Brooklyn Nets signing Fanbo Zeng, one of China’s top young players

Nets will have a Chinese player for Macao trip…

The Brooklyn Nets are adding one of China’s top young players, Fanbo Zeng, a 6’11” 22-year-old Beijing Ducks power forward, to their training camp roster.

Mike Scotto of Hoopshype was first with the news…

Scotto’s initial tweet did not indicate whether Zeng had signed an Exhibit 10 training camp invite but it appears that it to be a camp invite. It was the second Nets signing reported in the past 36 hours. On Friday, Shams Charania reported that Brooklyn was signing Ricky Council IV, a 6’6” wing, to a partially guaranteed deal.

The signing will bring to 21 the number of players, the max who can enter training camp, currently under contract, but of the 21, only 10 have fully guaranteed deals at the moment although two restricted free agents, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams have reportedly agreed to two year contracts. Five others, including Council have standard but non-guaranteed deals. Cam Thomas situation remains unresolved.

Zeng, who was born in Harbin in China’s far north but spent much of his youth in the U.S., first as a four-star recruit at a Florida high school, then with G League Ignite before returning to China two years ago.

Here’s some recent Chinese Basketball Association highlights:

He averaged 14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 blocks in 42 games last season for the Beijing Ducks in the CBA, shooting 57/41/80 overall. He is known his China for his rim-running and shot blocking as well as his 3-point shooting.

Zeng hurt his back at the end of April, falling during a CBA game. In July, it was announced he was passing on next month’s FIBA Asia Games …

China basketball watchers note that the injury — officially a lumbar transverse process fracture — is not considered serious despite its ominous sounding name. It normally takes two to three months to recover.

China is pushing its best to join NBA clubs, hoping the experience will help them develop. Both Hansen Yang, surprisingly taken at No. 16 in June, and Zeng passed on playing for Team China in FIBA Asia Cup which starts this weekend to join NBA teams … with Chinese federation’s blessing.

Brooklyn will open its training camp the last week of September, then then fly to Hong Kong for NBA China Games which will be played in nearby Macao on October 10 and 12.

In June, Zeng appeared at the CBA Finals in Beijing with D’Angelo Russell, then on a tour of Chinese cities. Both are spokespersons for Li-Ning sneakers. Zeng was wearing a back support then.

Zeng hired U.S. agents three months ago in hopes of continuing his NBA career which previously included a stint with G League Ignite in 2021-22 and five games with the Indiana Pacers Summer League in 2022. He will likely be a big part of the Nets preseason trip to Macao in early October when they’ll play two exhibition games vs. the Phoenix Suns at the 14,000-seat Venetian Resort.

Zeng played three years in the U.S. in , earning first team All-State honors in Florida but COVID intervened and he was unable to return for his final season. Still, in November 2020, he committed to Gonzaga as a four-star recruit but just before he was to arrive in Spokane Zeng decommitted and instead in October 2021, signed with the G League Ignite of the G League where he averaged 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13 games, shooting 40 percent from the field as an 18-year-old. More highlights:

In June 2022, after going undrafted, Fanbo Zeng signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pacers but was waived after averaging 5.0 points and one rebound in Summer League but again hitting 40% of his threes. He then returned to China and the Beijing Ducks. He’s said that since his G League gig, he’s grown two inches.