Players Who Signed In China Won't Be Released

[Pugz]

Many players were reluctant to sign in China after a rule was established that there would be no provision to allow them to opt out if the NBA lockout was resolved.

Kenyon Martin, Wilson Chandler and J.R. Smith are amongst the players who signed in China and there appears to be no willingness on the part of their teams to release them from their contact, according to sources.

 

[RipCity32]

Wow. How dumb.

 

[dcpwner]

so....the nuggets are going to be good

 

[Pugz]

so....the nuggets are going to be good

they were all free agents. wilson chandler was restricted. kenyon and jr werent expected to be back.

 

[MR.ballin]

lol sucks to be those players. I don't understand why those players signed with China anyways. Finance is not the problem for them during this lockout.

 

[.infamous]

i'd just leave..

 

[Pugz]

im sure youd get hit with massive fines and theyd attempt to sue plus youd probably have to pay back the whole contract. might not be worth it.

 

[DJT]

Somehow I have a feeling at least one of them will wiggle out of it somehow...

 

[Pugz]

it hurts wilson chandler the most. he needed a long term deal and could have maybe gotten the most out of it this season.

 

[elcheato]

I still don't understand why these millionaires were desperate to find a playing job overseas. Do they blow through money that fast?

 

[Pugz]

maybe they actually love the game that much that they need the game against a hgiher level then college/streetball players? no that cant be why..

 

[elcheato]

If they needed it so bad then they should honor their contracts in China and not try to get out of them.

 

[Pugz]

they should. im not saying they shouldnt, what they shouldnt have done was gone over there. but the fact that the money and the game is better over here i can understand why they would want to leave.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

walking away from a contract in China isn't as easy as the US. There's communism there, still. Remember that.

And these players knew what they were getting into. They knew they couldn't opt out over there and still went. Sucks for them. See you in a year.

 

[bestkeptsecret13]

Didn't we already know this?

 

[RipCity32]

I don't understand why they didn't just try to sign with a different country to begin with.

When does their season end?

 

[Pugz]

Denver Nuggets free agents J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler are still pursuing ways to get out of their Chinese Basketball Association contracts but have yet to find a prompt avenue back to the NBA, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Smith and Chandler play for the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls and Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, respectively, and sources said those teams could be willing to agree to steep buyouts to let the players return to the NBA. The players would have to return all the salary they’ve made, plus agent fees and an additional $1 million to satisfy owners – but that still won’t assure them they could play in the NBA.

As a member of FIBA, the government-run Chinese Basketball Association would still control the players’ letters of clearance, and sources in China insist the league has no interest in allowing the NBA players to leave before season’s end in March. NBA teams can’t sign free agents without letters of clearance showing the players are free of contract breaches elsewhere in the world.

The Chinese teams could still face the forfeiture of games if the players they’ve released re-sign in the NBA before the end of the season. Smith was the league’s most recent Player of the Week after a 52-point, 22-rebound performance. Chandler is second in the league in scoring with 32 points per game, trailing American Lester Hudson (33.7), according to EuroBasket.com.

“If they do it for one player, they’ll have do it for all of them,” one CBA source said.

This is why the Chinese Basketball Association wanted contract language insisting players and agents understood there would be no out-clauses issued should the NBA lockout end early. Several players, including Kenyon Martin, have become more resigned to the fact that they’ll have to play out the duration of the Chinese season.

 

[Elite]

Chinese Basketball Association

CBA

It all makes sense now

 

[Pugz]

Chinese Basketball Association

CBA

It all makes sense now

:yao:

 

[Elite]

I see what you did there with the Yao smiley because he's Chinese