Two NBA East Conference sides have said they are preparing to
offer Chinese centre Wang Zhizhi re-entry into the world's most
popular basketball league.
Website Sina.com reports that the plans came about after Wang's
super performance at a Las Vegas tournament which pitted the
Chinese national team against several NBA sides.
Wang's broker is to come to China for negotiations with the
Chinese Basketball Association and Bayi Basketball Club, Wang's
owner, over the deal, the report said.
However, it declined to reveal which two teams have tendered the
offers.
Wang was applauded as one of the few Chinese players who
performed smoothly at the tournament in Las Vegas, one that was
also attended by the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacremento Kings, Cleveland
Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
He topped three in-house statistic ladders: for scoring,
rebounds and three-pointers.
Wang was picked by the Dallas Mavericks back in 2001 to become
the first Asian player to be successful drafted into the NBA. He
then played successively for the Los Angles Clippers and Miami Heat
up until 2005.
But the player was kicked out of the Chinese national team in
2002 after refusing to compete in the world championships and the
Pusan Asian Games.
Wang was allowed to return to the national team in April of 2006
after exerting considerable efforts and offering an unfeigned
apology.?
(CRI.cn July 17, 2007)