As with all Yi Jianlian news, this should be taken with a pound of salt. Nonetheless: The Beijing Times reports that Yi's Chinese club team -- the Guangdong Tigers -- will block the forward from joining the Bucks. "This is not -- as media reports have said -- because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi's commercial development," [Guangdong boss] Chen [Haitao] said. "Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi's growth. That's the root of the problem."I fail to see how Milwaukee isn't a great opportunity in terms of Yi's basketball growth. Places like Los Angeles and San Francisco might be better for Yi's financial growth or social growth, but I can't think of another roster where he'd get more playing time than Milwaukee's.
Unfortunately, Larry Harris will eventually be forced to blink. Yi holds all the cards here.
Previously on FanHouse:
There's Hope! Bucks Brass Meets With Yi
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-17-2007 @ 11:57AM
stanfordfan said...
It's all about leverage, and Yi has it and the Bucks don't. It was a stupid move for Larry Harris to draft Yi in spite of blatant indications that Yi didn't want to play for them. The draft is designed to encourage parity and to help the small market teams compete, but the draft decisions have to be intelligent. Harris screwed up and showed that he had ego where his brain should have been. All Yi has to do is to wait until next year and, as long as he isn't playing for a professional team, he re-enters the draft and the Bucks get nothing for their pick. With the Chinese National team, which is not a professional team, supporting him, Yi will be well cared for and continue to develop as a top-flight pro prospect.
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7-17-2007 @ 1:21PM
Max said...
Wow, poor Milwaukee. Little did they know what they were getting into when they made this pick. I remember the way the announcers covering the draft were praising the Bucks for making a strategic pick like this, but it seems that the ball's definitely out of their court at this point. This is one of the more immature incidents in pro sports (on behalf of both Yi and Guangdong) that I've seen in quite some time.
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7-17-2007 @ 1:25PM
Matt P said...
I don't see how the Bucks can take any blame for this. Who the hell is Yi and his Chinese team to pick and choose where he goes? Sorry, but he got drafted there, this is coming off ridiculously spoiled and it really agitates me as an American sports fan. In the long run though, this might be better for Milwaukee, because I believe Yi will be a bust once he plays with the big boys, too spoiled.
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7-17-2007 @ 3:21PM
SHOTT3R said...
It will be interesting to see how Stern handles this. On the one hand he rules with an iron fist and to allow this would REALLY undermine the draft going forward. But on the other hand he is a complete money whore and will bend over backwards to please the world's largest market.
Why else do you think he doesn't care about ratings in the US? Top show in the US gets 30 million viewers per episode. If even 4% of just China is watching an NBA game that's 40 million pairs of eyes (and a LOT of TV rights/ad money). Stern knows the future of the NBA is international. Let's see how he handles this scenario to fit it into his global plan.
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7-17-2007 @ 5:57PM
B said...
Milwaukee won't let Yi get re-drafted next year, they'll trade his rights before that happens. The real question is will Yi cave in and play for them or will the Bucks trade him first. I think Yi will be happy to keep playing for team China until the Bucks trade him. One thing ironically working in his favour is that his trade value probably diminishes the longer he holds out.
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7-17-2007 @ 7:15PM
B. Reezy said...
First they fire terry porter,Then Hire the worst coach possible, fire him & Now u draft the one player who said that he would'nt play for u, even after he refused 2 work out for the team....I'm kinda lost on sympathy for the bucks. Although I dont think a drafted player should have such control...Hence the word "draft"...This seems to fall in line with the way things have been going 4 the Bucks.
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7-18-2007 @ 10:58PM
geosbush said...
The Chinese probably think that Milwaukee is just one big German Brewery
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