Nick Young To The CBA? Yes Please. And Bring Friends.

Wilson Chandler’s recent signing with a Chinese squad (along with rumors of Nick Young preparing to follow suit) got me thinking… there’s a handful of free agents out there that I’d really like to see in the CBA.  I’m not saying it’s in their best interest, or that there’s any reason to believe that they’re considering the possibility (aside from Young), or that ESPN plans to put the CBA on TV… I’m just talking hypothetically; like, sh!t, think about Nick Young’s game for just a moment.  Now imagine Nick Young with the green light… every night… all the time… in a situation where Nick Young having the green light would probably be the best thing for the team.  Now pretend that they televised that twice a week (or be hardcore enough to watch a grainy internet feed).  If that doesn’t sound exciting to you… uh, well… then we are definitely not on the same page.  So, here is why I’d love to watch Nick Young ball in China, along with a list of five other free agents that I’d most like to see join him.

Nick Young… a guy who makes it look frustratingly easy (it’s not fair!)… a guy to whom flash comes naturally… not a guy who will ever be effective enough to be “the guy” on an NBA squad, though.  His one-on-one, never-met-a-shot-he-didn’t-like style makes him one of the most entertaining scorers in the game, but in the NBA it will pretty much relegate him to a sixth man/instant offense role on any team that’s worth a damn.  For his career, Nick averages more turnovers than assists.  For a 6’6 string bean who needs the ball in his hands in order to do his thing… that isn’t really gonna work out.  Don’t get me wrong here; Nick is a very nice player.  He was able to put up 17 PPG last season as the Wiz got Agent Zero the f@ck out of his way, and I can see him having 20 PPG seasons in the future.  That’s damn good, and it will be fun to watch.  It’s just that Nick is one of those dudes who scores, but not quite well enough to be the main man on a good team.  Therefore, he will never be completely freed in the L.  He’ll have his moments; games where he simply can’t miss and the coach just rides him out as he drops 45 or 50 (already had a 43-pointer last season).  He’ll be a frequent flier on highlight shows, and he’ll fascinate you with his effortless flair… as he provides pop off the bench for 30 or so minutes a night.  There’s nothing wrong with playing such a role.  It’s a crucial one, and there’s even an award designated for the dude who does it best… but it will limit his individual production.  Put him in the CBA, though, and he will be more than good enough to be the man on his squad.  I watched Andre Emmett score 71 points in a CBA game two seasons ago.  The same Andre Emmett who averaged 0.9 PPG over his eight-game NBA career.  I’m telling you, I followed his team because Stromile Swift was on it, and this dude was toying with motherf@ckers over there.  He did 32 PPG.  Imagine what Nick Young…

…could do.  I’m saying at least 35 of the most spectacular PPGs you’ve ever seen.

JR Smith

I’ve felt for a few years now that JR has the talent and athleticism to be one of the top offensive forces in the league.  He can shoot the lights out to damn near half court.  He has every move in the book–turnaround, stepback, you name it.  Despite his not-so-unselfish reputation, he’s actually developed some nice passing skills, and he has the ability to make plays.  He does not, however, have what it takes between the ears… and I don’t figure that he ever will.  As much as I’d love to see it, I’m confident that no NBA coach’s blood pressure would allow him to remove JR’s leash for a full season.  I don’t think doing so would benefit the team all that much, either.  It would probably fly in China, though!  My dude would be chicken dancin‘ all over the hardwood.

Jamal Crawford

The NBA’s top defenders can’t lock Jamal Crawford one on one.  Send him to China?  Sh!t would be like an AND1 Mixtape game… except the poor bastards would actually be busting their asses on defense.  I figure that we’d get to see his full array of playground moves as he’d be able to toy with the D a little bit, and I guaransheed a 50-pointer with yet another team.

DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre breaks the mold here.  He’s the only dude on the list who isn’t a guard, and he’s the only one who’s basketball skills are what really need work.  I don’t think Jordan would benefit much from a season in the CBA (I think he’d simply be able to dominate the paint athletically and would fail to further develop his talent), but I can guarantee you this much… it would be some damn entertaining to watch this man child beast on inferior physical specimens!  To give you a little perspective, David Harrison (the pot smoker from the Pacers) is a top-notch center over there (he put up 22/11 a few seasons back).  I’m pretty sure DeAndre could do upwards of 15/15/3.5 swats… in his sleep.  He’d be a young Dwight Howard–minus the stupid grin.

He was doing things like that regularly in ’10/11 (third in the L in dunks), and he only averaged four shots a game!  Unleash the monster for 35 or 40 minutes a night and you’ll be seeing little Chinese dudes getting Jon Brockmaned three or four times a game.  Put him on Steph’s team and he’ll have to bring back the nasty face.

Sebastian Telfair

Sebastian Telfair… probably one of the league’s flashiest ball handlers, but you wouldn’t know it because he hasn’t seen the light of day since high school.  Bassy has been riding the pine train to irrelevance for a few seasons now, and unfortunately for him the CBA (or some other overseas league) is probably where he’s headed in the not too distant future.  Hopefully somebody will Youtube his highlights for us.  To this day, this is one of my favorite moves…

Two guys from my list teaming up right there.  Imagine if they signed with the same squad?  Sebastian breakin’ ankles and DeAndre breakin’ rims… they’d be making highlight-reel connections like that all day long.

Al Thornton

I remember watching him in his first and second seasons with the Clippers thinking “man, this kid’s gonna be a player!”  He displayed a nice midrange game and plenty of athleticism as he scored just under 17 PPG in ’08/09… and then he fell off the face of the earth.  He finished up last season playing spot minutes for the Wizards and Warriors, and it appears that just four years into his professional career his best NBA season is already behind him.  It makes a little more sense when you consider the fact that he was 20-something years old upon entering the league, but still, it was a rather sudden and unforeseen fall from grace.  Anyway, here’s the deal: he’s at the age right now where he’s supposed to be entering his prime, yet he hovered around 20 MPG on two of the league’s crappiest teams last season.  It’s not lookin’ good.  I want to see the guy do this…

…more than once a year.  I don’t think there’s an NBA team that’s going to give him a chance.  The CBA?  He’d be a stud.