Sideline Story

Cui Yongxi, the next Chinese player in the NBA?

Chinese basketballer Cui Yongxi is taking part in the 2024 NBA draft. We share our opinions on whether the 21-year-old could become the 7th Chinese player to make it in the NBA and what challenges he faces. We also discuss if the Boston Celtics can repeat their NBA championship in the following seasons.

Duration:: 24m
Broadcast on:: 21 Jun 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

[Music] Hello, and thank you for joining us on Sideline's Story, your destination for sports news analysis and discussions. I'm Brandon Yates, and today we'll be discussing the 2024 NBA Finals. We'll take a look at Boston's dominant display, whether or not the Mavs lift up to their expectations and the Finals MVP debate, as well as a Chinese prospect for the next NBA draft. I'll dive into all of these topics with my two fantastic co-hosts, Yang Kwang, and sports scenes Damien Jones. Damien, thank you so much for joining us, it's great to have you with us. And of course, we've seen you on the sidelines at the CBA reporting on some of Beijing's teams, and we know you're a big basketball fan, and your coverage of basketball in China has been exemplary. So I think this is a great topic to have you on for the first time. We saw Boston absolutely boss it in those NBA Finals. I mean, for one victory, just an amazing, consistent display throughout the entire Finals. I don't think there was ever a point where fans of either team or just general NBA spectators thought it would go any either way, except with the title going back to Boston. So what did you make of their record-breaking 18th title? Well, basically, I think the case of the Boston Celtics this season was a team that finally lived up to its potential and put everything together. You basically have to remember, two years ago, they lost the title to the Golden State Warriors in a six-game NBA Finals, which was also thrilling. Then they went through a bit of a rocky time with their former coach Udoka being replaced, and so Joe Mazzoula came in last season, basically trying to put his system into place, but also really needing to put those final pieces together around Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown in order to take them to the next level. That was the key, right, is finding the right support staff almost to really insulate their two stars and make sure that their two big stars could really perform at the highest level. I think you're exactly right, and one of the biggest moves they did was bringing back Al Horford, the 38-year-old veteran. Well, one of the things about him, he actually offered to go off the bench this season instead of demanding to be a starter, and that shows what a great team player he is, and if you look at any of the interviews with Tatum and Brown, they say they've learned so much from him, so he was one of those guys that really brought everything together. And he's been there and seen it all, right, he's probably one of the most experienced players in the entire NBA. But definitely he had all those years with the Atlanta Hawks, he was with Boston the first time, went to the 76ers, and now back with Boston showing that's the team that he really belonged with, and he brought his experience and his mentorship to those younger guys. One of the biggest acquisitions they had this season was Christav's Porzingis, because he really filled a role in the middle of the court and in the middle of the line-up that they didn't have before, and even playing through that injury, he was so inspirational in the finals because he couldn't play in every game, but when he played he brought everything that he had. And even when he wasn't playing, I think there was always that threat in the media, Willie Wonti, and I think that kind of messed with the Mavs as well. I think he's one of those players defensively as the opposing team you always need to make plans to deal with, so I think that element of will he, won't he play, actually messed with the Mavs a little bit. And it's not just will he or won he play, but he played for the Mavics before, so he knows the teammates, he knows the personnel very well. He knows the coaching staff and their tendencies and what they like to do. And the Willie Wonti, so they're basically making plans for, okay, this guy who knows us, is he going to play? Is he not going to play? And if he does, what do we need to change up because he knows everything that we're going to do? I would, I conspiracy theory here, I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't injured at all. I wouldn't be surprised if that was some mental games from Boston side, you know, like kind of a Jose Mourinho type of mind game situation, but it was either way it worked out brilliantly for Boston. But also just looking at the fact that Boston have now overtaken their long time rivals the LA Lakers to claim that 18th title. What does that mean to the organization that plays the fans and the city? Well, of course it's bragging rights because Boston prides itself on being the premier NBA franchise to go back to their history in the 1950s with the great point guard Bob Coosie. And then, of course, that incredible dynasty in the 60s with Bill Russell, Nate Tiny Archibald, of course coach Red Arbok, I could go on and on with the legendary names. So they had that dynasty, then they fell off a little bit in the early 70s, came back and won two titles with their great player, John Havelichak, and then everybody's like, okay, are they done? Then in the 80s, they come back with Larry Bird. Of course, one of the greatest we've ever seen. It is the whole time. And then, of course, there is a bit of a drought and then you have the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in 2008, bringing the title back to Boston. Then again, a bit of a drought again, a few teams come and go and now we've got Boston again with this young core led by Tatum and Brown. And there's a lot of thought, could this be the next NBA dynasty? Yeah, I think that's something interesting that you bring up, just the word "young" because, yes, Jason Tatum and Tatum and Tatum are two massive stars. Probably, in terms of pairing, probably the biggest star pairing in the NBA right now, but they are also highly accomplished, experienced, and they seem to be a lot more level-headed now. So having that base along with the support players around them, could we potentially see a longer lasting dynasty? I think it is possible when you look around the state of the NBA right now because the Golden State Warriors are getting older and they're possibly on the way out with Curry and Clay Thompson and Draymond Green. I don't think there's two, right? And the Lakers as well with Anthony Davis is going to be around a few more years, but we don't really know how many more years LeBron James has. That's one of the things they may look for in this upcoming NBA draft is someone they can get as a big man who can back up Anthony Davis and step in if and when he does and never toably have an injury. But Young Bucket doesn't seem like there's any other franchise at the moment that is better set up than Boston, I would say. So looking at this 18th championship, first of all, what do you make of it? Do you think it was an easy run for Boston and can they maintain this going forward into the future? From my side, I don't really see any other teams right now competing with them in terms of having a complete setup. I think there's a couple of teams that have potential to get to that point, but Boston just looks so complete right now. Yeah, it seems like it can be called one of the easiest title runs in NBA history. The Celtics didn't come into any serious troubles the whole season. They dominated the Eastern Conference not only in the playoffs, but the whole regular season. I thought the Milwaukee Bucks could have caused some troubles for them, but the injury issues obviously ruined their season of efforts in the playoffs. But other teams, they just didn't stand on any chance against this Celtics lineup. Here I think the biggest credits should be given to Celtics, basketball operations, president, brand Stevens, who used to be the head coach of the team. He really made a flawless team into one piece through trades. I mean, how did they get Chris Deborah speaking? They sent you holiday at such low costs. Yeah, that's incredible. Those were almost the robberies. And the two players were the missing puzzle pieces for the Celtics. Look at their starting five. Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown, Proxingis, Holiday and Derrick White. It doesn't get better than that, right? I can't see any starting five, but even comes close to that. And there are all two-way players. Excellent offensive skills combined with solid defensive capabilities. Fans call these squads a squad with five rooks in the chess game, compared with the Mavericks, with two queens and three pawns in chess. Right, right. I mean, it's interesting because I think what that tells me is that, yes, Boston has stars, but they have stars who work and are willing to do what is necessary on both ends of the court. I'm not sure Dallas will have players that are willing to do that. And I don't know if there's any other teams in the NBA that have players that are willing to do that. And if they are, I don't think they can match the star quality that Boston has. They have superstars that are hard workers. Yeah, that's why I would call Brad Stevens, a big genius here. And he has built the best team in the NBA and the best team won in the end. Do we often see teams that are the most consistent throughout the regular season going on to win the NBA Finals? Is this something that we could potentially see going forward? I think, first of all, our luck also played a part in their title run. I think they didn't come into any serious injury troubles. And the one injury trouble they was kind of played in their favor was forcing us that he won't eat situation. But they should be concerned about the salary cap in the future. I think Derek White won't be satisfied with what? 15 million dollars a year. Tough life, right? Yeah, and I believe... Yeah, they deserve more. Damien, when we look at the Mavericks, everyone was talking rightfully so about Doncic and Kyrie. And I can't even really mention too many support staff because I think the whole team kind of revolved around those two players. It's kind of similar at Boston, where everything revolved, well, not everything, but I think a lot of the team was built around Tatum and Brown. And I think a similar thing was done at Dallas, but maybe not, well, clearly, not as successfully as was done in Boston. So there was a lot of hype around Luca and Kyrie and the rest of the team going into the Finals. Do you think that those two players in particular and the team as a whole lived up to that hype? Did they bring their best game to the Finals in the same way that Boston did? I think the Dallas Mavericks did the best they could do this year. If we remember back in the beginning of the season, they were very inconsistent a bit up and down. At the trade line, they brought in a trade deadline. I should say they brought in PJ Washington and Gafford, and they really helped stabilize the lineup and gave them a stable rotation going forward. Remember, they finished in fifth place in the Western Conference, so they obviously weren't expected to make it to the NBA Finals. But they really, in the playoffs, started putting everything together that should say down the stretch in a regular season so that they kind of just steamrolled into the playoffs and started knocking off the teams that were ranked higher than them. So I think it's similar to the Miami Heat last year, if we remember, they were seeded eighth and made it all the way to the Finals before finally losing to Denver. Like you just said, the team was built around Kyrie and Luca, and as far as the supporting cast, nobody really stepped up and provided a shock performance in the Finals and that's what they would have really needed in order to upset and knock off Boston. Do you think Yang Guang that there was far too much reliance on Luca in particular? Because I think people were excited when Kyrie moved to Dallas, and I think that he has been relatively consistent, but I don't think he's lived up to the hype that people were expecting him to do. But that being said, throughout the entire regular season and particularly in the Finals, Luca Doncic was absolutely immense. I don't think anybody can dispute that he delivered a great performance in most of the games that he played. And he is one of the, if not the best players in the NBA right now, but it's a team game at the end of the day, right? Basketball is a team game, and you really do need that supporting cast, and it just didn't happen for Luca in particular. And I think when people think about Boston, even though, I mean, we'll get into this, even though Brown was eventually named the MVP for the Finals, it is very important for the star player to have at least one star, I would say, to back them up. While I still feel like a lot of the criticism that Kyrie Irving is getting is a little bit unfair, he definitely, I think, could have done more, but beyond that, the rest of the team didn't step up. Yeah, you're absolutely right. I think Luca Doncic played probably his normal level in the NBA Finals. Yeah, and his normal level is better than most people's highest level, right? It may be slightly less efficient, but still good enough, but Kyrie Irving was totally lost in some games. I don't know, it's the matter of his history behind with Celtics or not, that affected his performance. He surely didn't deliver his best, even not his 70% of his best. But I think the rest of the lineup, the role players, I think they were the most disappointing factor, and, in my opinion, the deciding factor in the Mavericks' defeat in this series. They just, like Damien said, they didn't step up when they were needed to make those open shots. Before the Finals, they were more reliable in those open shots. I mean, PJ Washington even made seven threes in the game against the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. I think their shooting consistency problem was fully exposed against the Celtics and punished. I think in the four games, the Mavericks didn't surpass 100 points. Maps are basically a defense-focused team if they cannot score above 100 points. Listen, if that is their focus, they didn't achieve their focus in the Finals because Boston tore them up, particularly in Game 5. I mean, it was a complete blowout, I would say. Yeah, I think the role players, and they should take their blame for their eventual loss in this series. With that in mind, Damien, do you think that they can reach this level again, or was this just a flash in the pan for Dallas? Well, to start with, I would say, whether it was effort or performance, remember that Boston also played a role in what their opponents were doing. And Boston, we were talking about their defense earlier, and I think Drew Holiday doesn't get enough credit because he established himself as one of the NBA's best defensive players when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks. You definitely have to give credit to Brown for stepping up because he's been a lightning rod for criticism in recent years, and he really was very consistent for most of the most of the NBA Finals. But as far as Dallas, I think they do have the capability of getting back to this point, but they definitely need to make some personnel changes and bring in some different players and some guys who can really step up if Carrie and Luca aren't able to totally carry the team. Young Wong, do you think that they need to bring in new support players to step up, or do you think that this current crop can be worked on and step up in the future? Yeah, I don't think they can reach this far again in the following few seasons if they stay with the same lineup. So, there are so many good teams in best. They need personnel changes. I mean, Maxi Kleeber and the Team Hardware Junior, please get rid of those players and find a real shooter. They will get progress. I think that's also going to be something, well, a couple of things that need to also be kept in mind with regards to Dallas is that they're also comparatively to Boston. They're also quite a young squad, so I think that also plays in their favor. I mean, their biggest star is also pretty young. And I think they've got a lot of inexperienced but talented support players, but with that in mind, I think a lot of changes are still required. So, I think going into next season, I'm actually more excited to see what Dallas brings as opposed to what Boston can maintain. But staying with the finals, and this season, Damien, of course, Jalen Brown was named the finals MVP, and I think it was one of the most hotly debated finals MVP victories. So, from your side of things, do you think that Jalen Brown was the deserved MVP in the finals? I think he was definitely a deserving candidate, and I think you can't really -- you can debate, but I don't think you can argue against the choice. He averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and even 5 assists. So, he was basically scoring, he was playing defense, and he was setting up his teammates. But I mean, I suppose Tatum also put up similar, if not better, numbers, particularly when it came to scoring? Tatum did, and he had a game height 31, if I recall correctly, in game 5, and he definitely stepped up and answered a lot of the criticism that he's been under in years past. Well, that's one of the things. People sometimes forget it with awards like finals MVP. It's about what you've done in every game and the average and how you contributed for the entire series. Not just when the finals trophy is lifted. Not just when the trophy is lifted or in the game that -- in the deciding game. I mean, you can make an argument either way. It could have been Tatum or Brown, and I think it would have been fine for either one of them to win it. Yeah, and I think that's also something that Brown touched on when he was given the MVP finals trophy. One of the first things he said was, "I share this with my brother Jason Tatum." And I think that was such a great moment and a nice touch from Brown's side. But at the same time, I think it was also very telling to what the environment is like in that camp. Yang Guang, from your side, Brown, deserving MVP finals winner? I know it's a controversial result because many fans see the Celtics as Jason Tatum's team still. But as you said, Jalen Brown is more consistent. And he performed better in the NBA finals, especially on the defensive side. He may look at Doncic really uncomfortable and difficult. But at the end of the day, I still see the Celtics lineup as a team with five Rooks. So I think the MVP trophy should be given to the whole team instead of just one player. And I think that's also something that Brown touched on, is that it really was a team effort. Look, I think it was a toss-up. I think that both players performed incredibly well throughout the entire season, particularly in those finals. But that being said, I think maybe Brown was a little bit more clutch in certain instances, particularly defensively. And yes, Tatum brought more numbers in terms of his scoring stats. But I also think that was inconsistent. I think he mentioned that one of his game highs was 31 points, or if not more. But then he also had a couple of games where he really wasn't performing well with. Brown wasn't maybe putting up those numbers, but I think he was just always consistently the most relied upon player. On top of that, maybe I think some of the voters wanted to validate what the Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said, when he tried to insert some controversy by calling Brown the Celtics best player. Right. It was a real credit to Tatum and the rest of the guys that they said, "Look, we're a team effort. We don't care who's the best player." Yeah, and I think that's also something that people need to bear in mind, is that it's a voting system. And I think if I'm not mistaken, I think it's between journalists for voting for the MVP in the fight. Journalists and maybe some honorary NBA. I don't remember the exact composition, but it's basically a committee. The experts felt that Brown was the best player and convincingly so. But again, Brown, in his acceptance speech, did mention that it was a team effort. And yes, we do look at the performances of Brown and Tatum, but there was also so many other players that we've mentioned. Drew Holiday, Paul Zingas, Derek White, it really was probably... When we look back at past finals victories, I don't think for a long time we've seen a more coherent team effort. That led to, at least that was spoken about, that led to a finals victory. So that performance from the Boston organization as a whole, from the starting five, to the bench, to the coaches, to the presidents, it really just was... It was a moment in time where everything came together at the right time. But looking into the future and bringing it back to China, Tui Yongxi is one of the players that's being spoken about. That could be the next Chinese prospect going into the NBA draft. Damien, what do you make of his potential and potentially getting into that NBA draft? Okay, before we even get into his prospects with the NBA draft, just a little introduction, he's a big man. He plays for the Guangzhou loon lions and their coach by Guo Chichan, who's the uncle of one of China's most famous players, Guo Alun. He's the former coach of Liaoning, led into their first title back in 2018. A couple of years ago, I guess he just finished his fourth season with Guangzhou. And two years ago, they brought up Tui Yongxi. Now, a bit of his background, he, as a young teenager, went to Australia and trained in the NBA Development Academy. So he's obviously already got a bit of familiarity and a bit of comfort with some of the NBA systems and some of the things that young players are required to do. Playing abroad as well, and his English is quite well, are quite good, so that's going to be a point in his favor if he does make it onto the NBA. But basically, he had a great rookie season two years ago, he was named the CBA's top young rising star. He's been now twice, he's been named to the all-CBA second team at the end of the season for the league's best players. He's been involved in both all-star weekends, and he was selected for the national team of China at the age of 18. So clearly, he brought in something that the coaching staff liked and said... The press of CV, yeah. Yeah, for sure. But what do you make of his NBA prospects? Do you think he'll make it? That depends, in my opinion, on what teams are looking for and what they need. I think he can put up some pretty good offensive numbers here in the CBA, the question is going to be, does that translate? One good thing he does have in his favor, and he said this often, he likes to play defense. That is one of the things that was stressed to him at the NBA Development Academy. You have to play defense if you want to make it to the NBA. Particularly if you're a newbie, right? You need to step up and do the work. Yes, yeah. And that's something to his credit, he's embraced that, and we'll see if he can carry that forward. Now, as far as the NBA, I think if he were to be selected by one of the top teams like Boston, or, I don't know, the Knicks, or the Lakers, how much is he going to play? Right, so it might be good for the team that he joins, but it might not necessarily be good for his development. For his development, exactly. So I think for him, also, a team that missed the playoffs, I don't think would necessarily be a good situation for him because he might get a lot of playing time, but if the team is still losing and he doesn't have to write veterans around him, that won't help him very much. So if he does make it, I think he needs to be selected by one of those mid-level teams that's right on the edge of the playoffs, where you have some ability to go into the postseason. You have good teammates around you, and you have a coaching staff that is able to factor in the entire situation. One of those highly average, not super successful NBA teams would be absolutely perfect for him. Yang Guang, there's a lot of hype around him. Do you think that he does have the potential to get drafted, and if he does get drafted, do you think that he can be a mainstay in the NBA? I think it's possible he can be drafted this year. I mean, he's been invited to the workouts of several teams already. It's a good sign. It means the teams have shown some interest in this young man. I read – actually read a scouting report about Tionxi the other day by NBA scouts. It said Tui has a very nice physical frame with decently broad shoulders and big hands. His athleticism is also valued. And on offense, he has really great shooting habits, but lacks offensive creativity. And on defense, he's in a great size to guard a number two or number three on the court. It concluded with a fact that he thinks Tui can be selected as a late second round pick in this year's NBA draft. I agree, and I do think he's qualified to play the NBA for now. More importantly, China needs more players to go out to explore new chapters in their careers overseas. For sure, because the talent is here. We've seen plenty of talented youngsters coming through recently. Because that's how the Chinese players can match up with international level. Yeah. I really miss the time when Yao Ming, Hian Li, and Wang Ji Ji played for the NBA teams. Everyone watched their games then. And there was a blossom of talents at the national level in China then. When Yao Ming, those batch of players were playing in the NBA. I really wish to see that blossom again. And maybe Tui Yong Ji is a good beginning here. And if he does get picked, hopefully he gets given time. Because I don't think Yao Ming was an instant success. I think it took him a bit of time to get to the point that he got to. But when he did reach his full potential, he went down as one of the best players the NBA has ever seen. Definitely one of the, if not the best foreign players the NBA has ever seen. So we'll definitely be keeping our eyes on him, particularly at that next NBA draft. And again, we just have to say a massive congrats to the Boston Celtics. And what an incredible season that they've had. And I think going into next season, just seeing if they can maintain this dominance. Seeing what Dallas can do in terms of trades and trying to get back to this level. I think next season's also going to be very, very interesting indeed. But that's all we have time for on this week's episode of Sideline Story. Thank you so much for joining us. And of course we will be back next week with our latest topic. And we'll see you then. (upbeat music)