Will He Tianju Land A Contract With The New Orleans Pelicans? Get To Know The Chinese Prospect Here
In the 4th game of the summer league, He Tianju played 10 minutes and scored 5 points on 2/4 shooting. He also grabbed 3 rebounds and made an assist.
It has been a while since a Chinese born player played in the NBA. Since Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian left the league, no Chinese player has followed their footsteps yet. He Tianju, is making some noise in the summer league and that might net him a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Unlike Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, Tianju is not a force inside. Instead, he is a prolific shooter and he managed to put up absurd shooting numbers (53 percent 3-pt. shooting) during his stint in the Chinese Basketball Association.
According to Chinese basketball analyst Andrew Crawford via SB Nation, here’s what the Pelicans can get with the Chinese player.
“It’s unclear how good He’s chances are of making the team,” Crawford said. “The forward can’t rebound and no-one in China bothers to play defense so if He stays with the Pelicans, it might have to be as a specialist three-point shooter. But it is also important to note that when He gets going, it is hard to stop him.”
He continued: “In the final game of this year’s regular season, He went 8-of-11 from deep and then held onto that form during the postseason, averaging 53% during that span. New Orleans will know what they are getting with the no-thrills shooter from Northeast China-but it might also be exactly what they need.”
Tianju might be a good fit to this team as the Pelicans will need stretch forwards for Anthony Davis to dominate the paint. He and Ryan Anderson will be perfect complimentary players for the rising superstar.
Will He Tianju be signed by the New Orleans Pelicans? Stay tuned.
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