Congratulations to Guangdong! NBA-Level Backcourt Weapon Could Join, with Foreign Coach Possibly Letting Sumner Go?

During the 2025-26 CBA offseason, news that traditional powerhouse Guangdong officially announced the signing of new wing foreign player Luka Bozic has continued to attract attention. With the Croatian national team player officially joining the team, Hongyuan's foreign player lineup for next season is gradually becoming clearer. It is worth noting that many fans have been speculating whether Guangdong will give up scoring machine Sumner, who performed well previously. According to informed sources, Bozic's 32% three-point shooting percentage is not considered elite, while Sumner also lacks consistent shooting ability. Therefore, the two foreign players, Sumner and Bozic, have certain limitations in their playing styles. Under these circumstances, Guangdong's new head coach Yakovlevich may choose to let go of Sumner, who is skilled at individual attacks, and instead bring in a guard foreign player with genuine three-point shot-creation ability.

Many fans predict that NBA free agent Jaden Ivey may be the ideal target for Hongyuan's new management. With Bozic's signing settled, the 2-meter forward foreign player, who combines high-post playmaking and low-post one-on-one ability, will become a resource and asset for new Guangdong coach Yakovlevich in his pursuit of a championship next season. Bozic's style is more focused on using physicality and changes of pace to attack the basket and finish, so Guangdong still needs a guard foreign player with reliable three-point shooting to create spacing. Although Sumner has extremely strong penetration ability, the spacing fit between him and Bozic would be crowded. In contrast, an all-around scoring machine like Ivey would naturally be more suitable for Guangdong's roster.

As of now, Guangdong has not released any substantial news about a contract extension with Sumner. According to past practices, Guangdong usually directly announces two confirmed foreign player signings. Currently, Guangdong has basically only finalized Bozic's arrival, while the remaining two foreign player spots have not yet been settled. Of course, Sumner is already considered one of the top-tier foreign players in the CBA and can even be compared with Finals MVPs such as Goodwin and Brown. Under these circumstances, unless it is a top-level backcourt weapon like Ivey, Guangdong would have no reason to let Sumner go. It is worth noting that two seasons ago, Ivey was still averaging close to 20+5+5 per game and was a qualified starting point guard for an NBA team.

As a powerful two-way guard standing 1.93 meters tall with a wingspan close to 2.10 meters, Ivey still has the ability to continue playing in the NBA, but unexpected off-court factors have prevented him from receiving a contract. If Guangdong can successfully sign Ivey, the team's backcourt offensive firepower would receive a major boost. Ivey's pull-up shooting and attacking ability could even overwhelm top CBA small foreign guards such as Goodwin and Brown, the core players of the Beijing and Shanghai teams. Currently, Guangdong has parted ways with multiple foreign players including McCall and Sumner, and the domestic roster has also seen players such as Du Runwang and Wang Shaojie leave. The Hongyuan new management therefore has considerable room in its foreign player reinforcement budget.

In summary, Bozic's arrival is only the first step in Guangdong's foreign player adjustments. New head coach Yakovlevich may let Sumner go and bring in a new small foreign player as strong as Ivey.