On January 7th, Beijing time, according to multiple media sources, the third domestic player trading window period for this season's CBA league has been confirmed, running from January 10th to January 16th. This will be the last opportunity for CBA teams to conduct trades this season. Rumors suggest that Guangdong Hongyuan will initiate the first trade during the window period, using former national youth team starting forward Peng Shijun plus some cash to trade with Jiangsu Men's Basketball to acquire national team guard Cui Xiaolong!
Normally, Guangdong's guard line is already well-staffed, but Hu Mingxuan's injury leaves them lacking a "Xu Jie replacement." A versatile guard like Cui Xiaolong can greatly enhance the strength of the team's guard line. Meanwhile, Jiangsu Men's Basketball is undergoing rebuilding and is also looking for a suitable core player to build around. As a national youth forward, Peng Shijun has sufficient size and athletic ability, which is exactly what Jiangsu Men's Basketball needs for their future frontcourt. Moreover, this is not groundless; recently, Peng Shijun's agent stated that Xiao Peng has returned to training in Dongguan, and Guangdong is preparing to register him, which may very well be in preparation for the trade.
Some fans may question why Guangdong, who is short on forwards, would trade a rare forward prospect for a guard? It's true that Jiangsu is rebuilding, but sending away a national team guard is not an easy decision to make. For Guangdong Hongyuan, Peng Shijun is indeed a rare forward prospect, but he has long been at odds with the team. Last year, although registered, he did not play a single game, and this year he was simply benched and had his registration revoked. Guangdong Men's Basketball does not tolerate players who disrupt team discipline and affect team unity to continue playing for the team, so Peng Shijun's trade is only a matter of time.
Similarly, Jiangsu Men's Basketball and Cui Xiaolong are in a similar situation. Last season, Cui Xiaolong was the team's core player, averaging 30 minutes per game, scoring 15.4 points, 4.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. With his outstanding performance, Cui Xiaolong even made it into the Chinese Men's National Basketball Team. This season, Cui Xiaolong fell out with the team, and his average playing time dropped sharply from 30 minutes to 21.3 minutes, with an average score of only 7.7 points, directly halving. There are rumors that Cui Xiaolong has been suspended by Jiangsu and is basically confirmed not to stay with the team next season.
The trade between the two teams can be said to meet each other's needs because both teams have a player who is at odds with the team and will no longer play for their mother team. Instead of leaving such "dead assets" untouched, it's better to trade them away for "live assets." Of course, for Guangdong to trade for Cui Xiaolong, they need to pay some cash in addition to Peng Shijun, as Cui Xiaolong is after all a national team guard, and Jiangsu still wants to sell him for a good price. We hope Zhu Fangyu can go all in and quickly enhance the team's lineup depth.