March 29, 2001

Wang on his way to the Mavericks

By Steve Friess
Special for USA TODAY

BEIJING - Chinese basketball star Wang Zhizhi is on his way to Dallas today to join the Mavericks and embark on a precedent-shattering career as the first Asian to play in the NBA.

At a press conference Thursday morning here, the 7-foot Wang wrapped up a deal with the Mavericks and his Chinese army team that allows him to leave. The final hurdle in the two-year-long negotiations, spearheaded by Mavericks assistant coach Donn Nelson, was cleared when the NBA OK'd Dallas to sign Wang despite the fact that he must remain an active member of the Chinese army and could be recalled for military duty at any time.

"I want to teach the American people more about us," said Wang. "The NBA is the best in the world. I want to be with the best."

Said Michael Denzel of NBA International: "This is another step in the growing friendship between the NBA and the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) and between China and the U.S."

CBA director Xu Lanqun said, "It gives us a very good feeling to see Wang Zhizhi off to the NBA." The press conference was not so much an announcement as a lecture to Wang on his value to China and the nation's excitement over his future in the NBA.

"Good luck in Dallas and with the NBA and make the Dallas Mavericks the best you can," said Xu. Wang won't sign his NBA contract until he is on American soil. He will earn the NBA rookie minimum of $316,969, prorated to the final three weeks of the season, and $423,510 in the second year of the two-year contract.

The Mavericks drafted the 7-foot Chinese center in the second round of the 1999 draft, a move that was initially met with hostility by the Bayi Rockets, the army team that cultivated Wang's talent since he was 14 years old. Nelson and Wang's agent, Bill Duffy, smoothed over those conflicts in recent years to bring Wang to the historic point of being the first Chinese player in the NBA.

The precedent may also help 20-year-old Chinese star Yao Ming, who is 7-6 and wants to declare for the NBA draft this June. Yao's talks are mired in sticky talks in which his team, the Shanghai Sharks, is unclear about who to negotiate with.

The Rockets and the Mavericks both view Wang's ascension to the NBA as a huge opportunity to market basketball to the world's most populous nation. The Chinese are already enthralled by their own basketball league as well as the NBA games that are broadcast live every day on TV.

Duffy's agency, in turn, has opened the Rockets and other Chinese basketball venues to the prospects of millions of dollars in new sponsors from Western companies.

Anticipating the outcome of the press event, Chinese TV news shows led with retrospectives of Wang's illustrious career Wednesday night, including appearances on two Olympic teams and six consecutive Chinese Basketball Association titles with the Rockets. Wang becomes one of 45 international players in the NBA.

Indeed, Wang is so much the pride of the nation that the Chinese brass wanted an agreement that gives them access to Wang for international competitions like the Olympics and Asian basketball tournamentts. Said Nelson: "We're always going to give the guy the freedom to play for his country."

Wang, a 255-pound player accustomed to a less physical type of ball, may take a year or more to become a NBA player of impact. He may not even play in a game this season, which ends on April 18, but Wang said he'll gain about 15 pounds and looks forward to learning the American style of play.

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