<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Of his countryman, Yi Jianlian, the great Chinese philosopher Yao Ming recently said: "Now the good part starts . . . (but also) the tough part."</p> So Confucianism it's not, but let's see the revered thinker's moves when a 7-foot-6 center is backing him into the post. And anyway, Yao is a pretty insightful guy himself, doubly perceptive about China's second-most-famous basketball player.</p> It's good for Yi that his NBA career is a few weeks from liftoff, yet tough because no one knows better than Yao how difficult it is for a trailblazing Chinese player to become a force in the league.</p> It's also good for the Milwaukee Bucks that they finally have their first-round pick locked up following the obligatory posturing with assorted leeches, yet daunting because, after backslaps all around within the increasingly obsolescent walls of 1001 N. 4th Street, what if Yi can't play?</p> There have been draft flops before (see Bradley, Shawn) and potential duds milling about as we speak (see Noah, Joakim), but it's hard to imagine a franchise that has as much invested in a rookie who may or may not be old enough to buy his new city's signature product.</p> The general manager, Larry Harris, has essentially staked his job to Yi. If Yi does not succeed at the power-forward position that the Bucks have not adequately filled since Vin Baker was dispatched, they probably don't make the playoffs. No playoffs, no Harris.</p> The owner, Herb Kohl, is trying to regenerate interest in a bland product through what could be a stroke of marketing brilliance for a lean outfit that has never really understood how to sell itself. The potential of millions of Yi jersey sales in a developing economy and global attention for the Bucks is staggering.</p> Kudos, too, to the senator for going to China and closing the deal with a $500,000 check to the Guangdong Tigers' overlord and an alleged promise of minutes for Yi. A half-mil in the NBA is Michael Olowokandi's game, which is to say nothing, but guaranteed minutes for a rookie could create a Yao-size conflict.</p> What if the coach, Larry Krystkowiak, a former power forward himself, believes that Yi isn't quite ready for the NBA? Forget the Chinese government, which only wants Yi prepared for the 2008 Beijing Olympics through NBA competition (well, that, and a piece of his check), because Yi now belongs to the Bucks. But how does Larry K break that news to Harris and the senator without becoming the fourth ex-coach in five years?</div></p> Source: JSOnline</p> </p>
