> On the other, it's a little disturbing to see US sports figures - who otherwise are generally untouchable, for the most part - bend over backwards to make sur

> On the other, it's a little disturbing to see US sports figures - who otherwise are generally untouchable, for the most part - bend over backwards to make sure they don't sufficiently enrage China (looks like it's too late) over some tweets by a GM who is pretty well liked in the League. To add context for those that don’t follow basketball: A lot of players that don’t end up “making it” in the NBA play in China as an alternative because: 1) China has shorter season game schedules, 2) Fans there go crazy for basketball and treat even B/C-tier NBA players like celebrities, 3) Chinese teams pay a lot of money to foreign players, 4) the CBA season ends before the end of the NBA season, so players who did well in the CBA have a chance of getting a contract with an NBA playoff team. Jeremy Lin (asian-american NBA-veteran) is an example of an aged player that signed with the CBA after he didn’t get any NBA offers, and is making $3M this upcoming season for 38 games in the CBA after he was paid $700k last year for 82 games with Toronto. Other players like Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson, Tracy McGrady, and Stephon Marbury also played in China too. For the vast majority of NBA players (or elite international basketball players), this is like a short way to “go on tour”, make a ton of money, and then return back to cushy life in the US.