On Thursday morning, Eastern time, Chinese outlets started reporting that Kobe Bryant had signed a deal with the Shanxi Zhongyu of the CBA. The move would send ripples throughout the basketball world as the most iconic NBA player would be playing overseas in a lucrative market. Finally, a big star beyond Deron Williams has agreed to play overseas.
在東部時(shí)間的周四清晨，中國(guó)的大小報(bào)紙開始報(bào)道科比決定加盟山西中宇CBA聯(lián)賽的消息。這一舉動(dòng)將會(huì)是世界籃球界的一大新聞，因?yàn)镹BA最有代表性的球員將參加一個(gè)極為有利可圖的海外聯(lián)賽。最終，一個(gè)比德隆威廉姆斯更大的大腕同意了參加海外的聯(lián)賽。

Or… not.
不過情況貌似沒有那么簡(jiǎn)單。

Sports 163 along with multiple outlets are now reporting that at the CBA meetings, the league approved a rule to block outright any NBA player currently under contract with the NBA from playing in the CBA. That gets around previously discussed loopholes to proposed rules to block opt-outs. If you say outright you can’t sign any player, no under-the-tables deals can be adopted.
但是就在現(xiàn)在，163體育和許多中國(guó)的媒體正在報(bào)道ＣＢＡ的一個(gè)會(huì)議，會(huì)議里新添加規(guī)定了不允許任何現(xiàn)役的ＮＢＡ球員參與ＣＢＡ的聯(lián)賽。這就讓之前討論過的一些規(guī)則上的禁止自愿退出的漏洞不脛而走。媒體熱議說(shuō)，既然你徹底說(shuō)不允許簽約任何運(yùn)動(dòng)員，那么也不能在暗地里違反規(guī)則。

It also closes off one of the most attractive options for players. Not only are they revered in China like no other country on Earth, but the marketing potential is through the roof due to the companies and population. Bryant, for example, has made huge strides in his global brand by expanding to China. With Yao Ming out of the picture, China represents a wide-open market. This hurts the players’ efforts to provide leverage by signing overseas. Bryant was just the biggest name. More players were likely looking for the opportunity.
這個(gè)規(guī)定同時(shí)也讓運(yùn)動(dòng)員們丟失了一個(gè)非常有誘惑力的選擇。這些運(yùn)動(dòng)員在中國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)受到極高的推崇，沒有任何一個(gè)其他國(guó)家的運(yùn)動(dòng)員能夠企及，而且由于國(guó)內(nèi)的眾多的公司和巨大的人口，中國(guó)的潛在市場(chǎng)無(wú)可估量。比如說(shuō)，布萊恩特由于將自己的粉絲擴(kuò)展到中國(guó)，使自己的粉絲量獲得很大的提升。在姚明逐漸淡出之后，中國(guó)表現(xiàn)出了更廣闊的市場(chǎng)前景。這個(gè)規(guī)定使運(yùn)動(dòng)員們期望在海外獲得更好的收益更加困難了。但是布萊恩特只是這個(gè)最大的大腕而已，還有很多其他的運(yùn)動(dòng)員也在尋求這樣的機(jī)會(huì)。

For China, this is at once a terrible business decision and typically Chinese. It’s a different culture, and with the CBA managed by the government, the protection of their culture is foremost. There’s a matter of pride over not wanting to rent players for a few months only to have the lockout end and them abandon the CBA. At the same time, it would have done so much to encourage interest in the league and raise money which could be devoted to development there. It’s a reasonable position, even if it is disappointing for basketball in China overall.
對(duì)于中國(guó)而言，這是一個(gè)非常糟糕的商業(yè)決定，也只有在中國(guó)才會(huì)發(fā)生。這是完全不同的文化，CBA由政府直接管制，對(duì)于本土文化的保護(hù)非常強(qiáng)烈。他們有一種自豪感，這種自豪感趨勢(shì)他們決定不要那些只能夠租過來(lái)幾個(gè)月之后就會(huì)拋棄CBA的籃球運(yùn)動(dòng)員。他們其實(shí)本可以鼓勵(lì)更多的運(yùn)動(dòng)員對(duì)于CBA產(chǎn)生興趣，并且?guī)椭鶦BA賺錢用于CBA自身的發(fā)展，但是他們不愿意。這是有道理的立場(chǎng)，雖然對(duì)于中國(guó)籃協(xié)來(lái)說(shuō)是一個(gè)非常令人沮喪的立場(chǎng)。