<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Sun Yue, affectionately known as the "Chinese Magic Johnson," does not come to the NBA with the same hype as Johnson -- at least not Stateside. There is no NCAA championship on Sun's r?sum?, and his personality will never be compared to the charismatic Johnson's. In fact, in many ways Sun is more Tony Parker than Johnson, as his girlfriend is one of China's top models. But whenever you have a point guard who looks like a power forward, the comparisons to Johnson are inevitable. Just ask Penny Hardaway. "I have a different style [than Johnson],'' Sun said. "Yes, I'm like him because I pass more than score. Maybe I play kind of like him, but he was a superstar.'' What the 22-year-old Sun does bring is a pretty impressive skill set. Sun, along with countryman Yi Jianlian, is part of a new generation of Chinese basketball players, a flashy ball handler and aggressive dunker who at 6-9 towers over opponents at the point-guard position much the same way Johnson did two decades ago. Sun averaged 10.5 assists last season for the Beijing Aoshen Olympians, a Chinese professional team that jumped to the American Basketball Association in midseason. He showcased a nice perimeter jump shot and a fluid left-handed stroke that had scouts intrigued at the possibility of a Chinese NBA player who didn't play one of the power positions. His overall performance -- he averaged 13.5 points and was named to the All-ABA first team -- coupled with a solid showing at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando put Sun on the radar as teams frantically searched for playmakers in a relatively weak draft for point guards. "We looked hard at him," an Eastern Conference scout said of Sun, who is hoping to follow Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer as Chinese players to make the NBA. "It was split down the middle, but a lot of our guys were very high on him." Certainly the Lakers were. In selecting Sun with the 10th pick in the second round (40th overall), Los Angeles passed on more accomplished college point guards like Marist's Jared Jordan and Florida's Taurean Green. The Lakers also selected Sun after using their first-round pick on Georgia Tech point guard Javaris Crittenton. While the Lakers like Sun's versatility -- he can defend four positions -- it's possible that he could be asked to remain with the Chinese team for another season. "We feel [Sun] is a prospect," Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said. "He could come with us early or perhaps play overseas." Others feel Sun needs more seasoning before he makes the leap to the world's elite basketball league. "If you ask me which skill Sun needs to improve in terms of playing in the NBA," Chinese national team coach Jonas Kazlauskas said recently, "I'd tell you he needs an all-around improvement, because he is not strong enough to join the games there." The world won't have to wait long to find out. Sun was scheduled to participate with Yi and the rest of the national team in two exhibition games this week and will likely head to Las Vegas to play for the Lakers' summer-league team later this month. An impressive performance against a group of young prospects and NBA vagabonds would go a long way toward earning an invitation to Lakers' training camp in the fall. "I used to dream about playing on the Lakers," Sun said. "They are very young and talented. I think the team fits me well." </div> Link This is a very interesting article and I suggest you all read it. It really gives you a better understanding of what type of person Sun Yue is, and what type of player he can become. After reading the article, I'm quite optimistic about Yue's future. The guy is a 6'9 player that can run the point guard position, and has drawn comparisons to Magic Johnson. Now obviously I don't expect him to become the next Magic Johnson, that would be crazy, but if he could become 1/5 of the player Magic was, I'd be extremely pleased. I will be rooting for the guy, and I hope we will see him put on a Lakers uniform soon
You can count me in too. I've said it in another thread, and I'll say it here. I'm giving Yue the benefit of the doubt, and his first summer league game wasn't a disappointment.
I like his passing part of his game but I'm hoping he develops his scoring ability as well. We need somebody who can knock down the open shot and become another worry for the opposing team when we are attacking. We need somebody who can divert the attention away from Kobe. I have faith in his ability to help Bynum and some of our big men by giving the ball to them though, so by helping the big guys develop more, he may not actually need the ability to score high numbers.
instead of leaving him overseas, we should make use of our D-league team and let him play a year out down there. It might not be NBA level competition - but neither is overseas, but it will get him acclimated with the physicalness of American style basketball
<div class="quote_poster">notMuchgame Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">instead of leaving him overseas, we should make use of our D-league team and let him play a year out down there. It might not be NBA level competition - but neither is overseas, but it will get him acclimated with the physicalness of American style basketball</div> Well he's been playing in the ABA for the past two years, so he's already pretty familiar with the American culture and physical style of basketball. The NBDL is more organized than the ABA though, but Sun would have to take up a roster spot.
