[ESPN] Guangdong Tigers to block Yi from playing for Bucks

The Bucks actually have lots of leverage, Yi can either sit out an entire year or play for them.

 

yuantian and yetti, the NBA is an American basketball league and if players from China or anyone else want to play in the NBA, they must adapt to the way things are. Your viewpoints are valid and understood but that just isn't the way things are done here. IMO, the NBA would be better off without Yi instead of losing it's integrity and messing up the draft to account for player mood swings. The draft is the draft is the draft and if Stern doesn't hold firm, the NBA could alienate a huge chunk of it's domestic audience if it goes out of it's way to accomodate a player few people here had even heard of until a couple of months ago.

Specifically to Yetti, the "standards have been set" by the thousands of NBA players who played for the teams who drafted them, not by 2 or 3 exceptions.

 

Seems your trying to blame the NBA for trying create the best league in the world. Let me rephrase that, your trying to blame the NBA for trying to maintain a higher talent level so the fans get a better product. Nothing wrong with that.

 

i officially really, really do not like yi. i hope, as others have said, that if he continues to refuse to play for the bucks that they do not trade him. i dont want him in the league if he--or his handlers--are gonna continue crying about it. he isnt a superstar. hes an unproven and raw rookie. yi knew the rules when he entered the draft. suck it up.

 

Yi could sit out and get drafted by another small market team that had a bad season every year.

he could sit out for like 10 years.

Charlotte,
New Orleans,
Memphis,
Orlando
etc

Rush Hour 8 would be taking place in Milwaukee. "Do u understand the words coming out of my mouth??"
"Fool, get that cheese out of your mouth first!"

 

what if he gets drafted by milwaukee again lol that would be funny

if milwaukee drafts a player dont they hold their rights? ie. Spurs and Scola?

 

It's my understanding that once you have been through the draft, you can't go through it again. Surely the rules aren't different for international players.

Randolph Morris went through the draft in 2005, since he was not drafted and didn't hire an agent he was allowed to go back to UK for the next two years. But from the end of the draft on he was a free agent.

According to the rules he wasn't allowed to go through the draft again.

Am I wrong?

 

Hayesfan, I think that rule only applies for undrafted players. They automatically become free agents. The same principle does not work for players that do get drafted.

 

This is from the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

 

This would not apply to Yi because the Bucks have not made a formal contract offer to him, correct?

 

so how does that work with a prior contract? The Guangdong Tigers already have a contract with Yi correct?

 

Just my 2 cents. I think the NBA or Stern should not do anything to interfere with this, as that will be messing up with the draft system. Stern is not supposed to be involved in these situations. Just let the Bucks and the Yi team play their game and see who give up first, or both sides are determined to make it a lose-lose situation.

As for the Bucks, they had all the warning in the world that Yi's team does not want him to be drafted by them, but they still looked at the huge Chinese market and draft him. It is sooo obviously a marketing decision rather than a bball decision. You don't draft someone who has always been a huge question mark that you haven't actually seen playing against a chair. If they were to trade the pick, as jmwilliamson said, who knows what they would've got from Golden state. They played it the hard way, and now they are stuck in this whole mess. They either trade Yi with every other team knowing that they are forced to do so, or they stick to it till the end to see if the Yi team are really willing to let Yi sit at home for a year. They were looking at the money, and now they are risking getting almost nothing or absolutely nothing from a 6th pick in one of the deepest draft.

But in my opinion Bucks currently has the upper hand in this total mess. Yi's Chinese team just wants to suck as much $$$ as possible. It's not necessarily their fault. Who knows when they will come up with another milk cow worth as much as Yi? They did everything they can to manipulate with the draft, and they must be really pissed by the Bucks screwing them up. The only thing that they can try to do is to make it look like they would rather let Yi play at home and try to sell it to the Bucks, so that they will trade away Yi. But I doubt that will ever happen. Even if Yi plays with the Bucks, they are still going to get a huge amount of money. Probably not Golden State types of money, but still way more than CBA league money. Also the CBA might interfere if things have gotten real bad. The only thing that they want is to let Yi improve as a player so that they might have a shot at a medal in 2008 Olympics. That's probably way more important than anything else for them. The last thing they want is to let Yi sit at home for 1 year or play in the CBA where he would learn absolutely nothing. Besides, it's pretty obvious that the chance of Yi getting playing time at bucks is about as good as any other teams in the NBA. At some point, they might just tell the Guangdong tigers to suck it up and live with whatever money they can get.

Anyway, it seems like a lose-lose situation up till now. The worst case is both side plays it hard, and Yi end up sitting at home. Yi's team does not get a penny, and the Bucks wasted a lottery pick in one of the deepest draft. Even in the best case scenario, Bucks got what they want, a player named Yi that will be labeled as a whine boy for years to come and won't be on their team in 4 years. His marketability would definitely take a huge hit, and not too many people will proudly wear a Bucks jersey with his number. If he succeeds, he would sign with somewhere else after his rookie contract. If he busted, he will disappear in a few years. And then all that the Bucks got would be a tshirt saying "I took on the Chinese government and won".

 

All I can say this Yi guy sucks. I went to Sina.com to see Chinese people view about him, 90% people think he sucks as a person.

 

ya know it's about saving face now. Yi should go play for the Bucks. The Bucks need to make a deal with the Tigers to trade Yi after the season starts or have a deal set with the Golden State Warriors with Stern's blessings. Nobody needs to know about it. Just make it happen.

 

Here's a new rumor. Found it on the net. Yi could get traded to the Sacremento Kings. http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007898136


Kings Might Be An Option For Yi Jianlian

July 13, 2007 10:04 a.m. EST


Matthew Smith - AHN Sports Reporter
Las Vegas, NV (AHN) - Yi to Sacramento?

While it's not known whether the Sacramento Kings have been in trade talks with Milwaukee Bucks, Yi Jianlian has reportedly expressed interest in playing out west.

Yi, who was drafted No. 6 overall by the Bucks in June, doesn't want to play in Wisconsin, where the Asian population is scarce. With the Milwaukee's focus on former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva in their front court, Yi also fears that he wouldn't develop as quickly with the team. The Bucks knew that before the draft, but decided to take him anyway, perhaps hoping the 7-footer would change his mind.

Not so.

The Kings have two big-men forwards of their own in Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas, but both are getting up in age and appear not to be a part of the team's long-term plans.

Yi, meanwhile, would seem to fit in nicely with the Kings and in Sacramento. The city is warm-weathered and the population is diverse while new coach Reggie Theus is implementing a style of basketball that would appeal to Yi, who makes good use of his superb mobility.

As of now, the Yi-to-Kings talks are merely hearsay. It's hard to imagine what the Kings could give up to acquire Yi and Milwaukee general manager Larry Harris has said he is not looking to trade his coveted investment.

Yi is averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks with his Chinese National team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

 

Article from Sports Illustrated where they are saying this move by his Chinese handlers could cost him his career. Personally I believe this is a very bad move by Yi's club and the Chinese Gov't. Terrible for his career and his fans.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_mannix/07/17/yi/

Blurred vision
Effort to steer Yi from Milwaukee could cost his career
Posted: Tuesday July 17, 2007 4:26PM; Updated: Tuesday July 17, 2007 4:26PM


Should Yi Jianlian's Chinese team follow through with its plan to block Yi from playing in Milwaukee, there is no telling how far back that decision might set Yi's career.

Irresponsible. That was the word chosen by Guangdong Tigers chief Chen Haitao when describing how the Chinese Basketball Association would feel if they allowed 19-year-old Yi Jianlian to play next season for the Milwaukee Bucks. Seems Milwaukee, with all their young talent in the frontcourt, would pose too much of a challenge for Yi to play significant minutes next season.

Forgive me while I try to contain my laughter.

You want irresponsible? How about forcing a developing player to sit out an entire season just so the Chinese hoops association feels better about the market that he lands in? That's what Yi would have to do if the Tigers carry through with their plan to block Yi from playing with the Bucks.

According to an NBA spokesman, if Yi decides he wants to re-enter the NBA draft next season he would have to sit out the entire 2007-08 season. I'm not just talking about the NBA season. Yi couldn't play anywhere, not in the States, not in Europe and certainly not in the CBA. If he does, Yi would continue to remain the property of the Bucks.

And how exactly would sitting out a season help Yi? How would that help the Chinese national team, which is hoping to make a big splash in the '08 Beijing Olympics, improve? Instead of a getting a bigger, stronger, more skilled Yi next summer, the team would have a rusty player whose growth has been stunted by his own government's short-sightedness.

Truth be told, the idea that Yi is ready to step in and contribute right away is ludicrous. For every LeBron James (20.9 points in 39.5 minutes as a rookie) there is a Jermaine O'Neal (4.1 in 10.2) to match. The learning curve for some rookies is practically a 90 degree angle, and the fact that Yi has faced very little American competition means his will be enormous.
Yao Ming was the first overall pick in '02 and unquestionably is the most-talented player to come out of China -- and he averaged 13.5 points as a rookie.

What makes anyone think Yi can do any better?

He can't, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Exactly what is so bad about Yi having to earn his playing time? O'Neal was talented but raw, which is a pretty accurate description of Yi, who has had some phenomenal workouts against steel chairs. But four years of development (both physically and emotionally) in Portland later, and O'Neal was ready to become a five-time All-Star in Indiana. A little time learning the playbook and the NBA style of play couldn't hurt. And even if Yi had landed in Atlanta, there are no guarantees he would step in an contribute right away. In fact, it is more likely he would have struggled and eroded his confidence to the point where he might not be able to recover.

The road to starting isn't much tougher in Milwaukee. Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva aren't exactly Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. If Yi proves he is half the player the Chinese government believes he is, Bucks coach Larry Krystowiak would be foolish to sit him on the bench.

If the CBA wants to pull Yi back to China and make him sit out the season just so he can land in a city like Memphis or Minnesota, fine. The NBA, which cherishes its profitable relationship with China, will be upset but it shouldn't feel beholdened to a government and a country that, to date, has produced exactly one viable player. It sets a bad precedent. If commissioner David Stern intervenes and forces Milwaukee's hand, what's to stop China from hand-picking cities for all their players? Yao has decided to take up surfing -- let's get him to Los Angeles. Sun Yue is terrific snowboarder. How about developing him in Denver or Utah?

If the CBA wants to sink their own ship, let them. Their quality of basketball is decades behind Europe and even further behind the U.S. The only hope for the development of their precious national team is to export their players to markets that will make them better. Holding them back will only serve to make them worse.

 

Thats a good question.If a player has a contract from another team that is not in the NBA that has to be bought out I dont see why they couldnt just wait till they are ready to buy it out or the contract expires.Didnt the Spurs hold on to Scola's rights for 5 years?

 

hm... i am actually a bucks fan, and i live in wisconsin for the past 12 years. i was excited when the bucks picked him. but at the same time, i thought they were really dumb. i was hoping they would trade him a LONG time ago, when his stock was really high. but i guess their greed for chinese market got the best of them. i don't blame them for trying, i don't blame either side. but at this point, the result sucks big time for both sides. this is business at the worst. you can't see anything worse than this for a while. i'm "standing up" for yi, because too many people are bashing him. and i think it's not fair for him or CBA. people over there, don't really understand how things work here. and people here don't really understand the mentality there. so who is the bridge between the two sides? Dan Fagen, or whatever his name is. He should been trying to work with both CBA and NBA.

 

They set new standards by breaking what was considered established standards for the NBA. Once a rule is broken it sets up the possibility that others would try to go by this new way.

 

It is probably his team the Guangdong Tigers, not the CBA or the Chinese Gov't, that is acting behind all these. It is so stereotyped to blame everything on the Chinese Government.

The highest priority for the CBA is a medal in 2008. IIRC they even changed their league schedule to make room for national team training. The last thing they would want is to let Yi rot at home.