http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=4/20/2006&Cat=6&Num=006 China's next Yao Ming says no to NBA draft BEIJING (Reuters) -- China's Yi Jianlian, linked with a move to the NBA, says he plans to stay with the national team rather than follow Yao Ming's path this year. The 2.1 meter forward for the Guangdong Tigers in China's premier basketball league believes he is not ready for the NBA and wants to concentrate on China, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday. "I see myself as a national team member," the Beijing News quoted Yi as saying. "After all, I haven't yet reached NBA standard." "As a young player, I must move forward gradually." Chen Haitao, a spokesman for the Guangdong Tigers, said that Yi's time would come. "It's a matter of time for (Yi) to enter the draft, but now is possibly not the right time. (Guangdong) won't block him participating in the draft." While Yi's club might not seek to quell his NBA aspirations, China's basketball officials have voiced concerns about the prospect of China's talent missing national team games while warming benches in NBA teams. "We have always supported those who leave the country to play overseas," Li Yuanwei, director of the China Basketball Association, was quoted as saying in the Beijing News. "But they are important talents in our national basketball team. We must guarantee their playing time... We want to protect our players from sitting on the bench after they get to the NBA," Li said. In contrast to Yao Ming's glittering career, the NBA experiences of Menk Bateer and Wang Zhizhi, the other two towers in China's NBA "Great Wall", were characterized by regular transfers and little game-time. Wang's NBA aspirations clashed with China duties, leading to his sacking after failing to join the national team during the Asian Games in 2002. Wang returned to China earlier this month after four years of official ostracism. While Wang is expected to bolster the national team in the future, China basketball was rocked last week when Yao Ming broke his foot in a Houston Rockets NBA game, casting doubt over his fitness for Tokyo's World Championships in September. But Yi's patriotism will warm the hearts of China's basketball officials. "This summer, there are big matches like the World Championships and the Asian Games which are very important to me and I don't want to miss these opportunities," Yi said.
It's like Noah going back to Florida (althought not on that level - Noah is almost definitely a top 3 type pick). Yi will improve by staying - mostly in confidence. Next year he should be able to dominate the whole year at that level. Then come over.
I don't know if he's a coward, but I agree with the CBA thing. The competition is just not good over there. It's hard for him to improve playing against that level of oppoenent and he should have looked to take the next step. If he's not ready for the NBA he could have tried Europe. Oh that stuff about the world championships is really weak too, coming to the NBA prohibits you from playing in the world championships?
Because you'll have to come to the States to workout for teams, that certainly will conflict with the CNT's preparation for the WCP. Remember Yao is also a product of the CBA. It is not really where you are from. It is how good you are.
Yeah I know Yao is a 'product' of the CBA. I know that he wasn't as good as Wang Zhi Zhi when he first started playing. I know that he improved his production each year. I know he left at the height of his CBA powers, because really he had nothing left to gain from playing against the inferior competition. That's where this kid is now, he put up 22 and 9 last year in the CBA. Personally I don't think he's ready for the NBA yet, but he shouldn't stay with the CBA either. Compare Yao's body from when he was a rookie to now, you see what strength training did for Yao. Yi could use the same type of training, but shouldn't be thrown into the fire into the toughest league in the world. What they should do is send him to Europe first and let him play against better competition instead of letting his progress grow stagnant in the CBA.
I agree lol. UCLA need a better replacement of hollins. and then yi can take some english classes in UCLA, maybe get a white chick?
He will develop much faster playing against NBA competition than playing in China. Look at Yao, it has taken him three years to really become a dominant center in the NBA (not that he wasn't a good player all along) and he was as dominant as could be in teh CBA. The sooner players comme to the NBA and take their lumps, the sooner they will swim (or sink) at the NBA level. There is little point in delay. The only one's who benefit from playersa waiting to come to the NBA are the team they are on now (who gets to keep them that much longer), and the team that eventually gets them (who gets a slightly more developed product during the time before they have to worry about losing the player in Free Agency).
Yeah, I think Yi should come to NBA too. He has nothing to lose but a lot to gain. He can make much more than he make in China, and he can find a professional personal trainer to improve his strength and stuff. Only playing less than 40 games a year in CBA and CNT? I don't think that's enough. I'm kind of worrying about this kid's personality. He has the skills, but still not aggressive enough. He seems a little meek, just like the younger Yao. Yao has the size. When he plays more, he can gain confidence from his play. But Yi could lose his confidence when competing with more athletic players and he's not tall enough to shoot at will.
Yes, but your development depends on your competition and coaching and playing time. Is another year in the CBA really best for him?
Anyone thinking maybe he was pressured into staying by the government and the Yao Ming-foot thing? I haven't read too much into this, but I could be completely wrong....
He gets plenty playing time over there, both in the CBA or the CNT. He will be playing against the Dream Team this summer, against the likes of Bosh, Brand, Howard. And he will play against the best players in the world this summer in the WCP. He may not get much playing time if he enters the draft now.
When did Yao ever miss a WBC or Olympics since he joined the NBA? Yi will still be playing in WBC and Olympics even if he is playing in the NBA, like Yao did. Yes he will get plenty of playing time playing in CBA, but the level of competition and the coaching there is really bad, he has already won 3 championships there, what kind of motivation for improvement will he still have playing for another year there? Can the coaches (except for the CNT coach) there really help him to improve his overall skills? Do they have a complete strength training program there to help him improve his strength? I doubt so... Some may say that he still can't understand too much English which may limit his communication with the players and coaches in US, but didn't they start preparing for this since few years ago which they knew that he would be playing in NBA some day? If he still didn't take up any English courses to improve his English during the past few years he's really dumb... And this is a pretty lame excuse for not entering the draft this year... One more thing, I do feel that he's born in 1985 instead of 1987, remember Wang Zhizhi? Everybody thought that he was born in 1979 which he actually was born in 1977... In my opinion this age-changing thing is really holding the Chinese basketball back, just imagine when you can have younger players to train in those World Junior Championships or Asian Junior Championships (U18), instead of you are having your 19 or 20-year old in those games... Your players grew up slower than players from other countries...
maybe he just isn't good enough yet. the noah comparison isn't fair, the chinese comp is nowhere near the level of ncaa ball. yao was already an established player in the chinese national team when he was drafted and had proven himself somewhat against nba players in the 2000 olympics.
i'm not exactly sure if this has been posted yet, but here's a recent espn insider chad ford blog. NBA Insider...April 25:Stop Vince, Next Yao, Rumor Central, Intel Report, Stein chat CHAD FORD Blog 'Next Yao' ready for draft? Only one international player, Italy's Andrea Bargnani, has really gotten GMs excited this year. Until now. On Monday, Yao Ming's agent, Bill Duffy, told me that he believed that Yi Jianlian, widely considered the second-best Chinese basketball player in the world (ranked behind only Yao), was declaring for the NBA draft this week. The news comes as a bit of surprise to NBA executives, for a couple of reasons. One, China had recently said that they weren't allowing their players to enter the draft until the age of 22. Because Yi is listed as 18 years old by the Chinese national team (though some believe he was actually born in 1984 and is currently 21, not 18) , scouts thought he was years away from making the jump to the NBA. Two, after word leaked in China last week that Yi had been cleared to enter the draft by his team, Guangdong Hongyuan, Yi told the Shenzhen Evening News that he wasn't entering the draft. According to the report, Yi said that he was not yet up to the level of Yao and wasn't not good enough to compete in the NBA. However, Duffy, who will represent Yi in the NBA, said, "I believe he'll enter his name in the draft. It just remains to be seen whether he'll stay in the draft. We're looking for the right situation for Yi. He needs to go to a team that will develop him." On Monday, I talked to four NBA GMs, as well as several international scouts who know him well, to get their take on Yi. All say he's an elite talent. Yi stands a legit 7 feet tall, has long arms and is very athletic. "He's not anything like Yao," one international scout said. "He's a face-the-basket type combo forward who can do just about everything. He's very, very skilled. When you combine that with his size, quickness and athletic ability, you have a pretty exciting prospect." Duffy compared Yi to a young Toni Kukoc and scouts didn't disagree. While every scout said he needs to get stronger, especially in the upper body, and toughen up his inside game, the real concern is his lack of experience playing against good competition. While his performance in the 2004 Olympics was good, it's one of the few times he's played against NBA talent. Despite the concerns, it's clear that many of the executives and scouts we talked to are drooling at the talent. "He's got star potential," one NBA team executive said. "You look at the reaction that Yao Ming had. Now combine that with a player who has an exciting game. He's going to sell tickets. People will love him. And at the end of the day, I'm not sure he won't be a better player than Yao." Where will he go in the draft? That's tricky. Whoever drafts him is going to have to negotiate a buyout with the Chinese Basketball Association. The Houston Rockets will be the first to attest that it won't be easy. That will surely scare some teams away who are afraid that they could draft him and not actually see him in the NBA for years. Because of the sensitive nature of Yi's buyout situation with the Chinese Basketball Association, and because Yi is seeking the right opportunity, Duffy believes that it's more likely that Yi probably won't be a lottery pick and could possibly even slip to the second round. That doesn't faze Duffy, who says, "He needs to go to the right team. I don't care about draft position with a player like Yi. I want him playing in the right environment."
