Signed, signed! A 4-year maximum salary contract! The top point guard of Chinese men's basketball

Guo Ailun, aged 30, was traded by Liaoning to the Guangzhou team;

Zhao Jiwei, 30 years old, was offered a 4-year category D extension contract by Liaoning.

It appears that for Liaoning, Zhao Jiwei is the team symbol deserving a fairy-tale story of loyalty to one city. After completing his new 4-year maximum contract, he will be 34 and at an age to retire, showing little willingness to change teams on his own unless traded.

With the official renewal of Zhao Jiwei's contract and previously Fu Hao's, Liaoning still has one category D max salary slot left. The public generally believes this spot will be reserved for Zhang Zhenlin, who is currently surrounded by trade rumors. Fu Hao and Zhang Zhenlin (category B) have contracts expiring next summer.

Zhao Jiwei started his CBA career with Liaoning in 2013 and has been with the team for 12 years. So far, he has helped the team win 4 championships, earned two Finals MVP awards, been selected 7 times to the All-Star team, 7 times to the best domestic lineup, and was the steals leader in the 2020-21 season, among other honors.

In last season's regular games, Zhao Jiwei played 32 games with 30 starts for Liaoning, averaging 29 minutes, contributing 10.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, with shooting percentages of 40.9%, 33.8%, and 94.3% respectively. In the playoffs, he started all 6 games, averaged 34 minutes, scored 16.3 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 5.5 assists, and made 1.7 steals per game, shooting 50.8%, 45.7%, and 75%.

This summer, Zhao Jiwei was not selected for the Chinese men's national team training roster and missed the Asia Cup because he needed treatment for a throat injury, officially taking leave from coach Guo Shiqiang. In the 2025 Asia Cup, the Chinese team reached the final for the first time in ten years and narrowly lost to Australia by 1 point, finishing as runners-up.

The last time the Chinese men's basketball team won the Asia Cup was in the 2015 Changsha Asian Championship (the predecessor of the Asia Cup). At that time, Zhao Jiwei was the youngest player on the team and served as a starting guard, averaging 4.7 points and 2.8 assists per game.

The Chinese men's basketball team is about to start the World Cup qualifiers, aiming to secure a spot after 27 years. They will face South Korea twice: at home on November 28 and away on December 1. Zhao Jiwei might be recalled by coach Guo Shiqiang then—let’s wait and see!