Haven't you seen any of the drafts lately? It is basically all about prospects. Besides Lebron, all high school players are prospects and 2 went in the top 5 this year. Whether they pan out or not, teams are taking the high risk-high reward method. That is everyone things he is a top 10 pick. Yi was projected as the #1 pick because of things he could do at such a young age. He still has 2 full years to develop his game. And both Yao and Del Harris have been raving about this kid.
Just a question: Is there anyway Yi can get into the NBA w/o the draft? Couldn't he just come over an sign as a FA to a team?
looking at nbadraft.net, ivan cheerio has dropped down to #29, so #12 for yi ain't too bad. seems like the best way to keep your stock up is to not play and shadup.
No. The only way he can become a FA is to go through the draft process but not get drafted. Or else everyone would be doing it, and the draft would be a farce.
Yao very much contributed to Yi's hype when he said Yi will be better than him. But he probably was a little disappointed in how Yi played in the Olympics. Del Harris loved him and started him, but later some veterans bolted and forced Harris to start another guy. Yi is on the championship team in China. The PF on the team is a starter on the national team, so that explains why he wasn't starting. This season he will start because the other guy will be moved to SF. IMO, Yi has a lot of potential, but it is too early to say how good he will be because it really depends how far he wants to take his career to. His hype has died down a bit, but he is at least a lock for the lottery. Look at his body here. He is totally different from Yao.
This sounds much more realistic than the original post. Not only does using Yao as a go-between make no sense, but CD would never ever say something so bold as that. He is always noncommittal with the press. That wouldn't change just because the journalist is Chinese. But, in this quoted text, it sounds like he said some nice things about Yi, probably because he was asked specifically about Yi. But no commitment, classic CD.
He's not proven against men, but he is against players his own age...other than the Nike Hoop Summit, Yi's has consistently dominated against international competition during the couple of years...plus he scored nearly 30 points against Croatia's Men's team in the Olympic preps...but what really has NBA scouts interested is his unique athleticism for his size...
Lottery pick or not, I really feel this kid can be a starter in the NBA if he chooses to. His size and athleticism alone almost gurantees that. Like all international players, he will be a good shooter. A 7 footer who can shoot and move like a small forward is enough to gurantee a starting job in the NBA in my opinion. Although it's way too early to predict whether he will turn into an all star, I feel drafting him is not that big a gamble. This kid can rebound, all he needs right now is toughness and he's guranteed a starting job somewhere in the NBA.
