Shanxi Fenjiu, the dark horse of this season, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Zhejiang Guangsha, exposing their lack of talent in the No. 1 position for ball control and operation. It is reported that after the mid-season transfer window opens, Shanxi Fenjiu offered a 2-for-1 deal to Jiangsu Kendingya for national-level guard Cui Xiaolong, using young interior player Lv Jiahui plus cash. Since Cui Xiaolong has agreed to the personal terms offered by Shanxi Fenjiu, the two clubs are close to reaching a deal, with only minor details left to be finalized. The main framework of the deal will be cash-based, with the addition of young players as a sweetener, mainly because the rules stipulate that mid-season trades must involve player exchanges; otherwise, they can only claim free agents. Cui Xiaolong falls into the former category, and it is not yet clear whether Lv Jiahui will be loaned or transferred.
Under the foreign aid policy of 4 quarters and 7 rotations, Lv Jiahui cannot get playing time. As a national youth power forward, it would be better for him to go to Jiangsu Kendingya, which lacks tall interior players, rather than waste his talent on the bench. Cui Xiaolong is the tall point guard that Shanxi Fenjiu urgently needs. If he joins, it will undoubtedly add another layer of defense to the perimeter for Shanxi Fenjiu. This trade is beneficial for both the players and the team, and hopefully, the CBA league will have more personnel mobility.
After losing at home to Fujian Xingxing, who is at the bottom of the rankings, Xinjiang Guanghui's head coach Liu Wei was called to resign by fans. After the honeymoon period with the team, the problems with Liu Wei's coaching gradually emerged. Playing against a team like Fujian Xingxing without an inside presence, they actually lost rebounds, something that Xinjiang fans never expected. Despite having a center like Li Yanzhe who is not injured, he is repeatedly benched in critical moments. In the fourth quarter, there is always an obsession with the small foreign aid Hegen, who can only connect plays but lacks the ability to score decisively. Only when the team cannot score do they switch to Peterson or Lawson, repeatedly losing in the same way, making it difficult for Xinjiang fans to bear.
In the away game against Liaoning Men's Basketball Team, Beikong Men's Basketball Team's center Zou Yuchen was injured without contact, causing concern among fans. Zou Yuchen has suffered multiple serious injuries throughout his career, and his promising future has been hindered by injuries. Fortunately, according to insiders familiar with Beikong Men's Basketball Team, Zou Yuchen underwent an MRI examination and found no major issues, but the strain on the inner thigh is not easy to recover from, and he is likely to miss the remaining games of the second stage.
Who could have thought that Beikong Men's Basketball Team, which recruited aggressively and ambitiously at the beginning of the season, would only rank 10th now? Besides the new players failing to mesh well with the team, Min Lulei's tactical approach also needs improvement. Especially the three foreign players, who are individually top scorers in the league, seem to struggle to contribute within the team dynamic. Zhu Songwei, signed with significant investment, has become a marginal figure, indicating that the team still has great potential to tap into.
According to Liaoning media, Liaoning Men's Basketball Team's new signing James Webb III has completed the registration procedures and will make his official debut in the away game against Qingdao Guoxin. Zhao Shuai Zhou, who has had few opportunities recently, will be replaced out of the 12-man roster. In the game against Beikong Men's Basketball Team, Liaoning's two power forwards, Li Xiaoxu and Fu Hao, were unable to convert open three-point shots. However, with Webb III's arrival, who averaged over 40% three-point shooting and 2 steals per game in the Turkish Super League, the scoring ability of the front line will be fully unleashed. Especially after Zhang Zhenlin returns in the third stage, the two can freely switch between the three and four positions, significantly enhancing the team's overall strength on both offense and defense.