Era of the Sharks? ‘Knicks’ of the CBA, Shanghai Sharks title aspirations.
Excitement is brewing for Shanghai fans as the ‘Knicks’ of the CBA launch a serious campaign for the CBA title.
The Shanghai Sharks have been simply a mess for the last 2 decades since Yao Ming famously led them to a championship. Whether it be poor transfer policies, player development or just neglected ownership. Being the premier city in China, many would have thought the bright lights and sky line would have attracted the stars of China, however during the 20 years since Yao Ming raised the gold championship the Sharks have struggled to swim away from mediocrity.
But all that is no doubt going to be changed as Shanghai have had one of the busiest off-seasons in the history of the CBA.
Superstars gather in Shanghai
Alas, this summer will be a historic one, as the Sharks have made ripples across the transfer market. They’ve signed national team and former CBA MVP Wang Zhelin, they’ve acquired Shaanxi’s top players in Ren Junwei and Jamal Franklin, completed the return of MVP Jimmer Fredette, snapped up former 9th pick Noah Vonleh and some of China’s most promising youth players.
No doubt the biggest transfer activity was the signing of premier big man Wang Zhelin. With Zhou Qi’s departure to the land down under, Yi Jianlians return from injury and Shen’s inconsistent offence, Wang could be counted as the number 1 center in China. The 27-year old is theoretically entering his prime years, and Shanghai have finally landed their tier 1 Chinese superstar. At 7 foot and possessing a uniquely thick frame, Wang’s ability needs no detailed analysis as his strengths are well known for those following the CBA. A monster in the paint with questionable defense, when Wang gets the ball in the paint he’s hard to stop, even for foreign players.
‘Jimmer-mania’ is probably one of the only recent positive memories fans of Shanghai would have. His return most likely treated by fans as a hero’s welcome, Jimmer is coming back to a far stronger team which only means one thing…… three-point bombs galore.
Although Jimmer is the bigger name quite possible in China and across the world, there’s no doubt that for close viewers of the CBA Jamal Franklin is the better player. In 18 games for Shaanxi during the shortened 20/21 season, Franklin averaged 24.8 points, 8.2 rebound, 9.4 assists and had a field goal percentage of 47.7% . He has been the reason why Shaanxi have been able to claim play-off berths and his connection to Rejun Wei will also help settle him in at Shanghai.
The real interesting acquisition though, would no doubt be former NBA and Portland player Noah Vonleh. 6’9 around 250 pounds, what has always been tantalizing for NBA teams on Vonleh were his physical capabilities. A rebounding machine with infectious energy (NBA level), Vonleh key strengths essentially covers all of Wang’s weakness. Although limited from an offense point of view, with Jimmer and Wang, Vonleh doesn't need to be a primary option for scoring. An incredible pick up of player who can also handle the ball and play elite CBA defense through 1–5.
Superstars wouldn’t be how I would describe Renjun Wei but his numbers and abilities has him as one of the best forwards in China. Although often overshadowed by his twin brothers success with Guangdong, Ren is a domestic top 5 power-forward. An old-school type offensive forward with silky footwork and a soft touch around the rim, it’s his strong fundamentals combined with his size that has allowed him to be such a impactful player for Shaanxi. Able to open up the paint for Wang and still be impactful, Ren is an excellent player to compliment the former CBA MVP.
With solid wing players like Makan Keilanbeike and Liu Zheng, Shanghai focused on getting a point-maestro. With the heavy rumors around Zhao Jiwei of Liaoning, they picked up Sichuan orchestrator, Yuan Tangwen/ 袁堂文. The young point guard, isn’t exactly a household name across casual Chinese basketball fans but for CBA fans he’s a high rising guard known for his exceptional court vision and defense abilities. The former 3rd pick of the 2019 CBA draft, Yuan has impressed fans, the Sichuan coaching staff and scouts across China as one of the best young pass-first point guards in the country. Although a limited offensive player with a passable three point shot he should compliment Jimmer and Wang well as the on-field commander for the Sharks.
Best Chinese Center, Best Import Player and Best Asian Import Player….. Best Squad?
Bringing over 100 Million RMB worth of players, the natural question is what about the rest of the squad? Fortunately for Shanghai they already have some of the best role players available in the CBA. In terms of wing depths, Shanghai already possessed one of the best wing combos in the league in Makan Keilanbaike and Liu Zheng. The former Xinjiang man Makan Keilanbaike/可兰白克-马坎, is well known for his capabilities of defending foreign wing/guards and his catch-and-shoot is in the upper echelons of the CBA. More importantly though, there are the intangible leadership qualities that Makan has in the locker room which will be crucial for this new squad as they go through the forming, storming and norming phases of a team
In Liu Zheng/刘铮, who is arguably the best Chinese Taipei player at this moment Shanghai have another great wing physical wing-defender. As one of the best slashers in the CBA, he’ll be one of the best 4th/5th options in the league. Both of these players don’t need the ball to be effective so they gel and line up well with Shanghai’s superstars.
Dong Hanlin/董瀚麟 is a CBA starter level big-man and as a back-up you can’t really get much better. Often gifted with the tasks of scrappy tasks such as boxing out, setting screens and being a poster target for all foreign big men, you cant question Dong’s commitment and sacrifice to the team. As Wang’s primarily back up Dong is a quality option for when Wang’s needs to rest. A strong rebounder with a nice feel for the rim, Dong will be one of the first players off the bench for the Sharks. While Zong Zan/宗赞, provides another big body off the bench if necessary.
The weakest area for Shanghai and also the one with most potential would be their guard depths. Looking away from the two import stars, that leaves Shanghai with Luo Hancheng, Yuan Tangwen, Guo Haowen, Li Tianhong and Dai Hao. As the new player brought in, Yuan should see starter minutes.
With Luo Hancheng/罗汉琛, he is a useful spark player for Shanghai however for championship chasing teams he’s at best an offensive player off the bench. Extremely limited on the defensive end, Luo will be coming off the bench.
While they also have recently withdrawn NBA draft talent Guo Haowen/郭昊文. There’s no doubt that Guo has excellent slashing capabilities and can draw fouls like a seasoned CBA vet. The issues around his game though is glaring obvious, he can’t shoot, his dribbling is questionable at the senior level and he needs the ball to operate. Still he’s a player with huge potential so if he’s able to get to work in the off-season, the sky is the limit for the talented young man.
In Li and Dai Hao they have two young players who are in prime position to break into the rotation, with their background and experience don’t be surprised if one of these designated young players get a 2nd off the bench role.
Line-Ups
Projected starting line-up:
Clear first option will be Jimmer and second will be Wang. Renjun Wei ,Yuan Tangwen and Makan are all players that won’t need the ball to operate and will play defense to cover the star-studded two punch.
Vonleh and Fredette:
Vonleh and Franklin:
Full Roster:
Centers:
王哲林 — Wang Zhelin , 董瀚麟 — Dong Hanlin, 宗赞 — Zong Zan
Forwards:
Jamal Franklin, 可兰白克 — Keilanbaike , 刘铮 - Liu Zheng, 任骏威 — Renjun Wei , 张敬东 — Zhang Zhiyao (Y)
Guards:
Jimmer Fredette, 袁堂文 — Yuan Tangwen, 罗汉琛 — Luo Hanchen, 郭昊文 — Guo Haowen ,鞠明欣 — Ju Mingxin , 李添荣 — Li Tianrong(Y), 戴昊- Dai Hao(Y)
Future proofing with Chinese talent across the world
With a heavy focus on the first team, it was great to see Shanghai also invest in youth. Usually when the investment is done at the starting 5 level the focus is on immediate success but in terms of building a dynasty their needs to be a focus on the pipeline of talent. With this mind, The Sharks have brought back too Shanghai Li Hongquan/ Ben Li and Li Tianrong/ Terry Li. Two Chinese youth players who have had exposure and experience overseas in leagues like the NBL and NCAA.
Terry Li/李添荣 who played in the NBL development league and for the NZBreakers, had moved back to China after the NBL season. Coming back to Shanghai, Terry played for the Shanghai youth team and helped them to the U-19 Championship (first time in their U-19 team history)while also being awarded the MVP. At 6'3 and 85 kgs, Terry has great physical attributes and impressed scouts with his ability to flow around on the court. A very agile player who showed tremendous defensive instincts no doubt learned from his time in New Zealand expect Terry to be one of the first players off the bench for Shanghai.
Although Ben is currently seeking opportunities abroad, Shanghai holds his rights so whenever Ben returns he wil return to the Sharks. In terms his abilities, the fact that he plays NCAA Div 1 means that he’s a top tier talent. Labelled fondly as the ‘Chinese Zion’ Ben’s unique build and explosiveness, he should have a similar impact to Zhang Zhelin in his first season with Liaoning.
With the breaking news that due to Ben’s Canadian heritage, he won’t be able to register as an Asian import which should mean closing the possibility to head over to Australia/New Zealand. With rumors of the G-League and B-League across in Japan, this is a space to watch for Shanghai fans.
From Europe, they’ve brought back Dai Hao who was with Alba Berlin’s youth team and Zhang Zhiyao who was receiving training in Europe.
In Dai Hao/戴昊. the 19 year old is also 6'3 guard and has been exposed to a great level of basketball in Germany. Not just their to fill a bench role, Dai Hao was a starter for the youth team of Alba Berlin and key player.
The final player to be called up is Zhang Zhiyao. At 6'10 the power forward, who is the son of former Beijing basketball player Zhang Jingdong 张敬东, has likened his game to current superstar Hu Jinqiu of Guangsha.
Championship caliber coaching
Aside from their heavy involvement in the player market they’ve also brought into top back office talent with Li Chunjiang/李春江. The mastermind behind Zheijiang Guangsha’s recent golden period where the team made consecutive deep runs in the CBA play-offs with a finals appearance in 2018. That’s not considering his legendary status with Guangdong where he claimed 7 championships.
As impressive as Liu’s resume, Shanghai currently possess another masterful tactician in Li Qiuping, known endearing to fans as “little Zhuge” and having worked as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, he’s well-known for being a person capable of tapping into the potential of foreign players. With both Liu and Li it will be mightily interesting to see how they gel and work together.
Aside from those two titan’s of CBA coaching, Shanghai have also made other shrewd moves in the back office, reforming the youth development frame work with 4 tier of groups based on age and led by former Shark’s hall of fame player Liu Wei. While operating at the vanguard of technology, luring Chief Video Coordinator strategist Pang Qimeng 庞启蒙. Pang has been the Chief coordinator for Guangdong and played pivotal roles in their hat-trick of titles.
With so much investment in the front and back office, there is no doubt that we are on the cusp of the Shanghai era of CBA dominance.
