Zhou Qi Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Zhou Qi Hoping To Sign With Rockets For 2017/18

April 28th, 2017 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

One of the Rockets’ second-round picks from 2016, Chinese big man Zhou Qi, is in Houston to train with the team’s staff and hopes to initiate contract talks for the 2017/18 season, agent Tony Leng suggests to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

“We will be training with the Rockets,” Leng said. “We are looking forward to sitting down and talking and seeing what might happen in the future. His dream is to one day play in the NBA. Right now, we are focused on training.”

Zhou, the 43rd overall pick in the 2016 draft, reportedly remains under contract with China’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers for another four years beyond this season. However, he is said to have an NBA out clause worth $650K this year, opening the door for him to come stateside.

Zhou, a 7’2″ center, is still just 21 years old, so it remains to be seen if the Rockets will want to bring him over for the 2017/18 season, since he’s not likely to play a meaningful role in Houston quite yet. The Rockets’ decision may hinge on whether they want to take on Zhou’s developmental years themselves or wait until he becomes more of a finished product.

The league’s new two-way contracts, which essentially allow NBA teams to open up an extra pair of roster spots, could create some added flexibility for the Rockets should they decide to sign Zhou.

For now, Zhou remains focused on working with the Rockets’ training staff and rehabbing a thumb injury. The big man suffered a left thumb fracture when he collided with Guangdong’s Carlos Boozer during the Chinese Basketball Association Finals earlier this month, Feigen writes. Zhou averaged 16.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 2.3 BPG for the season in China.

Zhou Qi Meets With Rockets

September 6th, 2016 at 8:14am CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 6, 8:14am: The Rockets don’t expect Zhou to play for them during the 2016/17 season, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com clarifies. According to Watkins, there’s no out clause in the big man’s contract to play in the NBA this season. It seems likely that the two sides will try to work something out in the summer of 2017.

SEPTEMBER 5, 5:01pm: Center Zhou Qi, who was selected 53rd overall in this year’s draft by the Rockets, met with team officials in Houston today, Hupu.com reports (translation via Basketball Insiders). Zhou’s situation is a complicated one, with the 20-year-old under contract with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers for another five years. The big man reportedly has an NBA out clause included in his deal with Xinjiang for 2017, with his buyout amount worth $650,000.

What is unknown at this time is the date Zhou is eligible to exercise that buyout. The Chinese Basketball Association’s season ends in early February, with the playoffs typically completed by early March. American players who ink one-year deals with Chinese clubs are able to sign with NBA teams once their seasons are finished. It’s unclear if Zhou would be able to buy his way out of his contract in the spring, or if he and the Rockets are having discussions regarding next summer.

It would make more sense for the Rockets if the discussions were regarding the 2017/18 season. With Houston currently over the salary cap, the team could only offer him a two-year contract in the spring. Going that route would also essentially burn one year of team control for a brief look at Zhou toward the end of the 2016/17 campaign. If both sides were to wait until next offseason to strike a deal, the Rockets would be able to offer him a longer contract, which would put less pressure on the young big man to produce immediately. I should point out that this is merely speculation on my part.

Zhou appeared in 42 games for the Flying Tigers a season ago, averaging 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.2 blocks. His shooting line was .603/.600/.758. Very solid numbers for a young big man, though, some NBA teams reportedly believe that the center is actually three or four years older than his listed age.

And-Ones: Stackhouse, Labor, Olympics, Garnett

August 1st, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are expected to name former All-Star Jerry Stackhouse as head coach of their D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, sources told Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com. Stackhouse, who played for eight teams during a career that lasted from 1995-2013, spent last season on Dwane Casey’s staff. He would replace Jesse Mermuys, who is now an assistant to new Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton. Stackhouse coached the Raptors’ Summer League team in Las Vegas last month. Raptors 905 was an expansion team last season and had several players that also saw action in the NBA, including Anthony Bennett, Bruno Caboclo, Delon Wright and Lucas Nogueira, Reichert adds.

In other news around the league:

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts is optimistic a new labor agreement will be reached before a potential lockout, she told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “Our teams have been in discussions for some months now and we have made progress and we’re inclined to continue along those lines,” she said. “We have meetings this summer and we’re meeting next week and [consistently] after that. We’re trying to get a deal as quickly as we can, ideally before the start of the season.” Roberts added that if an agreement isn’t reached by the Dec. 15th deadline, the union would likely opt out, triggering the possible lockout following the season.
American fans will get their first look at a lot of foreign players during the Summer Olympics, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. There will be many players whose names are familiar because teams hold their draft rights, such as Croatian star Dario Saric, who recently signed to play for the Sixers next season. Other prominent names include Lithuania’s Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Spain’s Willy Hernangomez, who will both be part of the Knicks; Nigeria’s Michael Gbinije, a second-round pick of the Pistons; China’s Zhou Qi, a Rockets’ second-rounder; Spain’s Sergio Llull, who the Rockets have been trying to convince to come to the NBA, Lithuania’s Domantas Sabonis, who was traded to the Thunder on draft night; and Spain’s Alex Abrines, who recently signed with the Thunder.
Kevin Garnett met with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor but no final decision materialized regarding Garnett’s future, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. The 40-year-old Garnett, who appeared in 38 games last season, has one year and $8MM remaining on his contract.
CAA Sports signed NBA free agent guards Sergio Rodriguez and Ish Smith and negotiated deals with their new clubs, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. The Sixers signed the 30-year-old Rodriguez to a one-year, $8MM contract. Smith received a three-year, $18MM deal from the Pistons.

And-Ones: Draft, Zhou, Weems, Yabusele

June 14th, 2016 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

With trade talks set to heat up next week as the 2016 draft approaches, ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider-only link) decided to create five hypothetical deals that he thinks should happen this offseason. Ford’s proposals include sending Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, Jahlil Okafor to the Pelicans, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle to the Celtics, and Jeff Teague to the Kings. Ford also suggests a mammoth, three-team deal that would involve Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Eric Bledsoe, and Brandon Knight. While we’ll likely see some major moves go down this summer, that particular proposal is probably a pipe dream.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

With the deadline for international prospects to withdraw from the NBA draft having passed, Chinese big man Zhou Qi has kept his name in the draft, according to Ford (Twitter links). The ESPN.com scribe notes that Zhou’s stock is hard to gauge because some teams believe he’s three or four years older than his listed age of 20.
Sonny Weems‘ two-year, $3MM deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv is now official, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick. Weems played overseas for several seasons before getting another NBA look from the Suns and Sixers in 2015/16.
French prospect Guerschon Yabusele has looked very good in his pre-draft workouts, and could play his well into the back of the first round in next week’s draft, writes Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com. Within his latest piece for CBSSports.com, Rothstein also examines the Ben Simmons/Brandon Ingram debate and Marquese Chriss‘ rising stock.
Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders takes a look at Adonis Thomas‘ efforts to get back onto an NBA roster. Thomas, who is participating in several free agent mini-camps, was in training camp with the Pistons last season before a leg injury sidelined him.

Chinese Center Zhou Qi Has NBA Out For 2017

June 10th, 2016 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

Chinese big man Zhou Qi has agreed to a deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers that will allow him to buy out his contract with his Chinese team and make the jump to the NBA in 2017, agent Alex Saratsis tells Jonathan Givony of The Vertical. Zhou’s buyout will be worth $650K, the maximum amount allowed by the Chinese Basketball Association.

Zhou is currently eligible to be drafted in 2016, but there has been some uncertainty surrounding his stock, since it wasn’t clear how much longer he would remain in China — his contract with the Flying Tigers was for another five years, per Givony. Zhou traveled to the U.S. to work out for NBA teams in recent weeks, including the Celtics, Suns, Grizzlies, and Clippers. Now, those teams and other NBA clubs have a better idea of when they’ll be able to bring the Chinese big man stateside should they draft him this year.

Zhou, who played alongside Andray Blatche, Andrew Goudelock and Bryce Cotton in Xinjiang, averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and a CBA-leading 3.2 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game for the Flying Tigers this season. He had two points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over 12 minutes of play at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit, a premiere showcase that pits international talent against top U.S. high schoolers, and is expected to compete in this summer’s Olympics for the Chinese national team.

At DraftExpress.com, Givony ranks Zhou 28th in his list of top 100 prospects for 2016, which suggests that the seven-footer would make a good draft-and-stash candidate in the second round or late in the first round in this year’s draft. For the time being, he also has the option of withdrawing from the draft and aiming to improve his stock for 2017, when he’d be able to come to the NBA immediately. The deadline for international prospects to withdraw from this year’s draft is Monday, June 13th.

Suns Notes: Ellenson, Bogdanovic, Qi

May 23rd, 2016 at 7:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Henry Ellenson is an option for the Suns at No.4 or No. 13 should he fall that far and Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details how the 6’11” power forward turned himself into a perimeter threat. “I wasn’t always taller than [opponents]…I played point guard all the way up to eighth grade,” Ellenson said. Arthur Hill of Hoops Rumors profiled the big man prior to the draft lottery.

Here’s more out of Phoenix:

Phoenix continues to monitor Bogdan Bogdanovic with the hopes of him joining the team next season, Coro writes in a separate piece. “Physically, he keeps getting stronger,” Suns Assistant GM Pat Connelly said of the 2014 first round pick. “His feel for the game keeps improving.”
The Suns worked out power forward Zhou Qi from China and former Arizona State center Eric Jacobsen over the weekend, Coro writes in a separate piece. Qi might be an ideal draft-and-stash candidate, Coro adds, but it’s undetermined whether Qi would be interested in such an arrangement.
The Suns will work out six more players today. Michael Bryson, Stacy Davis, Demetrius Jackson, Damion Lee, Abdel Nader and Retin Obasohan will all be in Phoenix, per the team’s Twitter feed.

Atlantic Notes: Atkinson, Jackson, Qi

May 20th, 2016 at 7:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets coach Kenny Atkinson acknowledged that the team’s lack of draft picks makes rebuilding more difficult, adding that the front office would just need to get creative in remaking the roster, NetsDaily relays. “We’re going to have to look under every rock, and that’s a great thing about the NBA today. I think there’s a lot of different ways to acquire players — D-League, international, free agency,” Atkinosn told reporters. “So I’m excited. I think we can get it done, and I’m ready to get to work. I think we have to focus on our future and think of the different ways we can get players here. We’re not focused on that. Past is the past, and we’re trying to be really creative.”

The new coach tried to temper expectations, noting that it would not be an overnight process to turn things around in Brooklyn, NetsDaily notes. “I think we can build something,” Atkinson said. “It’s not going to happen overnight. I want to see steady improvement on a daily basis. I think we can find some players for the way we want to play. The first thing we have to sell is the change in culture. They have to feel that. A bunch of our players yesterday were saying, ‘we want to be a part of this.’ We have to put it into action now.”

Here’s the latest out of the Atlantic Division:

The success or failure of hiring Jeff Hornacek as the Knicks new head coach will be one of the major career-defining moves for Phil Jackson as an executive, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
One of the most intriguing players the Celtics worked out this week was Chinese big man Zhou Qi, whose size, soft shooting touch and shot-blocking ability has caught the team’s eye, Taylor C. Snow of NBA.com writes. “I went to China and saw him play,” said director of player personnel Austin Ainge. “We’ve known about him for a couple of years. He’s probably the third- or fourth-most recognized name in Chinese basketball, so he’s a known commodity, but it was great to have him in today to workout.“
The Raptors scored the No. 9 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft from the Knicks as part of the Andrea Bargnani trade, and GM Masai Ujiri views it as a solid chip the team can utilize this summer to improve, Chris O’Leary of The Toronto Star relays. “I think everybody talks about [having that pick],” Ujiri said. “I think this is a good, good asset for our organization and something else to add to some of the little things we can do.”
If Mike D’Antoni accepts a coaching post elsewhere, the Sixers could look to replace him as lead assistant with former NBA head coach P.J. Carlesimo, Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

Celtics Notes: Ainge, Olynyk, Draft Workouts

May 18th, 2016 at 10:45am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics were unable to jump ahead of the Sixers and Lakers to snag the No. 1 overall pick in Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery and the team will draft third as a result. With Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram likely to be off the board when Boston picks, team executive Danny Ainge indicated that he doesn’t know who the team will look to select, Mike Petraglia of WEEI 93.7 FM relays. “We don’t know that yet. We’ll obviously explore that,” Ainge said. “We’re in the middle of that process right now of figuring out who’s in the draft and who’s the best fit for us. We’ll also probably get some calls for that pick I’m guessing, so there’ll be discussion of that too. But right now we’re really in the mode of preparing for the draft.”

Regarding the talent level of the second-tier of players in this year’s draft, Ainge told reporters, “Last year at this time I think everybody saw that [talent drop-off] and it sort of changed between what everybody thought at this time and what happened in the draft. So it’s still too early. There’s still a lot of evaluation. When you’re looking and evaluating in some cases 18 and 19-year-old kids there’s a lot that changes between the end of their college careers and the draft, so I wouldn’t say anything is in stone in how the draft order is gonna go. We’ll just evaluate them all and see how it falls.”

Here’s more out of Boston:

Center Kelly Olynyk underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair damage to his right shoulder, and though the Celtics didn’t announce a timetable for the big man to return to action, Ainge estimates Olynyk will be out for approximately five months, Petraglia relays in a separate article. A recovery time of that duration would mean Olynyk could return during the preseason and potentially be available to start the 2016/17 campaign.
The Celtics are hosting two group workouts today that will include 12 players, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Displaying their wares for Boston will be Abdul-Malik Abu (NC State), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Nigel Hayes (Wisconsin), Malik Pope (San Diego State), Zhou Qi (China), James Webb III (Boise State), DeAndre Bembry (St. Joseph’s), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Josh Hart (Villanova), Jake Layman (Maryland), Abdel Nader (Iowas State) and Taurean Prince (Baylor), Forsberg notes.
Former Louisiana-Lafayette center Shawn Long has a workout scheduled with the Celtics on June 9th, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Dunn, Trimble, Wiltjer, Hart

May 12th, 2016 at 10:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Brett Brown has promised Providence sophomore point guard Kris Dunn a chance to play right away if the Sixers draft him, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dunn met with Sixers officials Wednesday and both he and the team appeared to come away impressed. “They made me feel like they really wanted me there,” he said. “We all were very engaged. We talked about a lot of things. I appreciate them having me.” Philadelphia notched the NBA’s worst record this season and has a 26.9% chance at landing the top overall pick. That will probably be LSU’s Ben Simmons or Duke’s Brandon Ingram, but the Sixers will also get the Lakers’ pick if it falls outside the top three, which is where they might take Dunn.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers are interviewing a lot of guards, including Maryland sophomore point guard Melo Trimble, Pompey tweets.
Gonzaga senior power forward Kyle Wiltjer will work out for the Sixers later this month, Pompey tweets.
Villanova junior shooting guard Josh Hart plans a workout with the Sixers, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com. Hart is undecided on whether to stay in the draft or return to school. Philadelphia will also work out freshman small forward Dedric Lawson of Memphis on Monday (Twitter link).
The Celtics have met with several top prospects, including Ingram, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Other projected top-10 players that Boston has interviewed include Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, Kentucky’s Jamal Murray and California’s Jaylen Brown. The team has also scheduled an interview with Utah center Jakob Poeltl. According to Himmelsbach, the Celtics have either met with or are planning interviews with Oakland’s Kay Felder, Maryland’s Diamond Stone, Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin, New Mexico State’s Pascal Siakam, Michigan State’s Deyonta Davis, China’s Zhou Qi, Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw, Louisville’s Chinanu Onuaku, Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones, Mississippi State’s Malik Newman, North Carolina State’s Cat Barber, Kansas’ Cheick Diallo, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes and high school prospect Thon Maker.
Seton Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead, who has met with the Sixers, Celtics, Knicks and Nets among others, will “100%” leave college if a team offers him a first-round guarantee, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “You can’t give up opportunities like that,” Whitehead said. “I mean, when they tell you it’s time to go, you just gotta go.”
Assistant GM Allan Houston conducted the Knicks‘ meeting with Whitehead as team president Phil Jackson apparently skipped the draft combine, Zagoria writes in a separate piece.
Diallo is scheduled to meet with the Knicks, Celtics and Raptors on Friday, Zagoria tweets.

Chinese Center Zhou Qi To Enter Draft

April 15th, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

11:30am: Zhou remains under contract with his Chinese team for at least one more season with no NBA buyout clause, Pick tells Hoops Rumors.

10:34am: Chinese center Zhou Qi will enter this year’s draft, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical. Tony Leng, a representative for the 7’2″ 20-year-old, confirmed the news to international journalist David Pick, who hears Alex Saratsis of Octagon will serve as Zhou’s NBA agent (Twitter link). Opinions are split on Zhou’s potential, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegging him the 28th-best prospect in this year’s draft while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him only 68th.

Zhou averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game for Xinjiang Guanghui in the Chinese Basketball Association this season. The same team featured current and former NBA players Andray Blatche, Andrew Goudelock and Bryce Cotton, and several NBA teams saw Zhou in action, Pick notes (Twitter link). He had two points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over 12 minutes of play at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit, a premiere showcase that pits international talent against top U.S. high schoolers.

No guarantee exists that Zhou will remain in the draft, as international early entrants can withdraw as late as June 13th, since they don’t have to worry about NCAA eligibility. By NBA rule, he wouldn’t become automatically eligible for the draft until 2018, the year he turns 22. However, NBA scouts have questioned Zhou’s age, with some saying he’s already 22 and others saying he’s 24, as Pick reported in February (Twitter link).