Confirmed! Zhao Rui joins the Beijing team! An epic and wild moment in the CBA trade market.

Here it comes.

Zhao Rui is joining Beijing, and his Class D max contract will expire next summer.

Wait, Beijing has already filled all three max salary slots, which means one among Fan Ziming, Chen Yingjun, and Zhou Qi must exit to free up space for Zhao Rui’s arrival.

Currently, Fan Ziming appears the most probable to leave Beijing, as he has already spent two seasons playing for Xinjiang.

In the summer of 2023, Zhao Rui was traded from Guangdong to Xinjiang in a swap involving Zhou Qi. However, during his two seasons with the new team, injuries plagued him, resulting in a very poor attendance rate—only 35 regular-season games and 6 playoff appearances combined over the 2023-25 seasons.

Although acquiring Zhao Rui did not meet expectations, sources indicate Xinjiang never actively sought to trade him; likely, they respected his personal wishes to move on. Moreover, they managed to secure a very lucrative return from Beijing since his current value is at its peak.

Not long ago, as captain of China’s men’s national basketball team, Zhao Rui led the team to the Asian Cup final for the first time in a decade, narrowly losing to Australia by just one point to finish runner-up. Today, he is one of the highest-valued domestic players and can be easily leveraged for a significant return.

Throughout this year’s Asian Cup, Zhao Rui played all six games, averaging 13.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, with shooting percentages of 42.4% overall and 35.5% from three-point range. He is the most relied-upon guard for China’s team, delivering intangible leadership beyond the stats.

If nothing unexpected happens, Beijing could field a star-studded domestic lineup featuring Zhao Rui, Chen Yingjun, Raymond, Zeng Fanbo (destination undecided), and Zhou Qi. Provided their foreign player choices are solid, they will be among the top contenders for the championship next season—potentially even stronger than the reigning champions, Guangsha.

This year's CBA trade market has been wild, with several major transfers: Zhang Zhenlin left Liaoning for Shanghai, Cui Yongxi moved from Guangzhou to Guangdong, and Zhao Rui switched from Xinjiang to Beijing... In short, the upcoming season promises to be unpredictable and highly exciting.