China's Player Restrictions Could Be a Good Thing for the NBA

With the NBA lockout looking more and more drawn out, current players are looking more and more likely to keep their competitive fire burning by playing overseas. One destination that frequently comes up is China.

Many former NBA players have made the jump to China’s circuit in the past, which gives a lot of credibility to the level of competition over in the Far East. China has also had quite a few of its exceptional prospects play stateside.

Recently, China struck a nerve of sorts after it was reported that it would not allow contracted players to play for it during the work stoppage, only free agents (as learned from USAToday.com).

Chinese sports officials went on to say those who do decide to play in China will, more or less, do so for at least a year with no opt-out clause should the lockout end. On top of that, the Xinhua news agency said that there are even more restrictions to come.

While some may view this as China trying to flex its muscle in an arena where it has very little pull, there is a very bright silver lining here as it relates to the potential benefits for the NBA.

While the NBA may lose some talent to China for a year, let’s consider the fact that these players are getting the opportunity to develop on someone else’s dime. It’s a big part of why teams draft foreign players who are under contract.

Let them play and grow somewhere else on someone else’s books, and when they get to the NBA, the work for adjustment should be minimal. Since a big part of this lockout centers on financial issues, having players jump to the CBA of Asia gives owners the opportunity to not risk overpaying someone and gives the players an opportunity to play, get paid and prove their mettle.

Plus, these restrictions will likely discourage any major free agent (although there aren’t in any in this offseason) from jumping so the NBA doesn’t lose any marketing appeal in the States.

This China scenario could also be a great boon for relations with the NBA and CBA on a level that not even the Yao Ming era could have produced. This would be the ultimate win-win for these two leagues.

The CBA would get to further its credibility as a legitimate basketball destination if it can add NBA talent to its mix. It would be in a position to be able to pursue talent from other countries and even shop their players to other leagues. The NBA would be able to further its objective of making professional basketball a true global sport in the same vein as soccer.

The other major U.S. sports don’t translate well to other cultures. Baseball is big in Japan and the Western Hemisphere. Football is laughed at most everywhere else for being called "football" and looking nothing like "futbol." Basketball is enjoyed globally, and a venture like this would only broaden its global appeal. And, again, from a financial aspect, the revenue that could be reaped from this should have owners feeling okay about this basketball cultural exchange program.

On that same note of cultural exchange, it’s hard to ignore how this could benefit the players personally if they choose to play in China. Having the opportunity to live abroad and take in another country’s culture is an experience unlike any other. Maybe those NBA players come back with a different perspective, and will have grown in such a way that they go from being stagnant or difficult players to flourishing, contributing teammates.

There are cases of players going abroad and returning in worse shape than when they left, but the upside is always there as well, and it can’t be ignored. This lockout could foster better business relations with the NBA and CBA that could even spill over into other aspects of business between the USA and China in general.

There is so much that could come from this that focusing on the restrictions being reported from China would truly be missing the forest for all the trees.