FanHouse

An NBA player's marketability is determined by a combination of their talent, location and personality. Talent, of course, usually wins out (see: James, LeBron and Cleveland, Ohio).

But in the case of Joe Alexander, location might somehow be more important. And only if he is drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, which seems to go against everything that should be right. No offense, Milwaukee. Darren Rovell explains.

Here's the deal. Alexander grew up in Taiwan and Beijing and speaks Mandarin. If he is on the same team with Yi Jianlian and plays at all, he'll instantly become popular in China, which could have more basketball fans than the U.S. population.

Alexander told me that he's well aware of the marketing opportunities that arise from playing with a Chinese player.

"Playing in Milwaukee would allows things I do on the court to resonate with the Chinese people," Alexander said.

I'm not sure what's more fascinating: that someone could make more money in Milwaukee or that Alexander is fluent in Mandarin.

Either way, Rovell's dead on. Look no further than the boost in popularity that Shane Battier and Tracy McGrady receive (particularly the former) simply by being teammates with Yao Ming. Seriously -- they consistently show up on All Star ballots, mainly because they have the entire Chinese demographic backing them.

Alexander would get similar love from Yi's fans which would be insanely magnified by his ability to speak the official language of China (Wiki tells me 836 million peeps use it; not too shabby a start for a fanbase). So don't be shocked when he triple fist pumps falling to the Bucks at eight.