NBA.com Western Conference Insider: The Yao effect

Colin Pine was a 28-year-old stuck in the world of business and academia before he met Yao Ming. And then the Houston Rockets called, looking for somebody to accompany Yao, their 7-foot-6 rookie, as he made the transition from China to the United States. Suddenly Pine was a translator that traveled the country with an NBA team and co-starred in an internationally released documentary, The Year of the Yao.

Yes, it's good to know Yao Ming.

Just ask 10-year league veteran Bonzi Wells, a one-time teammate of Yao's. He couldn't find an NBA team interested in his services this season, so he decided to go East -- as in Far East -- to sign with Shanxi Zhongyu in the Chinese Basketball Association. Wells' signing underscores a fringe benefit of being a teammate of Yao. Not only do you get the All-Star big man on your side, you get to appeal to a whole new rabid fan base in China and the employment opportunities that come with that.

Five current Houston players have shoe deals with Chinese sneaker companies (Shane Battier and Ron Artest with Peak; Luis Scola and Steve Francis with Anta; Chuck Hayes with Li Ning). And two former Rockets -- Kirk Snyder and Mike Harris -- have parlayed their exposure playing alongside Yao into gigs in the Chinese Basketball Association, just like Wells.

"I thank Yao every night," Battier said on Saturday with a toothy smile. "He's afforded all of us a lot of opportunities. We're very lucky to play with a guy who is so visible worldwide. In China, they know the Rockets. You go over there, they know every person on the roster, every player that Yao's ever played with and it's nice. It's nice."

Wells' move represents one final drip from the spigot that was flowing full force this summer, funneling established, American-born NBA players overseas. Double-digit NBA scorers like Josh Childress (Olympiacos, Greece), Jannero Pargo (Dynamo Moscow, Russia) and Earl Boykins (Virtus Bologna, Italy) all took their games international, as did California prep sensation Brandon Jennings, who chose to play for Lottomatica Roma in Italy rather than hack it in the NCAA.

"Bonzi's kind of crazy, you never know with him," said Brad Miller, his former teammate in Sacramento. "He just wants to play ball I guess. I'm sure he'll have a good time over there. He's still good enough to be an NBA player. [Stuff] happens sometimes in this league as you get older. I think this is an opportunity for him to play for a little bit. I'm sure he'll try to get back over here next year."

It's easy to forget that Wells, who struggled with his weight and his production in his last two seasons with the Kings, Rockets and Hornets, had a seven-season stretch from 2000-01 to 2005-06 in which he averaged 13.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Wells hit his apex as a pro with a torrid six-game series in the first round of the 2005-06 Playoffs against the Spurs, pumping in 23.2 points per game on 60.9 percent shooting (62.5 percent from three) to go with 12.0 rebounds per game for the Kings.

Wells is the third former Rocket to make the leap to the Chinese Basketball Association, but don't expect the league to become overrun with NBA journeymen just yet. The CBA only allows two players per team to be born outside of Asia.

"I think he's going to be the best [player in the Chinese Basketball Association] because before him Kirk Snyder and Mike Harris also played in China on two different clubs and they are dominating players in the CBA," said Shen Zhiyu of the popular Chinese publication Titan Sports. "I think Bonzi Wells is even better than both of them."

Said Yao: "I think Bonzi is a good player. He helped us out a lot last year with what he brings."

Yao got it all wrong. He was the one who helped Wells out.

http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/dave_mcmenamin/12/15/western.insider/index.html


Hopefully we'll start attracting bigger name free agents based on this.