In some ways, Shanghai had no choice but to keep the former Cal center given that on his day, Zhang is among the best Chinese centers in the CBA. However, it’s also prudent to note that the Sharks really had no other options to replace him with and couldn’t afford the moral-sapping loss of their best big man after a disappointing 10-22 season. Although it is difficult to pinpoint his exact salary, it has been widely reported that Zhang now becomes the Sharks’ highest paid player, getting even more money than Shanghai legend, Liu Wei.

Zhang will turn twenty-six midway at the start of the forthcoming CBA season in November and it is fair to say that there is still a lot of room for improvement in the Shandong native’s game. At a reported game weight of 225lbs, Zhang could do with adding some muscle to his frame and he needs to be far more aggressive and decisive with his finishing at the rim.

After Liu, Zhang is probably the most well-known Chinese member of the Sharks roster and very soon, Liu’s inevitable retirement is going to mean even more responsibility.  Having got the big extension, it is now critical that Zhang steps up to this challenge and emerges as a more consistent big man like the one Sharks fans saw finish last season so strongly. He was the second best shot blocker in the league in 2012/13, averaging 2.9bpg and at times his defensive presence was the deciding factor in games.

Although at times inconsistent and maddening, Zhang was still clearly talented enough for Xinjiang to offer him an eye-watering yearly salary of eight-million RMB. The Sharks have kept him in Shanghai but now need to hope he’s worth the effort.

Update: Announcing the deal, Sharks’ head coach Wang Qun amazingly suggested that Zhang could be Shanghai’s own Pau Gasol which is somewhat wishful but hey, dream big, coach…

There is real momentum within the Chinese media that both the Beijing Ducks and the Xinjiang Tigers are making overtures towards the mobile 7″3 big man. The Tigers will be needing a replacement for aging cult hero Menke Bateer whilst the side from the capital would like a useful big to throw on the floor when Randolph Morris isn’t in the game.

This puts the Shark in a difficult position give that Biejing and Xinjiang are rumoured to be willing to offer him a salary going into the high six figures. Zhang was largely a disappointment this year despite a solid end to the season; Daniel Pannagio kept him on the bench for the first few weeks of the year and he had several games where he was hesitant and indecisive on both ends of the court. However, current man at the helm, Wang Qun doesn’t appear to have much confidence in Taiwanese big Tseng Wen-ting, who often was Zhang’s back-up (and whom Panaggio played at the five for the first few games of the 2012/13 season). Tseng’s minutes noticeably decreased after Wang took over after the second-year CBA player forced himself onto the All-Star ballot at the start of the year.

The choice for the Sharks front office is now whether to overpay Zhang after an unsatisfactory season or potentially watch a player that was in the Chinese national team for the London Olympics walk away without having a clear replacement. Zhang is not from Shanghai so has no family ties to the city and will definitely view this as a chance to get paid. It may well be the case that Shanghai are looking to bring in an overseas center next year but even then, the loss of a young big who when switched on can be a top ten player at his position would be a sizeable loss in the long term.

Yikes.

Edit: Jon Pastuzek has the exact numbers over at Niubball. Beijing would potentially offer Zhang five-million RMB ($800,000) and Xinjiang would give eight million ($1.3m). Wow.

Since returning to China after retiring from the NBA, Yao has emerged as one of the main proponents for change within the CBA and has already proposed overturning the third foreigner rule whereupon teams who finished in the bottom five the previous year get an additional overseas import. Arguably the most famous Chinese athlete of all-time and an established member of the country’s Communist Party, Yao has enormous political clout and so might be the man who is finally able to reform the largely incompetent governing body that runs the league.

Trying to explain why there are such problems in Chinese basketball requires an article that rivals War and Peace for detail, size and the number of characters involved but for the sake of everyone’s sanity, I’ll attempt to put the issues that Yao is trying to overcome in note form.

• A league governing body that is unpredictable and badly organized as seen this season by the CBA releasing the schedule less than a week before the opening round of games.
• Reduced crowds brought on by a lack of interest in the CBA, long standing doubt over competence of referees.
• Bizarre placement of teams: owners can essentially locate their team where they want. This means tiny places like Benxi, Fuzhou and Chanchung all have CBA teams but vastly bigger cities like Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Shenzhen and Shenyang do not. The more people in a city, the more people wanting to come see some basketball, right? Not according to the CBA.
• Li-Ning’s first year as the official uniform provider of the league has been a disaster.
• Many if not all of the teams use public arenas which means they are beholden to the various machinations involved in local government (Shanghai weren’t allowed to sell their jerseys at the Yuanshen this year due to a disagreement). Many of these arenas are also dilapidated and freezing in the winter.
• The season that is so short (thirty-two games) that an injury to a key player can end a CBA campaign after one game (again, basically the fate of Shanghai).
• The three foreigners rule basically creates an entire sub-tier of yo-yo’ing clubs who are terrible one season then make the playoffs the next only to be bad the following year.

The truly worrying thing is that I stopped myself from going on but this could easily become a three-thousand word article just through bullet-pointed notes. Yao is absolutely right to make noises about allowing teams to have more involvement with how their league is run. Whereas in other countries, a breakaway league might appear and force change within the CBA, the current political and business environment in China means that this isn’t an option. Revolution will have to come from within and Yao may well be the man to get it done.

Now though, the success of the previous season, which saw Shanghai make the playoffs for only the second time since winning it all in 2002, has been wasted after the Sharks’ most disastrous season since the CBA adapted its’ current thirty-two game format.

The unwitting catalyst for this year’s dire 10-22 season is Gilbert Arenas, on whom the Sharks’ gambled everything and subsequently lost it all. The decision to bring the two-time All-Star in to boost Shanghai’s offensive game looked on paper to be a savvy move but the reality of the situation was that Arenas had already been jettisoned from the Guangdong Tigers’ training camp and that there were widely held suspicions about Agent Zero’s health. The warnings were there but the Sharks’ fatally chose to ignore them.

In doing so, their season was doomed within six minutes of the Sharks’ season opener away at Beijing. When Arenas hobbled off and no-one knew the extent of his injury, head coach Daniel Panaggio must have known his time in Shanghai was basically done.

Indeed, the Sharks limped on without Arenas for as long as they could but ultimately they were never going to compete with teams that had two, sometimes three foreign players to Shanghai’s sole American, DJ White. To his credit, White carried the team exceptionally well and was a thankless presence on both sides of the court but two wins in the first twelve games made it painfully clear how most CBA teams struggle without experienced Americans to seize the initiative. Elijah Millsap, who’d been cut to make room for Arenas must have been laughing at the spectacle and if he wasn’t, the majority of Chinese basketball was. Blowouts were a regular occurrence as opposing teams quickly isolated White and forced others to carry the load. Somewhat predictably, a rattled medley of players like Meng Lingyuan and xxx couldn’t.

As the season went on and the numbers of losses increased, the inevitable search for a scapegoat began. Daniel Panaggio, who’d completely turned the Sharks around the previous year became the target for collective ire of fans and local media, which though harsh, always seemed to be coming. The early days of Panaggio’s time with the Sharks had brought constant questions about the triangle offense and his team’s no-thrills style of basketball but this had been silenced during the successes of the American’s first season in charge at Shanghai. However, when the going was bad, the doubters quickly found their voice once again.

The axe would come after Beijing came to Shanghai and blew the Sharks out at home in front of a half empty arena (by contrast, the previous season’s fixture had been a sell-out) and Panaggio was shown the door. Eric Zhang, the team GM, Liu Wei, who had leaked pictures of him training with Arenas on Weibo and and had reportedly lobbied hard for him to be signed, the team doctors whom Arenas himself seemed to suggest had misdiagnosed his injury all survived relatively unscathed. From a Western point of view, it all seemed so needlessly self-destructive and short-termist but maddeningly, this is still typical stuff for Chinese basketball.

With Wang Qun installed, not a lot changed, regardless of a few wins. A close-to-healthy Arenas finally returned and put up big numbers, most notably against Xinjiang, Jiangsu and Jillin but to say this was down the new man at the helm would be misleading. Without Arenas, the team still threw away an eighteen point lead against a Tracy McGrady-less Qingdao in a humiliating road loss and the harsh reality was that without their star American, the team were never going to achieve much regardless of who was on the sidelines. The lazy, halfhearted performances shown in the brace of losses during Shanghai’s final two games of the season made this painfully clear.

Its only right though to also acknowledge the dreadful luck that Shanghai suffered throughout the season. Liu Wei started the season fully justifying MVP chants only to succumb to injury himself after the midway point of the season and thus leaving the backcourt in the hands of third-string guard Ge Yong. Liu Ziqui and Zhang Zhaoxu also missed time through illness and injury meaning that DJ White was the only prominent Shark not to skip games whilst some hugely questionable refereeing calls robbed the team of wins against Hangzhou and Dongguan.

In a season that many hoped would lead to a deep play-off run, instead the Sharks have finished the 2012/13 season in complete disarray. There are obviously some positives; young forward Cai Liang showed glimpses of real talent whilst the nature of Shanghai’s defiant road win in Ningbo against Bayi (largely thanks to DJ White’s all-action performance) was fantastic to see- but there remains several arenas of concern going forward.

Firstly, Liu Wei, Shanghai’s beloved talisman is aging fast and injuries mean he will struggle to be a cornerstone of Shanghai’s offense next season. Zhang Zhaoxu also continues to be a frustrating figure whose relatively strong finish masked a sloppy opening half of the season that saw him coming off the bench in some games. Still far too gangly for his 7″3 frame, the big man not only needs to get his weight up but also finally find a killer instinct in the paint. This November onwards was supposed to be Zhang’s time to become a reliable double-double guy but instead, two-and-a-half seasons into his CBA career, there is a real danger that ‘Max’ might lose his place in the national team to rivals like Han Dejun, Li Xiaoxu and the current darling of the CBA, Fujian’s Wang Zhelin.

There is also the matter of who will coach the team this coming November. Wang Qun would presumably like the job whilst there are rumors (however unlikely) that Bob Donewald might return to the Yuanshen following his acrimonious exit three years ago. However, Wang struggled to lift the team when he didn’t have Arenas to get it done on the court whilst Donewald would be unlikely to return to Shanghai or China having reportedly fallen out with the Sharks’ front office in the build up to his unlikely departure  in 2011 and his humiliating dismissal after nine games at Xinjiang last year. Ironically, the best man to pick up a broken, fragmented team would be the coach Shanghai uncerimiously kicked to the curb five months ago but Panaggio is now safely back in his old job as head of scouting with the Phoenix Suns and will probably not set foot in Chinese basketball again.

This are worrying times for Shanghai even though they will have a third foreigner for next season as a result of their bottom five finish this time around. They might even make a play-off run but even then, unless the team’s Chinese roster is stabelised and new players brought through successfully, the Sharks might easily become a yo-yo club that shifts between bottom and top five finishes for many years. If that is the case, then its fair to say that 2012/13 will be the year the rot started.

Gilbert Arenas (Free Agent)

Easily the Sharks’ most high profile signing this year, Agent Zero has made it clear he has no intention of returning to the NBA. Though he had a trial with the Lakers before arriving in Shanghai last November, it seems that Arenas is done with American hoops and has stated to several publications in and out of China that he wishes to return to the CBA this coming Autumn and spend the remaining time with his family.

Ryan Forehan-Kelly (Cocodrilos de Caracas)

Having come in for three games to help the Sharks during the prolonged absence of Arenas, RFK left Shanghai after his brief stint and signed in Venezuela. Currently with the Caracas-based Cocodrilos de Caracas, the American is averaging 18ppg as his team sits in second place in the  Liga Profesional de Baloncesto de Venezuela with a 19-8 record.

DJ White (Boston Celtics)

Having played every single game for the Sharks this season, White has since returned to the NBA with the Boston Celtics. Initially brought in on a ten-day contract, the former Charlotte Bobcat has recently signed a two-year, $1.2 million contract. Coming off the bench, the forward is averaging 2.1ppg with 1.3rpg.

Basically imagine an NCAA tournament where all fifty states take on one-another crossed with Australian Rugby League’s State of Origin and you’ll have a decent idea of what the National Games are in basketball-crazy China. Held every four years, on paper, the rules state that players who born in that area are eligible to play for a certain province. What this means is that Shanghainese-born Ge Yong or Liu Wei can play for Shanghai but their Sharks’ teammate Zhang Zhaoxu (who is from Shandong) cannot.

Right now, it is unclear who exactly will be turning out for Shanghai exactly but a former Shark, Li Gen will be one of them. Li, who is currently with the Beijing Ducks was previously with his hometown  team until for three seasons until he moved north to Qingdao in 2009and quickly became the Eagles’ best Chinese player. The swingman also posted notice of his range from downtown by winning last August’s Nike Festival of Sport three-point contest, where he beat among others; LeBron James, Paul George, Tyreke Evans and Amar’e Stoudemire.

One of the reasons that much of Shanghai’s team (like most provinces in China) remains TBC is the horse trading that will take place in the build up to the games. Players can technically turn out for provinces that they aren’t from as long as there is agreement between the region he is from and where he’ll play (hence the urban legend of Zhang Qingpeng being traded to the Xinjiang Tigers from Liaoning Jaguars to allow the latter to get several Xinjiang players to play for Liaoning in that years National Games). Basically, don’t rule out the possibility of seeing someone who can’t speak the Shanghainese dialect suiting up for the world’s biggest city.

Moreover, whether other well known local players like Liu Wei also sign up and fight for civic pride remains a mystery but Shanghai’s chances are clearly boasted by the return of Li, who can be a very solid wing player when he gets going.

More details on the Shanghai team when they come.

For several years, Gilbert Arenas was one of the biggest names in basketball. From 2004 to 2007, he was averaging over 25 points a game and made the NBA All-Star team in two consecutive seasons. Quixotic but hugely popular, his rock star credentials were so strong that his 25th birthday party, hosted by Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, attended by 7,500 people and featuring ice carvings of the point guard, seemed relatively modest. Roll forward to 2013 and the man nicknamed Agent Zero is now in China, and playing for the Shanghai Sharks.

It’s a huge coup for the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), and although some observers might feel that switching from the glamour of the NBA to the relative backwaters of Chinese basketball is a step down, Arenas is having none of it.

“I had a chance to be in the NBA this year but at this point [in my career], I want to play,” retorts the player who still has a career average of over 20 points a game in the NBA. “Six minutes, 10 minutes there compared to thirty-eight to forty-eight here. I mean which one would you choose?”

For all the smiles, Arenas’ debut CBA season has been far from easy. Signed by Shanghai despite considerable concerns about his ability to play a full season in a short, grueling schedule, Arenas got injured within six minutes of his opening game. With strict CBA rules on the number of foreigners in the team – two for most teams, three for the bottom five from the previous season – so the loss of a star import for a month can completely ruin a CBA campaign.

The Sharks immediately found themselves outmatched by rivals. Instead of chasing the playoffs, they lingered near the bottom of the standings. In a press conference after a home loss to the Beijing Ducks in early January, American head coach Daniel Panaggio conceded that the decision to sign Arenas was a gamble that hadn’t worked out as planned. Twelve hours later, he was gone.

“It was shocking,” admits Arenas, who was in America receiving treatment on his groin injury when Panaggio was replaced. “You feel [the organization] had a little bit of leeway due to me being out, but I can’t question their decision [to try to save the season].”

Panaggio was replaced by Wang Qun, a long-time assistant in the Sharks coaching structure, with Shanghai now needing a near perfect run of victories to even sniff the post-season. It is hoped that Arenas can at least finish the current campaign on a high. Two solid games following his return from injury against Xinjiang and Shanxi suggest that’s possible – and the point guard himself is keen to prove himself. “I want to show the Sharks organization I can play,” he says. “I want to show the fans I can play.”

Regardless of the chaos his injuries have caused, or the frenzy his name can generate within the Chinese media, a now-healthy Arenas appears to be sincere when he says he is happy in the CBA, where his ability and reputation marks him out as a top five player in the league.

He also seems relieved that he is being judged on his basketball skills rather than checkered history, unlike in America, where he is still largely defined by an infamous 2010 incident when he brought handguns into the Washington Wizards dressing room during a dispute over unpaid gambling debts.

Though the event is common knowledge in China too, it is rarely referenced, and instead he is treated with something close to reverence by local fans due to his career scoring feats. In tune with this nostalgia, Arenas has reverted to wearing the #0 jersey that he became synonymous with in Washington, but abandoned after the gun incident as a symbolic demonstration that he was a changed person.

Moreover, with several of his teammates being young enough to have grown up watching him on TV, Arenas has been complimented from within the organization for being a positive presence for the team’s less experienced players. This in itself is news, considering he was a notorious prankster during his time as a Wizard and whose mischievous reign of terror in Washington contributed massively to his cult popularity.

He once broke into Chris Mills’ house in the middle of the night to steal the forward’s favorite NFL jersey. On another occasion, during a road game in Chicago, he stole the keys to Nick Young’s Land Rover, mailed them back to DC and had a friend steal the car. Yet it was Andre Blatche who probably suffered the worst; at various points, Arenas put dog excrement in the soles of Blatche’s shoes, filled his bath tub up with coffee and altered his jersey so that the name on the back read ‘Bitch.’

It’s strange to think that a player whose practical jokes were the toast of basketball blogs is now a sturdy veteran, but remarkably it seems to be the case. In training, it’s easy to spot the affection and respect the younger players have towards the former NBA All-Star, who jokes and advises them in equal measure. Arenas himself seems to be taking the extra role in his stride, preferring to be the approachable older brother rather than the stern father figure. The jokes are still going on, but they are probably a bit more low key these days.

Tellingly, even though we have entered the final a month of the regular season, Arenas is still anxious to carry on his basketball education in China. He’s been impressed by Zhejiang’s Quincy Douby, who recently broke the CBA single-game scoring record after dropping 75 points against the Shanxi Dragons. As a big name in the league, Arenas also enjoys being a marked man, smiling wryly when discussing various Chinese players’ propensity for talking trash to him in English during games (although he won’t name individuals).

He also seems keen to finish the 2012/13 campaign on a high, and doesn’t rule out the possibility of coming back to China again to play after this season. “I’ve thought about it,” he nods. “Thirty-two games a year at my age, it’s good. I don’t need to be going through 82 games anymore. I just want to play basketball and enjoy the rest of my life.”

At 31 and with a ton of star power to his name, it seems a fair philosophy. Stephon Marbury, now into his fourth year in the CBA, came to China at a similar age, and now is among the country’s most popular foreign faces.

Arenas could easily follow the former New York Knick down that same career path and become a quasi-phenomenon in the world’s most populous county. For a player who tossed a coin to decide that he was going to sign with Washington over the LA Clippers, and once organized a snowball fight in a bus, it would make for a suitably eccentric final chapter to an already unpredictable career.

In a very brief four-minute spell, White made 2 blocks and had 3 rebounds against Indiana as Boston won 83-81. The former Sharks big man is competing with Shavlik Randolph, who led the CBA in scoring during the regular season (32.5ppg) during the latter’s spell with the Foshan Longlions for what should be the final spot on the roster.

If White doesn’t make the cut and gets released, there are of course other avenues of overseas employment. The Puerto Rican league is popular with several former CBA imports (Randolph is an established player for teams there as is former Shark, Mike Harris) while South American leagues will also come calling if the opportunity appears.

Okay, that’s not strictly true. One Sharks fan owns a current jersey but only after Gilbert Arenas threw it into the crowd after Shanghai beat Bayi on the road in Ningbo but that’s it. As a result, the Shanghai Sharks, owned by Yao Ming, a team that has won a CBA championship and been to a further two finals have gone an entire season with no-one being able to wear their current jersey other than the players themselves.

The jersey issue is a strange one. It also reflects both the problems involved in running a CBA team but also how Li-Ning, the league’s new uniform maker has seemed poorly prepared to provide merchandise for the general public despite spending two-million RMB to get the deal done.

The Yuanshen, like almost every sporting arena in China is controlled and owned by the state, invariably at local government level. The team that plays there typically can sell merchandise from within the arena to their fans but this season, due to a dispute between the team and the people who control the Yuanshen, the latter informed the organisation at the start of the season that no Sharks merchandise could be sold on the premise.

Its difficult to find out the exact cause for the dispute but the end result has been that since November, the only store open in the Yuanshen on game nights is selling badminton equipment. The lost revenue is difficult to assess but it would be safe to say that the jersey of Gilbert Arenas, one of the league’s biggest names, would have sold out night after night. That the Sharks, less than four years removed from almost going out of business due to bankruptcy, could allow themselves to miss out on such a cash cow is astounding.

The next problem lies with Li-Ning, whose website had previously claimed that all Sharks sizes over an ‘M’ (so basically a small child) have sold out (total rubbish). Now, you can’t even find the jerseys online (try it for yourself). As someone who covers the Sharks on a game-to-game basis, there has not been a single sighting of the 2012/13 jersey. Unless the Sharks’ entire online supply has been bought up by uniform collectors from outside of the city- which is about as likely as Yao being able to fit into one those those kid’s uniforms- one might come to the conclusion that Li-Ning are making up stories to save face.

This situation becomes even more ridiculous when one considers Li-Ning’s aggressive stance towards brand exclusivity. With players having to cover up the logos on their shoes and arena staff being sent down from the stands to put masking tape over coaches’ jackets so as to conceal Nike swooshes and the like, you’d think  Li-Ning would be aware of the consequences of not providing enough merchandise. Instead, at every Shanghai home game, when cameras start filming the fans, what are they wearing? Nike, Addias, Reebok, Anta (the old league’s previous sponsor)- basically everything other than Li-Ning and the 2012/13 Sharks jersey.

In the grand scheme of things, jerseys and their availability (or lack thereof) don’t change the course of 10-22 season but it does further dampen the passion of a fanbase who saw their season ticket prices go up across the board last October only to be greeted with the worst season in the current thirty-two game regular season.

When more people at a Sharks game are wearing the uniforms of Shanghai Shenhua (the city’s biggest soccer team) then the Sharks’ current jersey, you know there’s a problem. It makes the team look amateurish and for a organisation that hasn’t had a sell-out game all year (even the visits of Tracy McGrady’s Qingdao Eagles, Yi Jianlian’s Guangdong Tigers and Stephon Marbury’s Beijing Ducks couldn’t fill the Yuanshen), that’s got to change quickly if you want to bring the crowds back for next season.

Starting Five:

PG/SG: Gilbert Arenas: 6/10

Games: 14, MPG:27.3, PPG: 20.7, RPG: 7.3, APG:3.0

It could have been a ten because when a fully fit Arenas has played, its been wonderful and exactly what you want from a gun slinging combo guard. Had he been fit, he could have been a 30 points-a-night guy in the CBA but instead he inadvertently derailed a season and cost his head coach a job. Expect Arenas to be back next season but probably not with Shanghai.

PG/SG: Liu Wei: 7.5/10

Games: 21, MPG:32.8, PPG: 21.3, RPG: 4.5, APG:4.5

Father Time spares no-one. After a MVP-caliber start to the season, things started to break down and Liu Wei’s injuries limited him for much of the second half of the year. The skills are still there but they are fading. At thirty-three, he maybe has two or three more years but who knows. When he’s healthy, he’s brilliant and is the living embodiment of the team as well as an inspirational captain. However, this season has proved the team needs to start looking ahead to the future.

SG/SF: Liu Ziqui: 7/10

Games: 30, MPG:26.9, PPG: 10.3, RPG: 4.3, APG:2.0

Probably one of the most unheralded players on the team, Liu Ziqui displayed a real capacity for being sneaky good at critical moments. At times, he was Shanghai’s best player on the court and his energy and fearlessness belied his lanky frame. The look of surprise on the face of  Wang Zhongguang when Liu squared up to the Bayi guard back in early February spoke volumes. However, he is also a turnover machine and his capacity to throw dumb passes sometimes holds him back.

PF: DJ White: 9/10

Games: 32, MPG:33.0, PPG: 21.6, RPG: 9.7, APG:1.3

Given the circumstances that White found himself in, the former Charlotte Hornet was constantly superb for the Sharks. Having played every single game this regular season, White at times carried the time when injuries and nerves were affecting other team mates. The stats might not be eye-catching but he could be a very useful guy for an NBA team needing a gritty fifteen minute shift.

C: Zhang Zhaoxu: 6.5/10

Games: 31, MPG:25.2, PPG: 8.5, RPG: 8.0, APG:0.5

A very, very slow start to the season in which either injuries, fatigue or an inability to get into games was almost erased by a fine run of form in the closing stretch. Brilliant in games against Bayi, Fujian and Liaoning- all of whom boasted solid big men- Zhang also drifted off at times and looked hesitant when his team needed him in other tough battles. At twenty-five, there is still time for him to mature into the player Shanghai needs him to be but with Liu Wei running out of time, Zhang has to be ready to take more responsibility right now. Physical and mental changes need to happen in his game sooner rather than later.

First Guys Off The Bench

PF/C: Tseng Wen-ting (6/10)

Games: 31, MPG:18.3, PPG: 5.4, RPG: 3.4, APG:0.7

A very odd season that saw him play huge minutes for Daniel Panaggio but finished with a DNP-Coach’s Decision in the final game of the season against Liaoning. The Taiwanese big man started strongly and was probably the player of the game when the Sharks beat Qingdao back in November. Offensively, the ‘Tseng Wen-ting checkdown’ is still an occasional problem when he tries to line-up a shot from midrange or beyond but he remains a strong defensive option. His marginalizing under Wang Qun was disappointing considering that the forward had previously made the All-Star ballot and this issue could be something to watch during the offseason.

SF: Cai Liang (6/10)

Games: 31, MPG:21.8, PPG: 5.5, RPG: 3.4, APG:0.9

At times, ‘Spider’ was great to watch. Agile, generally reliable from range and fond of a flashy dunk- Cai certainly has the ability to command a crowd’s attention. However, he also has the ability to inspire their ire given his propensity to make silly mistakes. That said, he looks to be a solid player going forward given that he is only twenty-one and is adjusting to being in Shanghai after two seasons with the Qingdao Eagles. The talent is there but he still needs time to develop his game and put on some weight. He also needs to get a decent haircut.

PG: Ge Yong (6.5/10)

Games: 29, MPG:19.3, PPG: 5.7, RPG: 1.7, APG:1.1

Thrust into action due to the various injuries in the Sharks backcourt, the young point guard has done relatively well. He is still getting used to controlling the floor but he is a reliable shooter and recognizes danger when its coming. Obviously Ge is still a work in progress but looks to be a solid prospect that with time and guidance could be a decent guard.

PF/C: Wang Ligang: 6/10

Games: 27, MPG:12.3, PPG: 4.1, RPG: 1.7, APG:0.4

Good for a couple of buckets a game and can generally be relied on to hold the fort on defence for five minutes whilst the starters catch their breath. Nothing amazing but nothing terrible. In short, your prototypical bench player.

SG: Meng Lingyuan: 4/10

Games: 30, MPG:17.1, PPG: 4.9, RPG: 1.7, APG:1.0

Last season, Meng was an energizing presence coming off the bench and his kamakazi style of play often galvanized his team. This year hasn’t been as successful and his minutes and points are down accordingly as turnovers and concentration issues plagued his game. There is also a little bit too much swagger for a guy who frankly hasn’t done anything in 2012/13. Don’t be be pointing to the crowd and smashing your chest when you sink an uncontested jumper from eight feet out- that stuff needs to be saved for the big shots, young fella- of which you haven’t got a sniff of this season.

Garbage Time Guys

C: Wu Yang: 5/10

Games: 22, MPG:5.5, PPG: 2.0, RPG: 1.3, APG:0.3

Rarely played. When he did, nothing interesting happened.

SG/SF: Zhai Yi: 5.5/10

Games: 19, MPG:9.5, PPG: 2.2, RPG: 1.1, APG:0.4

See above. His MPG are messed up because he was one of the first guys off the bench in garbage time. Unlike Wu, Zhai is barely out of high school so there is plenty of time to earn more real minutes. Won the 2013 CBA Dunk Contest which indicates some decent springs.

PG: Zhuang Yuan: 5.5/10

Games: 11, MPG:11.2, PPG: 2.3, RPG: 0.7, APG:1.5

On one memorable occasion this season, the eighteen year old rookie had to be told by DJ White to stop dribblingly aimlessly and ‘give [White] the motherfucking ball’. The frank imperative by White highlighted Yi’s inexperience at the professional level. He is extremely raw and may well find himself being parcelled off to another team for a season-long loan next year. He looked terrified when he had to come into the Bayi game away in Ningbo after Arenas and Ge Yong went down but just about held his nerve and looked delirious at the final buzzer. That plus his obvious delight at getting to suit up along with Liu Wei and Gilbert Arenas means I can’t be cold enough to give him less than 5.5.

SG: Sze Wong: 5/10

Games: 7, MPG:8.0, PPG: 2.4, RPG: 0.7, APG:0.3

Seemingly a guy that had hung around the league for ages without getting any playing time, Sze (reportedly nicknamed ‘old man’ by the other Sharks players) appeared largely in blowouts. That said, he made it to double-figures in a game this season and for that alone, he gives hope to limited, undersized players everywhere (especially if they probably have an uncle who knows someone in a professional basketball team).