December 12, 2014
The Philippine basketball club Kia Sorento says it is trying to sign Hamed Haddadi to join the club right away.
Most teams in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) cannot sign any foreign players taller than 6-foot-9 (206 centimeters). But Kia Sorento has played so badly this year that it is exempt from the rule and can sign up the 7-foot-2 (218 centimeters) Haddadi.
Kia Sorento is an expansion team that just started playing this year in the 12-team PBA. In its first 11-game series, it won its initial match, then lost the next 10.
Kia Sorento assistant coach Glenn Capacio said Kia Sorento is eyeing Haddadi to be its center in the next round of play.
“Of course, we want to get a quality import and we would really get a big man,” said Capacio. “For now, we want Haddadi. We’ve been able to contact his agent through email.”
He said the only thing that could keep Haddadi from playing in the PBA is his salary. “It’s not sure yet if we’ll be able to get him maybe because of his salary. He’s an NBA-caliber player so his price is no joke,” said Capacio. “We hope to get him.”
Capacio failed to mention that another issue is whether Haddadi wants to play in the Philippines.
The 29-year-old Haddadi spent five seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2008-2013 and played 17 games for the Phoenix Suns before he was waived. He now plays in China for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles, which is currently in sixth place among the 20 teams in the Chinese Basketball Association.
In the 2014 Asian Cup in basketball, Iran, led by Haddadi, came in first, beating Taiwan in the finals. The Philippines came in third, defeating China by a single point.
Under PBA rules, the four lowest ranking teams can sign up players taller than 6-feet-9.