With Flip Murray expected to stay in the NBA this season, Zhejiang Guangsha has set their focus on signing one of either Von Wafer or Rafer Alston, according to hoopCHINA.com.
Wafer is currently signed with the Celtics, but it’s not certain he will be on their opening night roster. The Celtics brought 17 players under contract into camp, a number which now stands at 16 after Oliver Lafayette was cut over the weekend. With Delonte West brought on board earlier this month to solidify Boston’s backcourt rotation, Wafer is no longer a lock to make the team. He is seen to be competing with former UMASS standout, Tony Gaffney.
If Wafer is cut, Zhejiang will move to formally negotiate a deal with him first. If Wafer remains a Celtic, however, the team will move onto Plan B, which is Alston. Alston and the team have held talks, but remain apart on salary. Alston has reportedly decided that he will be playing in the CBA this upcoming season, and will come to China to work out with Guangsha at the end of the month.
Interesting that the team prefers Wafer to Skip, given that he’s somewhat of a cult hero over here because of his association with And1 and the Rockets. After losing out on Flip Murray, looks like Zhejiang will be getting a decent NBA consolation prize.
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[...] you’ve been staying up with the blog, you’ve done known that Skip is coming to China to train with the Zhejiang Guangshua Lions, one team among several who are interested in signing the 11-year [...]
[...] Tough to know what’s really going on at this point. If Zhejiang did in fact buy Alston a ticket and there was an agreement in place as to when he was landing in Shanghai, then they have a legitimate gripe. Qingdao, not so much. I’m struggling to understand how a team can complain about being second choice when they themselves have publicly stated that Alston is their second choice behind Von Wafer. [...]