June 29, 2018

Zhou Qi
PF/C - 7’1, 210lbs - 22 years old - 1 year of experience

In 25 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Qi averaged 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.7 turnovers and 2.3 blocks in 25.2 minutes per game. He shot 62.0% from two-point range, 34.1% three-point range and 57.6% from the free throw line. There was about the same of threes as there was twos, which is probably best – no amount of weight training is going to make this guy into a beeftank. The shoulders are just too narrow. His NBA future, if there is to be one, therefore relies upon whether he can make enough shots and defend adequately within the spindly frame God gave him.

Let us generously ignore his supreme ineffectiveness in his NBA minutes this past season, for he clearly is not ready for the top level of basketball. Instead looking only at the G-League, the blocked shot number is the one that stands out. Zhou’s arms are extremely long, and he has always stood out from other Chinese prospects (Yao excepted) by being a spry shot-blocker with timing. That total with the Valley Vipers is not a fluke.

Everything else, though, is far behind. Offensively, Zhou lacks not only strength but a lot of poise; despite a lot of CBA and international experience, he still plays as though it is all still new to him. And the pace of the game definitely is. In theory, with his length and decent speed, Zhou should be able to defend all areas of the court. But in reality thus far, with his clumsy feet and poor awareness, it remains promise rather than impact.

Zhou needs more than just some weight training and skills development; he needs to learn or re-learn everything. With very realistic championship aspirations, do Houston have the time and roster size to put into that?

Player Plan: Three years of minimum salary remaining but not a single guaranteed dollar left. Decision depends on internal evaluation of his progress/future value, and of the need for the limited roster spots elsewhere. I am not enamoured. Could be a he or Onuaku situation, a situation in which having guaranteed money may give Onuaku the upper hand.

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June 29, 2017

Zhou Qi - 43rd pick, 2016
His excellent CBA statistics were put into some worrying context with his Olympics performance. An agile four man with pick-and-pop, drive-on-closeouts potential, he is far too thin and unaccepting of contact to be successful in the NBA as of right now, and given how thin his frame is, it’s unclear he ever will.

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