That’s the Chinese Basketball Association; home of Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis. Via ESPN.com…
Wilson Chandler said he has signed a contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association, a move that would essentially preclude him from participating in the 2011-12 NBA season if the lockout ends and the games begin.
The Chinese Basketball Association will not allow players with existing contracts to sign with its teams, so playing in China is only an option for free agents such as Chandler, a restricted free agent who finished the 2010-11 season with the Denver Nuggets.
In addition, the CBA will not allow escape clauses that would allow players to leave the Chinese league in the event the NBA resumes operations. So Chandler would not be a part of the NBA if the season begins on time or even with an abbreviated schedule starting in January or February.
“Maybe I’ll lose out,” Chandler said. “But I think it can be a great experience. I haven’t been in any [labor negotiation] meetings. I can’t call it. I’m just taking a risk, at the end of the day.”
In theory Chandler could rejoin the league on a prorated basis for part of the season if the NBA is playing in April. Only the CBA finalists were still playing in April last season, so unless the Lions are among the last two battling for the championship Chandler would be available for the end of the NBA regular season if the usual schedule is followed.
As a restricted free agent the Nuggets could retain Chandler by matching an offer made by another team. Chandler, 24, averaged 12.5 points and 5 rebounds in 21 games with the Nuggets after being acquired from the Knicks as part of the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York. “I like [Denver], I like the team,” Chandler said. “Great young team. Coach [George] Karl is a great coach. I like the management. Hopefully I’m there.”
Chandler’s agent, Chris Luchey, did not specify the amount of the one-year contract with the Guangsha, or Lions, but said it was worth less than the $3.1 million qualifying offer the Nuggets made in order to retain their rights to Chandler, and more than the $1.7 million offer that has been reported elsewhere.
With this interesting move Chandler has made himself the first noteworthy NBA player to sign with a Chinese squad. As the article states, the CBA does not allow escape clauses. So, if the NBA lockout ends and there is a season, Wilson Chandler won’t be a part of it… at least not until the final few weeks. I’m no CBA expert, but two seasons back I watched my dude Stromile Swift put up 20/12 (led the league in dunks… they keep that stat!) on the most f@cked up Chinese basketball team of all-time. Andre Emmett did like 35 or 40 PPG on the same squad. They failed to make the playoffs, but that team seemed to have a lot of issues; such as a coach who seemed to be a bit off his rocker. My translation site was a bit sketchy, but anyway, that’s what I gathered… so I figure a squad which features Wilson Chandler (and Earl Clark; coached by a former NBA assistant) will be competing into the later rounds of the playoffs. I think Wilson could very likely do upwards of 30 PPG over there along with some inflated board and block numbers.
Like I said, Chandler is the first noteworthy player to sign a CBA deal. Is it the right decision? Well, to be honest, only time will tell. If the NBA goes through a lengthy lockout and the season is lost, then Chandler comes out about 2 million bucks ahead. If there is a season–even a slightly abbreviated one–then Chandler probably loses out. Even though salaries will be dropping when a new CBA is established, you have to figure that a young gun with the talent and potential of a Wilson Chandler will draw more than 2 mil a year. Of course all of this goes out the window if Chandler simply needs money. It’s hard sometimes for the average Joe to comprehend how an NBA player can possibly need money, but some of these dudes piss millions like 20 dollar bills. I have no idea if Wilson is one of those dudes or not, but he hasn’t been in the league all that long, and if he hasn’t handled his finances correctly… maybe he goes to China ’cause he needs a paycheck right now. Who the hell knows.
Random CBA info: the Guangdong Southern Tigers, who in recent seasons have featured former NBA players such as Marcus Haislip, David Harrison, and Smush Parker, have won four consecutive CBA titles. Chandler would probably go down as some sort of CBA legend if he’s able to knock them off.
