There’s a lot of talk these days about bad products coming from China. Well sports fans, I have to advise you don’t draft Chinese for the NBA.
This advise comes a little late for the Bucks, who may have wasted the #6 draft spot on Yi Jianlian, who may not even play for them, because he (or his handlers) wanted to be in a market with more Chinese fans. I can see why they drafted him, he’s seven feet tall, and you need a center to win a championship…unless you have Jordon.
Or, take the successful transition from China to the NBA, Yao Ming. Well, the Chinese media recently chastised Yao because he wanted to take some time off of basketball this summer and get married. The Chinese press writes, "No matter how sweet personal life is, it can't be compared to the exultation of capturing glory for one's nation."
Yes, they want him to risk his career, so he can play in the Stankovic Cup. The what? I dunno, some warm up before next year’s Olympics. The NBA takes its toll on centers, and Yao is a bit injury prone already. But that doesn’t matter to the Chinese; they don’t have a multi-million dollar contract on him, like the Houston Rockets do. What a crazy business, every summer all the NBA owners must be worried that their investment will blow out a knee.
I think that if you sign in the NBA you should give up your rights to play in other international tournaments. Seriously, would you want an employee on your payroll who would be risking his career during vacation?
Then it wouldn’t be so humiliating when we lost at the Olympics either.
Charlie Rosen has a great article about how to solve TeamUSA basketball woes:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7113220
Posted by joncim at August 14, 2007 09:40 PM