Yao Ming for McClintock -- straight up By CHRIS LANG Sun Sports Staff (phenix Sun) 10/23/2002 Former NAU center Dan McClintock is playing an instrumental role in one of the NBA's most anticipated debuts. When Yao Ming, who was the No. 1 overall pick in June's NBA draft, makes his first regular-season appearance in a Houston Rockets' uniform late this month, McClintock will be working out with Ming's former team in China -- the Shanghai Sharks -- as part of a unique deal. Yao remained unsigned until late last week because the Rockets and the Chinese Basketball Association were negotiating the terms of Ming's release from his Sharks' contract. The CBA wanted a serviceable big man in return for letting Yao come to the States, and the 7-foot McClintock was available. Perhaps getting shipped off to the Far East sounds like a trip to basketball exile, but McClintock offers a unique perspective. "China is getting heavily scouted now," McClintock said Tuesday in a phone interview. "Career-wise, it's a good move for me." There are other positives. CBA teams play just one game a week, leaving plenty of time for practice. And it's a shorter season and a chance for McClintock to enjoy a new culture. "It's going to be tough," McClintock said. "The first month in a new place usually is. I'll have an interpreter there to help me out with the little things, like finding grocery stores and stuff like that. It's the small things you have to get used to." McClintock will leave Friday for China to start training camp. The CBA season begins Dec. 7 and runs through April 27, 2003. This will be the latest stop for McClintock on a professional tour that started when he was chosen in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. He failed to make the Nuggets' roster out of training camp and played for Kansas City in the reborn American Basketball Association. Finally, he rejoined the Nuggets late in the 2000-01 season and played in eight games. McClintock has also played professionally in Italy.
