Zhou Qi was CUE! Former rivals signed contracts in the NBA and were cut by the Rockets

Super fat guy says ball

2024-07-01 22:37Creators in the field of sports

On the evening of July 1, the news of the signing of Shams and Woshen on Hartenstein also made Zhou Qi constantly CUE by netizens.

In the past, when they played for the Rockets, Zhou Qi and Hartenstein were rivals and both fringe players for the Rockets. But after many years, the circumstances of the two are very different.

After being drafted by the Rockets in the second round in 2016, Zhou Qi signed with the Rockets in the summer of 2017 and officially landed in the NBA in the 2017-18 season. Hartenstein was drafted by the Rockets in the second round in 2017, and interestingly, both were the 13th pick in the second round (43rd overall pick), both centers, and both were international players before being drafted. And Hartenstein played because of the Rockets, and it was already the 2018-19 season.

In the 2017-18 season, Zhou Qi was sent to play in the Development League by the Rockets several times, and at that time, Hartenstein played for the Vipers, an affiliate team of the Rockets' Development League. Even in the summer of 2018, Zhou Qi and Hartenstein were still competing for a fringe spot on the Rockets. In the 2018 NBA Summer League, Zhou Qi's performance also looked better than Hartenstein's.

But maybe it's the relationship between personality and language (Hartenstein was born in the United States), or maybe it's because of the positioning (Hartenstein is heavier and better able to top up and grab rebounds), in short, Zhou Qi was cut by the Rockets in the 2018-19 season, but Hartenstein stayed. It wasn't until the summer of 2020 that Hartenstein was cut by the Rockets.

When Zhou Qi then chose to return to the CBA, Hartenstein continued to stay in the NBA and work hard. From the Nuggets to the Cavaliers, from the Clippers to the Knicks, he eventually made it through and went from being on the fringe to becoming a major rotation player. From his brief stint for the Cavaliers in 2020-21 to now, Hartenstein has averaged 18+ minutes per game every season and has gradually gained a foothold.

Last season, he played in 75 regular season games for the Knicks, starting 49 times, averaging 25.3 minutes per game, averaging 7.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. In the playoffs, he started all 13 games, averaging 29.8 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

In the end, he also won the Thunder's current three-year, $87 million contract with his performance last season. And his salary with the Knicks last season was $9.245 million, which is already far more than his contract with the Rockets ($838,000 in the first season and $1.416 million in the second).

Now, Hartenstein has signed a big contract, and Zhou Qi has been repeatedly CUED by netizens again. Many years later, the gap between the two also made many fans sigh.

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