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dang it wrong forum..can someone please move it?
Bonzi Wells joins CBA with Shanxi Zhongyu
www.chinaview.cn2008-12-12 23:21:07
By Sportswriter Shan Lei
TAIYUAN, Midwest China, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Former Houston Rockets' guard Bonzi Wells arrived China on Friday afternoon to join Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association league, the club confirmed on Friday.
The 32-year-old agreed a one-year contract with the club and the details of the contract were not disclosed.
The club manager Zhang Beihai denied a rumour of 80,000 U.S.-dollar salary for the former teammate of Yao Ming, the most famous Chinese basketball player in the NBA, saying Well's salary is around half of the amount.
Wells is expected to replace Donta Smith, who averages 21 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals for Shanxi in the past 11 matches, as the CBA allows only two foreign players outside Asia to each team.
Wells averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in his10-year NBA career when he played for the Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and the Rockets.
He followed the step of his former Rockets' teammate, Kirk Snyder, who signed with the Zhejiang Cyclones this summer, to play at the Chinese league, whose fans are quite acquainted with them as they played along with Yao in Houston two years ago.
The story of Wells to join in a club of CBA started this summer and Zhang said the two sides had agreed the terms of the contract about a month ago.
Zhang said Wells was waiting for an offer from a Spanish club before he decided to sign with Shanxi on Wednesday. Wells will team up with Olumide Oyedeji, one of the best all-around players in the CBA, to produce the best-ever season with former Seattle SuperSonics coach Bob Weiss. Shanxi, one of last season's bottom teams, recorded seven wins and four losses to be placed 6th on the standings.
dang it wrong forum..can someone please move it?
The Only Reason He Went To China Is He Really Likes The Food!
Now we Americans can overwhelmingly vote him into the CBA All-Star game.
Yao pulled some strings
Bonzi is sure to be thinking about all that money he passed up in Sac-Town.
"Eat the head!"
The Spurs Arch Nemisis is gone. Banished to the Far Eastern Hinterlands.
Two fact:
1) He has been famous in China since the Kings time. The performance against Spurs' poor defense in the play-off is the major reason.
2) Two ex-Rockets players (Mike Harris and Kirk Snyder) have joined the CBA. And They have been pretty dominant with an average statistics about 35+points, 15+points, 5+assist and 4+blocks. I think Bonzi will certainly get into the All-star game without the help of you guys...
Last edited by Danny.Zhu; 12-15-2008 at 12:45 PM.
That's sad.
I'm puzzled why he came here.
Rumor said that his salary was no more than $80,000 per month, that will be attractive? And our season only has 5 months if you enter the final.
There are 3 former rockets here Bonzi MikeHarris KirkSnyder.
Maybe Yao did something
And so many rockets have contract with Chinese sneaker company Scola Hayes Battier Artest probably Barry the next? Does lots of guys here in ST just think China as a BIG MARKET? There are numberless fans really loving basketball, not just Rockets supporters.
Actually, I am very suprised that an NBA team did not pick him up. I can understand why the Hornets did not because he did not fit into their team. When Bonzi was traded T-Mac was really pissed off. Bonzi added toughness, rebounding, slick inside passing and scoring albeit intermittantly. I still think Bonzi would be a very good addition to a team like the Spurs. Certainly he would make the lower echelon NBA teams like the Warriors and Clippers better.
Probably heard about the cheap s from CP3
Is this why Shane Battier got more all star votes than Shawn Marion and Elton Brand the year they both averaged 20 points 10 boards? That's all I'm going to say because the Chinese vote ruining the all star game and voting T-Mac and Yao in each year when they each miss half the season really bugs the out of me and I don't feel like arguing about it.I'm puzzled why he came here.
Rumor said that his salary was no more than $80,000 per month, that will be attractive? And our season only has 5 months if you enter the final.
There are 3 former rockets here Bonzi MikeHarris KirkSnyder.
Maybe Yao did something
And so many rockets have contract with Chinese sneaker company Scola Hayes Battier Artest probably Barry the next? Does lots of guys here in ST just think China as a BIG MARKET? There are numberless fans really loving basketball, not just Rockets supporters.
It was said that Bonzi has some at ude problems and he pissed off Jeff Van Gundy as well as Adelman who coached him in Sacramento. Roger is more fit for Spurs in terms of personality.
Besides, I would rather see a big man who only need to be average in the league to help Duncan out. That being said, I am also interested to see how far can Matt go this season (I admit that I never see it coming and I have been supporting the idea to trade him).
Amen. From the original post it sounded like he was getting $80K total...rumored to be only half that. Made me lol.
I was thinking that I wouldn't play basketball in China for $80K.
I might do it for $80K a month, though....not sure why Bonzi would, you're right.
But he will get a company limo, free translator, and use of the corporate yacht all while tax free. He does not have to pay Taxes!!!
The actual worth of that $80,000 in China if you take the Big Mac index from the economist magazine is $165,517.24 dollars.
A Big Mac in China costs 11 yuan, or $1.45 while in the USA it's $3.00
Ok I'll take it back. Bonzi now makes less than a starting salary rookie in the NBA
But he will get a company limo, free translator, and use of the corporate yacht all while tax free. He does not have to pay Taxes!!!
The actual worth of that $80,000 in China if you take the Big Mac index from the economist magazine is $165,517.24 dollars.
A Big Mac in China costs 11 yuan, or $1.45 while in the USA it's $3.00
Ok I'll take it back. Bonzi now makes less than a starting salary rookie in the NBA
someone has to pay the taxes. When I did my Expat assignment in china you still had to pay taxes. basically you, or often your company, has to pay the taxes based on what you made the last year you were in the states. So if you go and make more money it works to your advantage,so basically based on this he would be paying more taxes for the money in china than he was living in the US. I am sure that there is a rule or exception for a situation like this, but I am not an accountant.
He ask for $100,000 per month net from Spanish teams TAU and Unicaja and he was turn down.
Yeah, don't forget Yi is leading Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh in all star voting. Really loving basketball.
Yeah, don't forget Yi is leading Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh in all star voting. Really loving basketball.
Western Conference Insider: The Yao Effect
By Dave McMenamin, NBA.com
Posted Dec 15 2008 6:56PM
Colin Pine was a 28-year-old stuck in the world of business and academia before he met Yao Ming. And then the Houston Rockets called, looking for somebody to accompany Yao, their 7-foot-6 rookie, as he made the transition from China to the United States. Suddenly Pine was a translator that travelled the country with an NBA team and co-starred in an internationally released do entary, The Year of the Yao.
Yes, it's good to know Yao Ming.
Just ask 10-year league veteran Bonzi Wells, a one-time teammate of Yao's. He couldn't find an NBA team interested in his services this season, so he decided to go East -- as in Far East -- to sign with Shanxi Zhongyu in the Chinese Basketball Association. Wells' signing underscores a fringe benefit of being a teammate of Yao. Not only do you get the All-Star big man on your side, you get to appeal to a whole new rabid fan base in China and the employment opportunities that come with that.
Five current Houston players have shoe deals with Chinese sneaker companies (Shane Battier and Ron Artest with Peak; Luis Scola and Steve Francis with Anta; Chuck Hayes with Li Ning). And two former Rockets -- Kirk Snyder and Mike Harris -- have parlayed their exposure playing alongside Yao into gigs in the Chinese Basketball Association, just like Wells.
"I thank Yao every night," Battier said on Saturday with a toothy smile. "He's afforded all of us a lot of opportunities. We're very lucky to play with a guy who is so visible worldwide. In China, they know the Rockets. You go over there, they know every person on the roster, every player that Yao's ever played with and it's nice. It's nice."
Wells' move represents one final drip from the spigot that was flowing full force this summer, funneling established, American-born NBA players overseas. Double-digit NBA scorers like Josh Childress (Olympiacos, Greece), Jannero Pargo (Dynamo Moscow, Russia) and Earl Boykins (Virtus Bologna, Italy) all took their games international, as did California prep sensation Brandon Jennings, who chose to play for Lottomatica Roma in Italy rather than hack it in the NCAA. The Chinese Basketball Association allows only two players per team to be born outside of Asia.
"Bonzi's kind of crazy, you never know with him," Brad Miller, his former teammate in Sacramento, said. "He just wants to play ball I guess. I'm sure he'll have a good time over there. He's still good enough to be an NBA player. [Stuff] happens sometimes in this league as you get older. I think this is an opportunity for him to play for a little bit. I'm sure he'll try to get back over here next year."
It's easy to forget that Wells, who struggled with his weight and his production in his last two seasons with the Kings, Rockets and Hornets, had a seven-season stretch from 2000-01 to 2005-06 in which he averaged 13.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Wells hit his apex as a pro with a torrid six-game series in the first round of the 2005-06 Playoffs against the Spurs, pumping in 23.2 points per game on 60.9 percent shooting (62.5 percent from three) to go with 12.0 rebounds per game for the Kings.
"I think he's going to be the best [player in the Chinese Basketball Association] because before him Kirk Snyder and Mike Harris also played in China on two different clubs and they are dominating players in the CBA," said Shen Zhiyu of the popular Chinese publication an Sports. "I think Bonzi Wells is even better than both of them."
Said Yao: "I think Bonzi is a good player. He helped us out a lot last year with what he brings."
Yao got it all wrong. He was the one who helped Wells out.
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