China Boots Wang Off The Team

Center Wang Zhizhi has reportedly been kicked off China's basketball team for choosing to play with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers instead of at the Asian Games.

Wang, who signed last week with the Clippers, has shown an "absence of professional standards, indiscipline and indifference to the interests of the nation," according to a statement by the China Basketball Association published in the Beijing Times and the Beijing Morning Post.

The 7-foot-1 Wang, who played for the Dallas Mavericks last season, defied the association's orders to play for China at last month's World Championships and the Asian Games so he could work out in Los Angeles.

"Participating in international competitions - winning glory for the country - is every athlete's honor and obligation," the statement said. "But when the motherland needed him, he did not care about what's good for the country and was unwilling to serve his country."

Mavericks officials, including team owner Mark Cuban, did not return telephone calls and e-mails early Thursday from The Associated Press.

Wang can return to the Chinese team if he "admits his wrongdoing," the China Basketball Association statement said.

"He still has the opportunity to correct his mistakes." the statement said.

Wang is the first player from China to appear in an NBA game. With the Mavericks, he averaged 5.6 points in 55 games.