CBA Suggests Written Agreement on National Duty for NBA Team to Get Yao Ming

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, June 25, 2002

CBA Suggests Written Agreement on National Duty for NBA Team to Get Yao Ming

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Profile: Yao Ming

Birthdate: 9/12/80
NBA Position: Center
Team: Shanghai Sharks
Education: Shanghai Sports College
Ht: 7-5
Wt: 295
Hometown: Shanghai, China

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 said 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."

Player must be healthy, and available to play for his own country

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 physically and mentally healthy," Xin Lancheng told Xinhua in an interview early this month. "At the same time, our players should be able to play 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 the Shanghai 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.

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