<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>TORONTO -- If you're looking for that new job opportunity, being Danny Ainge's travel agent promises to be a most rewarding one.Ainge, who just returned from an extended trip through Europe, said yesterday he is headed to China next week to scout 7-foot Yi Jianlian, widely expected to enter the NBA draft. It will be Ainge's first trip to China and he will be seeing Yi for the second time, having seen him a few years ago at the Nike Summit in San Antonio. General manager Chris Wallace has seen Yi play this year.Because Yi is still under age (although no one seems to know if he's 19 or 21), Ainge is not allowed to speak about what could be the second Chinese-born player to be taken in the first round of the draft, after Yao Ming. But someone who bore a striking resemblance to Ainge said of Yi, "He's more of a four-man [power forward] who can shoot it, block shots. He's putting up some good numbers over there."Over there is Guangdong, where Yi plays for the Tigers. And that is one of the concerns about drafting Chinese players -- the level of competition. They are not allowed to play outside the country -- in Europe, for instance, where the competition is much better -- before they are deemed NBA-worthy. Yi is no stranger to basketball watchers, however. He was on the Chinese Olympic team in 2004, which was coached by Dallas Mavericks assistant Del Harris.Ainge said there was no one else he planned to scout on this trip and he thought he could still get a read on Yi even if the competition isn't the best."I remember seeing film of Kobe [ Bryant] in high school and that wasn't the best competition," Ainge said. "But there are always things you can evaluate."Comfort level Theo Ratliff is recovering comfortably after undergoing back surgery Tuesday. Ainge said the procedure was done in Phoenix and that Ratliff, as originally thought, will not be back this season. Ainge said Paul Pierce, who was with the team for last night's 96-90 loss to the Raptors, is not likely to begin running for another week to 10 days. "We're reexamining things every week or so and giving him a little more to do." Pierce has said he would like to get back on the practice floor in the first week of February . . . Gerald Green will find out Monday if the NBA deems him Dunk Contest-worthy (and if it doesn't, it will be a shame). Yesterday the league announced the Knicks' Nate Robinson, who bested Andre Iguodala in a dunk-off last year, will defend his title . . . Chris Bosh took the floor as the third-ever All-Star from the Raptors, joining Vince Carter and Antonio Davis. The latter was a commissioner's pick as a late addition for an injured Ratliff in 2001. When Doc Rivers ran into Bosh, he said, "Congratulations, Chris. Now I don't have to vote for you." . . . The Raptors wasted no time extending their NBA record for consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer and have had at least one hoop from international waters in 658 straight games. They made a season-high 13 last night . . . T.J. Ford (sore right ankle) did not play . . . Al Jefferson had his 19th double-double of the season . . . Kendrick Perkins had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 fouls in 21 minutes . . . For those hoping the Celtics tank it, be aware the Raptors came away with the No. 1 pick in last year's draft despite having only the fifth-worst record. Toronto didn't hurt its cause by losing 12 of its last 13.</div>http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/ce..._way_to_see_yi/I've heard a lot of good things about Jianlin, despite not seeing him play before aside from a youtube video or two. With the way this season is going though its looking more and more like we should be scouting Oden, Durant, Wright, etc, but you never know how many games we'll win once Pierce gets back, so I think this is a pretty good idea.
I don't know much about Yi at all, so I can't even say much about him. But even from those YouTube videos, you know that he does have good athleticism, shooting ability, and ballhandling skills for a 7 footer. We'll see how he turns out. If we get a top 3 pick, Yi won't be in the discussion anyway. Pierce won't run for another 10 days, eh? I'm glad they are taking their time completely with this, but you all know damn well that if we were a .500 team right now, Pierce would be on the court lol. And Gerald Green... if he doesn't get picked to be in the dunk contest,, that would be just absurd. I'm happy that we'll know by Monday though.
Exactly what the Celts need; a project who won't help for years down the road and might not pan out at all. The Celts need someone who can help right away or they should trade Pierce while he still has max value because he'd be wasted on a team filled with inexperience and projects.
Well, I think the only way that this guy gets picked is if if they somehow get a #7 pick or even worse. I mean, I dont think he is going to get picked all that high in the draft, and the way things are looking right now, the Celtics are going to for sure get a pick that is #5 or better. As for Paul, they should let him take some time to come back. They arent going to make the playoffs, so what is the rush?
f*cking eh' Ainge, if he drafts this kid I am going to be so pissed. Just what we need...another ZhiZhi wang
