Reports: Guangdong Men’s Basketball Team Targets Big Man Import, 2.13m Center Could Join After Averaging 17+10 in a Season

During this offseason, Guangdong Men’s Basketball Team has made relatively major adjustments to its management and coaching staff. Although there have been some changes to the player roster, the overall scale of change has not been large. New head coach Yakovlevich is currently leading the team in warm-up games, with the first game ending in an 81-89 loss to Shenzhen. Guangdong will play three more warm-up games, and Yakovlevich said in an interview that he will continue promoting a team basketball philosophy.

Regarding foreign players, many other teams have already finalized their selections, and Guangdong has also received new developments. For the small import position, Guangdong has already decided to renew Samner, with both sides reaching an intention to extend the contract. For the big import position, Salinger, who played for Guangdong last season, has announced his retirement, and the team is searching for a new big man. According to foreign media reports, Guangdong is in contact with former Fujian import Thon Maker, and the two sides could complete a signing.

Maker is also a familiar foreign player in the CBA. He played for Fujian during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Standing at 2.13 meters, Maker has relatively strong abilities on both offense and defense. In the 2022-23 season, Maker averaged 17 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 14.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. After the 2023-24 season ended, Maker moved to other leagues and won the FIBA West Asia Super League MVP award.

Maker has sufficient height and wingspan, with strong abilities on both ends of the court and in rim protection. Fujian has continued to value him, using its foreign player priority renewal rights on him in two consecutive summers. Guangdong has had significant interior issues over the past two seasons, especially after Wang Shaojie’s loan contract expired, making the team’s frontcourt problems more apparent. The team needs a strong big import, and Maker is indeed a good option. However, because Guangdong had previously used priority renewal rights on Quinn and Samner, if it wants to sign Maker, Fujian must first give up its priority signing rights before Guangdong can complete a deal with Maker.

According to foreign media reports, Maker’s priority renewal rights are currently no longer held by Fujian. This suggests that Guangdong may have already begun working on a possible signing. However, it should be noted that Maker’s salary is not low. Last summer, he signed a major contract with Saudi team Al Ula, with a net annual salary exceeding $1.4 million, equivalent to more than $2.5 million before tax in China. In the CBA, a net salary of $1.4 million would be considered a top-level foreign player contract, so Guangdong may find it difficult to accept. The final outcome will depend on communication between the two sides.

Looking at the roster, Guangdong is a strong team, but compared with teams such as Shanghai and Beijing, there is still a gap. In the new season, Guangdong’s goal should be to reach the semifinals. The only uncertain factor is head coach Yakovlevich’s coaching ability. If he can build Guangdong into a team with a European style, the team’s competitiveness will certainly improve and may bring surprises to Guangdong fans.