On Thursday morning, Eastern time, Chinese outlets started reporting that Kobe Bryant had signed a deal with the Shanxi Zhongyu of the CBA. The move would send ripples throughout the basketball world as the most iconic NBA player would be playing overseas in a lucrative market. Finally, a big star beyond Deron Williams has agreed to play overseas.
在东部时间的周四清晨，中国的大小报纸开始报道科比决定加盟山西中宇CBA联赛的消息。这一举动将会是世界篮球界的一大新闻，因为NBA最有代表性的球员将参加一个极为有利可图的海外联赛。最终，一个比德隆威廉姆斯更大的大腕同意了参加海外的联赛。

Or… not.
不过情况貌似没有那么简单。

Sports 163 along with multiple outlets are now reporting that at the CBA meetings, the league approved a rule to block outright any NBA player currently under contract with the NBA from playing in the CBA. That gets around previously discussed loopholes to proposed rules to block opt-outs. If you say outright you can’t sign any player, no under-the-tables deals can be adopted.
但是就在现在，163体育和许多中国的媒体正在报道ＣＢＡ的一个会议，会议里新添加规定了不允许任何现役的ＮＢＡ球员参与ＣＢＡ的联赛。这就让之前讨论过的一些规则上的禁止自愿退出的漏洞不胫而走。媒体热议说，既然你彻底说不允许签约任何运动员，那么也不能在暗地里违反规则。

It also closes off one of the most attractive options for players. Not only are they revered in China like no other country on Earth, but the marketing potential is through the roof due to the companies and population. Bryant, for example, has made huge strides in his global brand by expanding to China. With Yao Ming out of the picture, China represents a wide-open market. This hurts the players’ efforts to provide leverage by signing overseas. Bryant was just the biggest name. More players were likely looking for the opportunity.
这个规定同时也让运动员们丢失了一个非常有诱惑力的选择。这些运动员在中国国内受到极高的推崇，没有任何一个其他国家的运动员能够企及，而且由于国内的众多的公司和巨大的人口，中国的潜在市场无可估量。比如说，布莱恩特由于将自己的粉丝扩展到中国，使自己的粉丝量获得很大的提升。在姚明逐渐淡出之后，中国表现出了更广阔的市场前景。这个规定使运动员们期望在海外获得更好的收益更加困难了。但是布莱恩特只是这个最大的大腕而已，还有很多其他的运动员也在寻求这样的机会。

For China, this is at once a terrible business decision and typically Chinese. It’s a different culture, and with the CBA managed by the government, the protection of their culture is foremost. There’s a matter of pride over not wanting to rent players for a few months only to have the lockout end and them abandon the CBA. At the same time, it would have done so much to encourage interest in the league and raise money which could be devoted to development there. It’s a reasonable position, even if it is disappointing for basketball in China overall.
对于中国而言，这是一个非常糟糕的商业决定，也只有在中国才会发生。这是完全不同的文化，CBA由政府直接管制，对于本土文化的保护非常强烈。他们有一种自豪感，这种自豪感趋势他们决定不要那些只能够租过来几个月之后就会抛弃CBA的篮球运动员。他们其实本可以鼓励更多的运动员对于CBA产生兴趣，并且帮助CBA赚钱用于CBA自身的发展，但是他们不愿意。这是有道理的立场，虽然对于中国篮协来说是一个非常令人沮丧的立场。