It's really difficult to find suitable foreign players, which is a common sentiment among the general managers of CBA clubs, as they are almost constantly scouting for foreign talent. This difficulty is related to the CBA's salary cap regulations, which stipulate that the total amount cannot exceed $4.5 million. With such a low price, it's undoubtedly challenging to find appropriate foreign players. However, there have been successful cases of finding good deals, and we will discuss four such foreign players who were inexpensive but have become super foreign players.
Weatherspoon from Qingdao Men's Basketball averages 27.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game, with a shooting percentage as high as 52%. Weatherspoon was cut after playing 23 games in Tianjin and performed poorly last season in Guangsha. Qingdao originally had Powell, but Weatherspoon was a backup option. However, he has proven himself and become a super foreign player.
Little Barry Brown from Guangsha Men's Basketball averages 25.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game, leading Guangsha to the top of the league! Guangsha has struggled to find suitable foreign players, but this season they finally met Brown. Brown previously performed poorly in Beijing and played for Guangzhou last season.
Liaoning Men's Basketball was desperate for foreign players and found Wells! Wells has played for teams like Jiangsu, Guangsha, Qingdao, and Jilin, being cut multiple times. No one expected him to become a super foreign player in Liaoning! Currently, he averages 24.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 56% and a three-point percentage of 48%, performing better than Fergie. Fergie is the most expensive foreign player in the league, yet Wells' contract is less than half of Fergie's.
Gillenwater is already 35 years old and was not favored by Shandong Men's Basketball, but this season he became a super foreign player in Guangdong Men's Basketball! He averages 27 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, with a shooting percentage as high as 53%. No one really believed in Gillenwater; he was originally the third foreign player for Guangdong but has now become a key player.
These four foreign players mentioned above all have relatively low salaries but have become super foreign players! As the saying goes, there is no strongest foreign player, only the most suitable one. Besides their own abilities, the team's system is also crucial for foreign players.