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

no he didn't defect. he just didn't report back to the national team

 

I understand where Yi is coming from. Look at Wang Zhizhi, that guy's probably a decent player (good player) but never had a chance to play an effective game because of all the limited playing time he received. I think China just doesnt want the same thing to happen to Yi.

 

i don't think it's people representing the whole country of China. The Chinese govt could probably care less about the whole thing.

The Guangdong team is owned by a private individual. He has Yi under contract and he does not want to release his obligations to play for the Bucks.

 

OMG EXACTLY!

Why do so many people not get this? The NBA does not need Chinese players to survive. Sure, it would be better for business, but it does not need Asian players to survive. A majority of the Asian population I've talked to right now don't understand this. They believe the NBA should cave in to Yi's demand because the NBA would risk upsetting China and it's billions of fans. First of all, people in China would still watch the NBA without Yi or Yao or Wang Zhizhi, second of all, 99.9% of the players are not Chinese, the league is American, and its base source of business is American.

It's not rocket science and it's damn disgraceful how the people behind Yi including his sleazy American agent, is treating this.

 

Right. It had nothing to due with the fact that he couldn't rebound or play defense for a 7 footer.

 

Didn't steve francis pull the same thing? personally - i didn't blame the african-american community for that.

 

this is not setting a precendence. the precedence was set with francis, elway, eli manning...

 

this brought a tear to my eye !!

 

Lets see how Stern handles this. He is an absolute dictator when it comes to rules and this would screw up the draft for years to come with other International Players pulling the same stunt. On the other hand, Stern is a money w****. If even 4% of just China is watching an NBA game that's 40 million people and that's already more people watching a game than in the US. That's a lot of commercials and a lot of revenue. Which Stern is gonna show up? Sherrif Stern or Bend over and take me now Stern.

 

This is likely to set a precedent for all 7-footers. in the future, teams are going to be very wary of signing a 7-footer in the fear that they may defect.

 

Hmm, no wrong again. I don't recall a single player doing it (until Yi) since Francis was drafted in 1999. That is something like 5-600 straight players who did not do it.

 

Well aside from Basketball there was...

John Elway: The Hall-of-Fame quarterback's move from Stanford into NFL stardom was complicated by the Baltimore Colts, who selected him with the first overall pick in 1983. But Elway quickly decided he had the teeth of a Bronco instead of a Colt and used his ability to play minor-league baseball as trade leverage. Things seemed to work out for Elway and — after many years — for the Colts. These days, Elway only seems to be hated in Cleveland.


Eli Manning: When it appeared that the brother of the current Colts quarterback would go No. 1 overall to the San Diego Chargers, Team Manning put its foot down (presumably to start a receiver in motion and force a draft-and-trade situation). This led to Eli working in pressure-packed New York instead of laid-back San Diego, where the real pressure is on the guy making your fish taco. It should be noted that the Chargers are one of the NFL's most talented teams, while punctuality-obsessed Giants coach Tom Coughlin probably thinks Eli is two years behind the learning curve.


Bo Jackson: Bo knew the Tampa Bay Bucs weren't going to be very good until Tony Dungy arrived. This didn't prevent a lucrative — if brief — endorsement career.

Half of the MLB draft prospects who hire Scott Boras: The lead example is J.D. Drew, who — despite a plague of injuries — is a rich man. I'm sure they'd still boo him in Philly.

Stevie Francis: Despite offering little production in recent years, Stevie — who balked at working for the Vancouver Grizzlies — has been paid handsomely to not show up in Portland.

Kobe Bryant: The L.A. Laker is despised for a boatload of reasons, but how many people remain mad that Kobe agent Arn Tellem (buddy of then-Lakers GM Jerry West) scared away the New Jersey Nets and forced a trade by the Charlotte Hornets?

 

it also shouldnt be limited to drafted players, there have been players that refused to report or play for a team after being traded like jim jackson and gary payton. some players have even killed trade talks just by saying they didnt want to play there. and lets not forget how many nba players dont want play for team usa. to me, that is a bigger slight than a player saying he doesnt want to play for a city/team.

 

I think this problem will sort of solve itself. If the Yi situation deteriorates, I think NBA teams will think twice about drafting any Chinese players (with good cause!). While it MIGHT just be a problem with Yi - I do think this sort of pattern with certain Chinese players will continue. If it does, then future Chinese prospects will be the ones to suffer.

 

I'm not sure if Stern has to do anything. The Bucks will hold the rights to Yi for a whole year AFTER the termination of a foreign contract. That is, if Yi continues playing with Guangdong, then the Bucks will continue to hold his rights (i think). Not much Stern CAN do here. If Yi doesn't want to play for the Bucks, he'll have to sit out for a whole year (no pro ball at any level) and then re-enter the draft (where he will be damaged goods and most likely not drafted at all). I think that has always been the choice for any drafted player who doesn't want to play for the team who drafted him.

 

hire a chinese ninja to break vilunuevas legs then hell get planty of playing time

 

I'm sorry, if you can't crack the rotation on those Mavericks teams as a center (their weakest position), you probably wont be successful in the NBA. If you are a center and your only strength is a jumpshot, you probably wont be successful in the NBA. Wang Zhizhi is just not that good, he aint Yao.

 

Of course it is in the player's benefit. Why would they do that otherwise? I don't blame them for looking out for their own careers. Manning's dad Archie was a good QB stuck on the lowly Saints for his career. I can understand why he wanted his kid to avoid what he had gone through. (Ironically, his other son Peyton went to the franchise Elway shunned, and made it to the Superbowl champion.)

But Archie was no Peyton. If he were as good as his elder son, he might have been able to turn the Saints into some respectable team. What makes me lose respect for these player is that they demand a good situation so that they could thrive. I guess I am a believer of taking what life offers you and making your own good situation with your hard work and abilities, not with manipulation of other people.

If you are really that good, you can make a name for yourself no matter what team you play for.

 

I'd say that's more true in basketball and baseball than it is football.

Yes, Peyton's team was bad when he got there... but they made an investment in their offensive line, their RB, their WR's, and their offensive coach... and kept all those consistent for all of Peyton's development (IOW - they didn't mess around).

As far as the NBA, it works both ways... sometimes, players benefit from the increased early exposure in a bigger market (see Francis), and sometimes they benefit from going to a better team overall where they can take more time to develop (see Kobe).

 

I don't blame Yi, he is trying to look out for his best interest. I also do believe that Milwaukee was probably one of the worst places he could've end up as lottery pick. There is just too much competition for the 4 and 5 spots already. I was ecstatic when Francis came to us, so I'm not gonna be a hypocrite and crucify this kid. Just be glad Yao is he who he is and we got him.