China
I am still the boss's friend: Sharks captain
By Ma Zhenhuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-26 09:48
SHANGHAI: Basketball is a brotherhood and few people understand that better than Liu Wei, the Shanghai Sharks captain, when he made the decision to stay at the team instead of transferring to Bayi last week.
"For me, the past is over and the only thing I think of now is how to help the team improve in the CBA," said the 29-year-old guard.
"I think it was misunderstanding and miscommunication that led to the previous drama and now we are back on track," he said, adding he had never asked for a 1.9-milion-yuan (US$278,000) annual salary package from the Shanghai club, as some media had reported.
"I knew nothing about that and was surprised to hear it."
Liu said he was in touch with his good friend, Yao Ming, before and after the issue was resolved and said their relationship would remain the same as it was in the days when they were teammates.
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"It (the transfer case) was a tribulation for both of us and we survived it."
Liu played with All-Star Yao for 10 years before Yao went to the NBA in 2002.
Before the 2004-2005 NBA season, when the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings played each other twice in the "China Games", the Kings signed Liu for a preseason tryout. However, Liu was not picked up at the end of the preseason and returned to the Sharks.
