The Basketball Association’s naturalization policy has been relaxed but it has been cold! Why are the CBA teams waiting and watching?

Previously, the Chinese Basketball Association issued the "Management Measures for Naturalized Basketball Players of the Chinese Basketball Association (Trial)" aimed at improving the level of Chinese basketball competition. However, this policy has not been responded positively among CBA clubs, and most teams are on the wait-and-see attitude, hindering the advancement of naturalization plans.

At the same time, other Asian countries are not idle. Xinjiang foreign aid Lawson is naturalized by Lebanon, Shanxi foreign aid Goodwin is naturalized by Qatar, and the Asian Cup date is approaching, and the Chinese men's basketball team still has no news of naturalization. Su Qun said: "Naturalized teams are not very motivated now. Li Kaier's naturalization was also the money paid by the club before. Naturalized players play in the national team usually just like Li Kaier. Everyone is asking whether Li Kaier will play for the Chinese team in the future? No, he agreed to be this big competition. For example, if Barry Brown really succeeds in naturalization, if he plays well, he will definitely play more than one game. Of course, he will have to pay for each game."

CBA company has not formulated clear playing time rules for naturalized players, which is the main reason for the club's hesitation. Under the current CBA rules, foreign players' playing time is strictly limited. If the playing time of naturalized players is unclear, it will bring great uncertainty to the club's event arrangement. The club is worried that after investing a lot of money to naturalize players, it cannot be used reasonably in the game, which will affect the team's performance and input-output ratio. For example, if a naturalized player plays the same playing time as a foreign player, the team needs to carefully weigh the lineup when allocating. This policy uncertainty makes the club dare not take the pace of naturalization easily.

At the same time, the high cost of naturalization is also a factor that the club has to consider. Unlike football, most basketball geniuses are concentrated in the United States. It is not only difficult to get American stars to give up their nationality and join China, but also extremely expensive. Clubs need to bear a series of expenses including player salary, transfer fees, and naturalization procedures, which is unbearable for many clubs with limited financial resources. Some private clubs even said that even the salary payment of local players is under pressure and are even less able to bear the huge expenses of naturalized players. In contrast, investing funds in the youth training system, although the return cycle is long, it is more stable and sustainable, which also makes the club cautious about naturalization.

At the national team level, the effectiveness of naturalized players is also controversial. Take Li Kaile as an example. Although he performed certainly in the Men's Basketball World Cup, he lacked tacit understanding with his teammates, and he returned to the NBA after the game and has not played for the Chinese men's basketball team since then. This makes the club doubt the stability of naturalized players playing for the national team for a long time. If a player who spends huge amounts of money to play for the national team only has one competition, then the cost-effectiveness of the club is too low for the club's investment. In addition, only one naturalized player can be used in the national team game, which also wastes the club's large-scale naturalized resources.

Just as CBA teams were negative about naturalization, Xinjiang foreign aid Lawson was naturalized by Lebanon, Shanxi foreign aid Goodwin was naturalized by Qatar, and at the 2025 Men's Basketball Asian Cup to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from August 5 to 17, many participating teams have enhanced their strength through naturalization, but the Chinese men's basketball team has not yet determined the naturalization candidate.

If the Chinese Basketball Association wants to promote the implementation of naturalization policies, it needs to cooperate with CBA companies to clarify the details of naturalized players' playing time in the league as soon as possible, and provide clear policy guidance for the club. At the same time, it is possible to consider setting up a special fund to share the naturalized cost of the club and increase the enthusiasm of the club. Otherwise, in the fierce competition in the international basketball world, the Chinese men's basketball team may further lag in the Asian arena due to poor naturalization.