Let’s face it: talking about NBA castoffs now playing in China is too easy sometimes. They get all the shots, be it on the floor, in the photo sessions or from the critics. Heck, my first column for this site focused on a few of them, including MarShon Brooks and Michael Beasley, putting up ridiculous numbers. But what about the locals? And above all else, who is the next big thing – the next Great Wall, if you will – bound to
From NBA bust to CBA folk hero, Shanghai Sharks import Michael Beasley is enjoying an incredible career renaissance in China. The second overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, Beasley is currently averaging 29.4 points and 10.4 rebounds. If that wasn’t impressive enough, on Sunday at the CBA All-Star Game in Beijing, Beasley scored a record 59 points. There are few players with quite so hot a hand as the former Miami and Minnesota forward, and given that he will soon
Metta World Peace, Ron Artest, Panda Friend. Whatever the name is on his medical form and the roster chart, the diagnosis is still the same: ‘Recurrence of knee injury – recovery time: three-to-five weeks.’ In the NBA, this would mean a spell on the sidelines. But in the Chinese Basketball Association, it is often the end of the season for an overseas player. This is the ruthless nature of life in the CBA, particularly for the league’s American imports. They’re brought in