Undrafted, China's Cui Yongxi to join Trail Blazers on Exhibit 10 deal

Cui Yongxi of China will join the Portland Trail Blazers on an Exhibit 10 contract after failing to be selected by any team in the NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, his sports agency announced on Friday.

An Exhibit 10 deal provides a one-year, minimum salary that won't be counted into the salary cap. The team can convert it into a two-way contract before the regular season begins. If a player on such a contract is waived, he can join the team's G League affiliate.

Cui, 21, participated in workouts for six NBA teams, the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and Portland before the draft. He will play for the Trail Blazers in the NBA Summer League that will begin in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 12.

In an interview with Tencent Sports, Cui revealed that he learnt a lot about U.S. basketball which will be helpful for his development.

"My biggest gain was that I learnt a lot of new things including forms of training, style of playing and trend of basketball development here," Cui said. "After I communicated more with players here and faced them on the court, I found myself getting closer to matching their pace. Hopefully I can achieve more improvement in the future."

When asked about the gap in the young players in China and the U.S., Cui said that it may begin with players younger than teenagers.

"They have professional trainers to work with children who love basketball," Cui said. "In fact, they began to play basketball in a professional system when they were 11, or even eight or nine years old. I think the gap is in training quality, including differences in nutrition and professionalism of college and high-school basketball. They are all different from what's on our side."