NBA Players Trapped in China?
Now that the NBA and its players have struck a deal to end their costly 149-day lockout, the great basketball diaspora of 2011 is drawing to a close. Many NBA players who sought a paycheck abroad hedged their bets during the lockout by signing contracts with teams in Europe or the Middle East that allowed them to return to the NBA if the season was salvaged. But for the handful of NBA free agents like Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith, Patty Mills, Kenyon Martin and Aaron Brooks—who’d bet against a settlement by signing to play in the Chinese Basketball Association—leaving isn’t so simple. With the Chinese season already two weeks old, they’re under contract to stay put. In addition to facing serious financial penalties if they leave, these players wouldn’t be able to sign with NBA teams. The NBA, as a member of FIBA—basketball’s governing body—is required to honor international contracts.
So as the glittery NBA season looms, they’re slogging it out in China where salaries aren’t great, travel can be arduous, the accommodations aren’t always luxurious and the food is a constant adventure. Kenyon Martin, the former Denver Nugget who is averaging 15.7 points per game for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, doesn’t have any plans to ask out of his contract, said his agent, Andy Miller. “He knew there was a chance the lockout could end and he’d be left sitting there.” While the Flying Tigers provided Martin with a driver and a personal chef, Miller said there have been some “growing pains” when it comes to cuisine. Martin went through three or four chefs until he found one who could prepare Western-style food to his satisfaction. “The effort was there on both sides,” Miller said, “but there’s no place like home, obviously.” Some foreign basketball players aren’t exactly roughing it in the more-cosmopolitan cities like Beijing and Shanghai. But the basketball life in China involves some things NBA players would never see—such as trading chartered flights for long bus trips. Team management isn’t always sympathetic to their concerns, either. J.R. Smith has averaged 21.8 points this season playing for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls—a team based in Yiwu, a city known for attracting foreign traders to its sprawling markets for locally-manufactured trinkets. In the first week of the season, he fell into a disagreement with the team over a minor knee injury. As Smith was being treated by his own doctor in Beijing, the Golden Bulls’ general manager, Zhao Bing, tried to order him to see the team’s doctors, and complained publicly on his microblog about Smith, warning him to return to Yiwu as soon as possible “or face the consequences.”
Smith responded in English less than an hour later saying, “My main goal is to get healthy! If you can’t understand that then maybe you should pick another profession!” Sam Vincent, a retired NBA player who is serving as Smith’s personal coach during his stay in China, said the argument has since been resolved, and that the two sides have worked out some compromises on Smith’s living conditions. It remains to be seen whether the NBA players here will seek ways to get out of their contracts—but it’s unlikely. That’s because the CBA offered no opt-out provisions: Players who signed with their teams would be contractually obligated to play for a full season, which extends into March. Zhao, the Golden Bulls’ general manager, said Smith’s contract with the team includes provisions for the Golden Bulls to be compensated if he doesn’t complete the season. He declined to give financial details. Smith couldn’t be reached for comment.