””””BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)
suggested on Monday that any National Basketball Association(NBA) team to draft
Chinese star center Yao Ming play with them should make a written agreement on
his national duties with the CBA.
””””"The Houston Rockets had friendly and effective communications with us but
no written agreement has been made on Yao's national duties," CBA secretary
general Xin Lancheng told Xinhua on Monday.
””””A delegation from the Rockets, who were expected to pick the 7-foot-5
(2.26-meter) Yao from the Shanghai Sharks with their first pick right in the NBA
Draft scheduled for June 26 at Madison Garden Square, New York, visited China
early this month to hold meetings with the CBA and the Sharks.
””””"We want to make sure that Yao will be available to play with the national
team when he is needed in the future," Xin said.
””””The Discussions between the CBA and the Rockets on Yao's national duties
have been interrupted due to the NBA team's preparation for the draft, according
to Xin.
””””"They rarely contacted us most recently because of their preparation for
the draft," he said. "It's hard to predict how long it will take to get things
done."
””””The CBA has always stressed that they held an positive and cautious
attitude towards Chinese players' export to the NBA and vowed to protect the
interests of the players and the country.
””””"They have to guarantee that Chinese players will be physicallyand mentally
healthy," Xin Lancheng told Xinhua in an interview early this month. "At the
same time, our players should be able toplay for their own country when they are
needed."
””””China's Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer played for the Dallas Mavericks and
the Denver Nuggets, respectively, in the last season.
””””Yao's representative Eric Zhang said on Saturday that he had reached
"Agreements in Principle" on how they would compensate theShanghai Sharks if any
NBA team pick him in the draft later this week. However, Yao still needs to get
"Yes" from the CBA to play in the NBA.
””””"We have reached agreements in principle with the club," said Eric Zhang on
Saturday. "Our next step will be to reach certain agreements with the CBA."
””””Eric Zhang needs a written approval by the CBA to apply the final pass from
the FIBA, basketball's world governing body, for Yao Ming to play in the NBA.
Enditem
--By Sportswriter Wang Jingyu
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