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Coming to America Chinese star could be in NBA next month
BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese basketball star Wang Zhizhi could be playing in an NBA game next month. The 7-foot-1 center has been pursued by the Dallas Mavericks but has not yet signed. He would be the first Asian to play in the NBA. His first game for the Mavericks could be against the Atlanta Hawks on April 5, China's official Xinhua News Agency said Monday, quoting Mavericks assistant Donnie Nelson, who is in China. Mavericks spokesman Gregg Elkin, in Utah with the team Monday, said he was unsure when Wang would first play for Dallas. "It'll be sometime between the current road trip and the end of the regular season," which is April 18, Elkin said. China has granted Wang permission to play with the Mavericks for the rest of the NBA season. Whether he stays in the United States or returns to China after that is still to be negotiated. The 23-year-old star of the Chinese military-run Bayi Rockets was picked by Dallas in the 1999 draft. But he wasn't able to gain his release until after the Chinese league championships earlier this month, in which he led the Rockets to a sixth straight title.
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