Yi actually had a NBA ready body. Pic from his rookie year http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:YiJianlianworkout.jpg
Pretty decent game with 3 Rebs, 3 blocks in 11 minutes. He's more hyped up than Yi at same age. We'll see how hyped up leading up to draft when he declares within next 3 years.
Blake Griffin is a FREAK athlete. Please don't compare anybody else to Blake Griffin especially at this level. Dude was 250 lbs, strong as a bull, and had a 36 in vertical (32 no step). Derek Williams and Michale Beasley BOTH had a bigger wingspan AND standing reach than Blake Griffin. They were also drafted 2nd in the entire draft, so many people thought they had potential. The problem is that they're just not as athletic/strong as Griffin. "Almost" as athletic is just not good enough. Ben Simmons has an outside game. He's much more like Tracy McGrady/Lamar Odom than Blake Griffin. Why in the world would you want him to have Blake's game, when his game already resembles T-Macs? He'd have a much higher chance being a superstar as a tall SF than a PF. Tweeners RARELY are successful in the NBA. For any one example you give me, there are 10+ that flopped out. He's be able to overtake people as a SF. As a PF, he doesn't have ideal length.
Relax dude, it isn't that crucial. How about you call up Ben Simmons and offer him your sage advice. I'm certainly not going to pick apart your youtube-fueled diatribe
I'm pretty relaxed, bud. How about you respond with reasoning instead of being a smart ass? Yeah, try to "pick apart" what I wrote; that's what you're supposed to do on a forum. Lastly, we are fans (not scouts), therefore there will be lots of opinions, and of course Youtubing.
What's the point of drafting another Chinese player? They'll just destroy him during the offseason like they did Yao.
[Video] Zhou Qi - 2015 Nike Hoop Summit - Shooting Drills Zhou Qi - 2015 Nike Hoop Summit - Shooting Drills [YOUTUBE]78evAxjKkaM[/YOUTUBE]
He recently announced to enter 2016 draft. http://sports.163.com/16/0324/08/BITJ9LRC00052UUC.html#p=BHEAIUGL0ACR0005 This link lists his CBA awards in 2015-2016 season: Defensive player of the year All CBA second team On a side note, in very limited sample, his 3 point percentage is above 50% this season.
He just hired the same agent of Steph Curry. Current draft projection is low, so I expect he'll rise on the draft board. Or we may have a long shot chance with a second round pick. Today's CBA is way more competitive than when Yao played over there, and he's had stats on par if not better at the same age. Adding some muscle(not too much) would help, but his long term limitation is on the stamina side. His combination of length, mobility, shooting, IQ and work ethic indicates a mid flooring(rotation role player) and very high ceiling(star level) prospect. Depending on the match up, he can play 4/5 in today's small ball system.
He looks 200 lbs soaking wet. Need to add a ton of strength if he wants to even be able to compete in the nba.