My thoughts exactly. Yi and the Chinese officials publicly decalred that Yi didn't want to play in Milwaukee before he was even drafted. Yi didn't workout for the Bucks and said in advance that he wanted to play in a highly Asian populated city. It's the Bucks management's fault for drafting him when he didn't want to be there.
This is the NBA draft. Teams should be faulted when they don't select the best player. The Bucks thought Yi was the best player and they had every right to draft him. NBA rookies don't have the right to choose where they play; they are chosen by teams. Yi has to abide by the same rules that applied to the last 2,000 or so players that joined the NBA. If Yi doesn't agree with the NBA rules and how they apply to him, he can go back home. The Bucks own his rights indefinitely.
The draft means that you get selected by a team, and you have to play there. So Yi should be happy he was drafted and try to make the bucks a good team. Was it unwise of the Bucks to draft a player that doesn't want to play with them? Sure. But is is the Fault of Yi that he doesn't want to play there. so this situation is Yi's fault and nobody elses.
Well at least the Bucks have a big trade chip. They can go out and buy Darko which will essentially be the same thing as Yi.
We don't know yet if the pick was unwise for the Bucks. To be determined. I also don't fault Yi for not wanting to play in Milwaukee but he should suck it up and make the best of it like 99.9% of NBA draftees have done.
No maybe it was not unwise, but if Yi is refusing to play for them, then it would have been smarter to pick a more mature player IMHO. I agree that is not his fault that he doesn't Want to play for them. But he should play for them and not demand a trade, that is just stupid.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/07/05/yi.bucks/1.html Standing their ground Bucks insist they won't give in to Yi's desire for trade Posted: Thursday July 5, 2007 3:29PM; Updated: Thursday July 5, 2007 4:05PM Two years ago Bucks general manager Larry Harris got lucky in the NBA Draft when he landed the No. 1 pick despite having just a 6.3 percent chance after finishing with only the sixth-worst record. This year he's getting his karmic payback. Harris thought he was doing a great thing for his team last week when he selected Chinese prospect Yi Jianlian with the No. 6 pick in the draft. Yi is a considered a potential NBA star. The 6-foot-11 forward can score, rebound, pass and play facing the basket. Some have compared him to Dirk Nowitzki. Unfortunately for Harris, what should have been a happy occasion in Milwaukee has turned into a nightmare. Yi apparently doesn't want to play in Brew Town. Or at least his handlers --including notoriously tough agent Dan Fegan - don't want him there. They want Yi in a big market, one with a large Asian population. "[We] won't sit here and do nothing just because he was picked by Milwaukee," Zhao Gang, one of Yi's representatives, told the official China Daily newspaper Tuesday. "We are considering Yi's future at the Bucks and are looking at trade possibilities." Harris has no plans to comply. "We're not trading him," Harris told SI.com. "We like him and we think this is a great opportunity for him. He'll get a chance to play a lot of minutes right away for a good team. What more could [he] want?" Harris hoped to make that case in person Thursday afternoon when he was to meet with Yi at the Las Vegas Summer League. Yi is scheduled to play with his Chinese national team, while the Bucks are also fielding a team there. So far the Bucks haven't heard from Yi at all. They have tried to reach out to him, but his handlers have declined the invitation. Not even a personal letter from Bucks owner Herb Kohl -- who happens to be a U.S. senator -- has been enough to persuade Yi. Attempts to reach Fegan have not been successful, but it's safe to say he isn't budging. It has been widely reported that Golden State was at the top of Yi's list of potential trade partners. The Bay Area boasts a large Asian population, and the Warriors were said to have serious interest in the skilled big man. Golden State also has an attractive trade piece of its own in No. 8 pick Brandan Wright, a North Carolina freshman forward whom Milwaukee was said to be high on in the days leading up to the draft. But Golden State has yet to call Milwaukee, according to a source, and it is unclear now whether the Warriors' interest in Yi was real or overhyped. One telling indicator in the coming days will be if Golden State signs Wright to a contract. Once a player signs, he can't be traded for 60 days. That would seem to eliminate them from any deal. 1 of 2 Meanwhile, Harris is getting a lot of empathy from his colleagues. Not since Steve Francis forced his way out of Vancouver in 1999 has a high draft pick pulled such a stunt. Before that one might have to go back to Danny Ferry, who refused to play for the Clippers when they took him with the second pick in 1989. "It just doesn't happen in our league very often," Magic president and former longtime GM Pat Williams said. "I remember back in '92, Shaq didn't want to come here. From the time we won the lottery, his agent [Leonard Armato] made it clear he wanted to be in L.A. But we had to draft him. What else were we going to do?" Fortunately for Williams, Shaq eventually came around. Of course, he didn't have much choice. The way the NBA system is set up, a player who gets drafted must sit out an entire year and not play professionally anywhere else before he can reenter the draft pool. That's why Williams and most other NBA types believe Yi will probably be in a Bucks uniform next season. Or at least he'll be in some NBA team's uniform, depending on whether Milwaukee can get fair value back in a trade. No matter how much Yi's handlers might want him in a bigger market -- and one with a larger Asian population -- they really don't have any leverage. Some around the league, in fact, are applauding Harris for not being cowed by the demands of an agent, while acknowledging that he might have taken a bit of a risk. "I thought it was pretty bold," said former Magic GM John Gabriel, now a scout with the Blazers. "They must have really, really liked him." "They did the right thing," Williams added. "If he was really the guy they wanted, they should be applauded. They went with their gut and said, 'He's the guy and we'll teach him to like German food and bratwurst and 10-degree weather in January.' Yes, I would definitely respect them for what they did." For Harris, of course, it's not about garnering the respect of his colleagues. It's about doing what he felt was best for his team. And though he probably wouldn't say it publicly, he no doubt feels it would be bad for the NBA to have a player refuse to play for a small market. After all, what is the point of having a draft if players don't have to report to their new teams? What if Greg Oden refused to play in Portland? Or Kevin Durant in Seattle? "NBA marketing is not about [the size of the city]," Harris said. "It's a national sport. It's international. If you're a good player, that's the key. You will get [noticed]." Harris no doubt has support in that thinking from David Stern and many if not all of his colleagues. Now he just has to convince Yi and his handlers.
If dude is willing to sit out a whole year, not get his millions and waste a year of his talent then more power to him. Bassketball draft pick does not = slave. It would be different if he had a signed agreement then decided he didn't want to play or something.
Send him home to China if he refuses to play for the Bucks.I know I welcomed Francis coming to Houston but it wasn't right for the Grizzlies to suffer. The NBA should have a rule to prevent players from trying to force a trade.
Well I put 90% of my blame on Yi's American agent, only 10% on Yi himself. Yi is simply too naive to let his agent decide his fate, one word -- stupidity.
Yep, I chalked it up to immaturity. Even Yao suggested in the public that Yi should have his own views. Hint: don't let those agents and big companies control you.
When somebody aplies for the draft, they know they can get selected by any NBA team, that is the price you pay for trying to play at the highest level and making millions of dollars. If he can't handle that it is his problem. I totally agree with the bucks, if he doesn't want to play for them then he shouldn't play in the nba at all.
And a team knows that the player it drafted can opt to not play basketball for a year to get out of the draft obligations. I think Bucks should call Yi's bluff (because I don't think Yi will be willing to sit out 1 year) but on the other hand, I think the decision to draft Yi, especially when you already have Bogut and Villanova in the front court and you know he doesn't want to play in Millwaukee is not necessarily the best decision.
If he doesn't play basketbal for 1 year is he then liberated from the contract? I agree it might not have been the best pick of the bucks.
I think it might actually be 4 years (any other knowledgeable people please chime in) but I do believe there is a way for him to get out of it. In all honesty, he can just say "I'm going to be like Marc Jackson for the Warriros" and Bucks will start looking to move him. And for those of you new Rockets fans who don't know Marc Jackson, he was going to be our savior at the pivot during the Francis years. He was drafted by GS in the second round, played overseas for 3 seasons, went to the Warriors and had a break out rooking year. As a RFA the year after, he was expecting a major contract upgrade, the Warriors however dragged their feet in giving him a deal. He then signed with the Rockets for a pretty large contract and said publicaly that he doesn't want the Warrior to match it cuz of all the bad blood with Warriors not offering him a deal initially. After pissing him off, the Warriors thought they can still get him back and be mesh with the team. As you can see by the link below, his production tanked as he just stopped caring. Warriors end up trading him (smart) but this whole thing could've being ugly for them. On a side note, he's FA, maybe it's time he comes back to Houston. His numbers weren't bad when given time. Link
His chinese agent is the only one who has come out publicly with strong words. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/07/05/yi.bucks/ By Jonathan Feigen for ***************
