The 26th round of the second stage of the 2024-25 CBA regular season continued, with a focus on the intense match between the strong Shanxi men's basketball team and the dark horse Qingdao men's basketball team. In the end, the stronger Qingdao team defeated Shanxi with a score of 129-122, thanks to the excellent performance of their main players such as Mickey, Yang Hanshen, Wang Ruize, and Witherspoon. It is worth noting that in this game, Shanxi's two foreign players, Goodwin and Diawara, once again performed outstandingly. Among them, Goodwin scored 32 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds throughout the game, while Diawara grabbed 38 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. With the combined 71 points from Qingdao's two foreign players, the excellent performance of the foreign players from both teams made Guangdong, who failed to strengthen their foreign player lineup, seem out of place.
In fact, Diawara, who can play without the ball on the offensive end as a forward three-position foreign player, has always been the desired reinforcement target for Guangdong. Judging from the game, Shanxi's current first core foreign player with the ball is Goodwin. As the strongest dual-guard foreign player in the CBA league, Goodwin not only possesses the strongest scoring burst power in the entire league but also has top-level organizational abilities to drive the whole team. Diawara and Goodwin's characteristics are almost completely complementary, with Diawara taking on more of the role of a finisher at both ends of the court in the third position. When Goodwin is suspended or has poor shooting, Diawara can still solve opponents with his super athletic ability and physical quality, which is almost the same as Weems at his peak.
Guangdong once had the peak of Marshon Brooks and Weems. Marshon Brooks is the CBA league's strongest small foreign player in terms of scoring and hard-solving capabilities, while Weems is the most suitable existence for Guangdong's tactical system. With Weems' age no longer able to maintain Guangdong's frontcourt double wings, Guangdong's foreign player lineup this season has also experienced failed reinforcements such as Barton, Arms, and Reese. It can be said that Shanxi will inevitably not be able to retain both Goodwin and Diawara in the future, which will be the best opportunity for Guangdong to poach. Unexpectedly, after the super explosive performance and data this season with Shanxi, the value of Goodwin and Diawara will increase significantly.
Without a doubt, Shanxi will tend to keep Goodwin, the strongest small foreign player in the entire league. Therefore, Guangdong can try to poach Diawara next season. Diawara's playing style is almost an enhanced version of Weems, and such defensive capabilities are also something Guangdong cannot refuse. If Guangdong wants to poach Diawara after the season, they may directly give up on subsequent foreign player recruitment this season. After all, this season is not Guangdong's championship cycle, especially after the failures of recruiting Barton, Arms, and Reese, even if Guangdong can add another qualified small foreign player, they will only be at the level of the top four in the playoffs.
In summary, Guangdong can consider directly giving up all subsequent enhancements this season and then freeing up enough funds to poach Diawara. Without a doubt, Diawara at this stage is the answer that Guangdong's frontcourt has long desired, and he is also the top three-position foreign player that Zhu Fangyu and Du Feng have always wanted to introduce.