now the biggest obstacle is to work out a compensation package for the Sharks to let their star center go. Besides money, the Sharks would like to get a worthwhile replacement in return. "A likely scenario would be if (the U.S. team) drafted a second-round kid from, say, the Ukraine, who's maybe 19 years old and not quite ready for the NBA," Duffy said. "And then maybe they'd send him and a coach over to Shanghai to work with him so the kid continues to develop, but he's also a quality player. Something along those lines." Duffy's chances of success seemed to get a boost last week when another of his Chinese clients, 7-1 Wang Zhi Zhi, a second-round pick of the Mavericks in 1999, was granted permission to join Dallas. Wang probably won't be activated, but rather come in and begin the process of assimilating a vastly different culture. The 20-year-old Yao, who is soft-spoken and not quite comfortable in English, would face a similarly difficult transition. A home base with a large Chinese population, such as the Bay Area, may facilitate the adjustment, but his destination is not up to him. Yao showed enough potential during last summer's Olympics that many believe he'll be the top pick in the draft if he's allowed to make himself available. Surely those clips of Yao rejecting shots by Gary Payton and Vince Carter have been played back more than once at the offices of NBA teams. "I think what impressed people is that when he played against our Dream Team, he affected the game," Fitzsimmons said. "He's got size, he's got skill, he can shoot the ball a little bit, has a nice touch, good hands. And for a young guy, people see the potential. So I think he gave NBA people a little appetizer of what someday he might be." ©2001 San Francisco Chronicle ------------------
