While it's hard for American NBA observers to gauge how trustworthy out-of-language reports in foreign newspapers are, it's worth noting that the Chengdu Daily has reported that the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association have offered Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade $2 million per month to play in the port city of Hangzhou.
Chinese basketball blog NiuBBall.com reports that team officials have denied the report, but that CBA teams are -- despite reports that the league is seeking to block "out clauses" that would allow players under NBA contract to return to the United States once the NBA lockout ends -- pushing to sign superstars to hefty contracts. NiuBBall says that Dirk Nowitzki has seen offers of up to $1.5 million per month.
The plan for Chinese teams to work around the new government rule blocking "out clauses" is amazing, and well worth reading about at NiuBBall. In the meantime, we continue to keep a watchful eye on China as more NBA players sign deals in Europe.