I think Yi will almost certainly be drafted by Boston at the #5 pick. The reasons are many including it being the highest Yi 'approved' city, a vibrant large metropolis, large asian population, so his ability to tap into that market as well as China's, and of course the most obvious-- Danny Ainge doing the old Jerry West, downplaying interest as to make Atlanta and Memphis pass on him. Atlanta will draft Conley, Memphis will go with Horford to team up with Gasol. I just don't see it turning out any other way without trades....
I totally agree. Espceially since the sox have got dicek and the japanese market, i think they realized more so than most other cities the potential that the chinese market can bring. Plus, I'm in Toronto, and Boston is the closest city to me that has a chance to get Yi. Do I smell ROADTRIP?? hahah
The Chinese Market thing is just an added bonus, and is irrelevant unless you think the kid can perform. Rockets cashed in on Yao, but I'll bet the Nuggets, Spurs, Raptors, Mavs, Heat, Clips didn't get much out fo Wang and Bateer. Similarly, there are Nomo, Ichiro, Hideki Matsui on one hand, and there are Hideki Irabu and Kazuo Matsui... Bottom line is you have to think the player is good.
Which is exactly what we think of Yi, that he is a good player and that he can perform. I'm not sure why people would even compare him to Bateer, or even Wang. Yi is the first chinese player that is strikingly similar to most of the north american college players going into the draft. So there should be more reason to expect him to be successful than even when Yao came into the league, and hence more reason to believe that he will bring the reqards of the Chinese market. Yi is huge in China already, so there is not reason that he wont bring alot of that with him. If anything, boston should focus on making sure he gets playing time and develops. As for the Japanese, you can hardly compare China with them. Japan has so many more players in the MLB than China. Even if Yi doesn't succeed as well as expected (which I doubt), he will be the only other Chinese player in the NBA (assuming no others get drafted), is already VERY popular in China, so there is absolutely no reason he wont bring over the chinese market to whatever city he gets drafted in.
I have seen quite a few reports about Boston is going to trade the pick + expiring contract to Suns for Shawn Marion. If that is the case, I don't see Sun draft Yi, they will want a guy like Corey Brewer to replace the void left by Marion...
Kind of off the topic, but a good friend of mine from China that I use to work with at Enron International was named Lian Ji... Top 5 pick..the bball guy, not my friend...
Suns are that desperate to get under the cap? I don't get it. They have a full house almsot every game!
sorry for double posting, but i have a question that i must ask. Does the franchise get money from overseas jersey sales or tv money? I thought the team only gets money for what it sells in the arena and also local tv. Any other revenue is split up between the 30 teams. So having Yi and the chinese market would only mean the chinese people in your town would have more of a reason to go to the games.
That reminds me of the MLS (Major League Soccer) and Eddie Johnson incident. There was an European Club which offered 5 millions to buy Eddie Johnson last year. But the MLS refused to let Johnson go because they thought he was worth more than that price at that time. Eventually the deal broke down and Johnson had to stay home. I see some similarities between what happened to Johnson and what is happening to Yi now, except Yi is the more lucky one who can fulfill his dream to move on to the big stage. By the way, just in case anyone here has no idea who Eddie Johnson is, that young man is an up and coming striker in the MLS, even though he has somewhat regressed this season.
Well, why don't ask Les this question then, Rockets value ranks fifth among all NBA teams, it does not look like he is willing to pay a dime more than the cap!!! That cheap...
I thought Eddie Johnson was a 100 meter dasher or an actor something. I guess it is a very common name
So if you're Dan Fegan, to maximize the returns for your client and yourself, which team you'll try to get Yi Jianlian drafted?? Chicago Bulls Phoenix Suns Golden Gates Warriors Boston Celtics Atlanta Hawks
This is a very negative comment in my eye. Could be a big knock on him coming to the draft time. From the games I have seen Yi played in the national team so far, he's had Stromile symptom, disappearing in the game from time to time. Now, it could be that he was young and not the focus of the offense, but still you dont say that about many young players. Yao at 2000 olympics was much more forceful than Yi at this stage.
Not to dispute your point here. But you mis-read Del Harris's comments. "he has the focus and work ethic that he’ll need to consistently develop over time". -- His main point is "he has the focus and work ethic".
