<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">i Jianlian's Chinese agent says he's talking to other teams about a possible trade away from Milwaukee. Yi, the Bucks' top pick, has refused to talk about the prospect of playing for Milwaukee after he was picked sixth overall in last week's NBA draft. However, Yi's agent Zhao Gang was quoted as telling the official China Daily newspaper that he was already in contact with other franchises that have expressed an interest in the 19-year-old power forward. "His representatives and I won't sit here and do nothing just because he was picked by Milwaukee," Zhao was quoted as saying. "We are considering Yi's future at the Bucks and are looking at trade possibilities," Zhao said.</div> http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/bask...tml?eref=si_nba If this is true, then I don't think I'll ever be able to root for him. If there's one thing that pisses me off about the NBA it's the way the players get to dictate wherever they are going. What makes it worse is the fact he's a rookie. We're talking about a rookie - not a veteran like Kobe or Iverson, but a rookie. Yi needs to man up and play for the team that drafted him. It's not fair for the Bucks who drafted Yi to keep him.
It sounds like its more his Agent that isnt happy than Yi, although that said, Yi looked VERY pissed off when he was drafted.
He didn't look pissed off, IMO. I thought he was just confused/surprised. He didn't remind me at all of players who were drafted by teams they didn't want to go to (eg: Steve Francis, Eli Manning, Eric Lindros). Honestly, I think all of this is just the doing of his agent and the officials that have managed the draft process. He's yet to say that he doesn't want to play in Milwaukee.
I think the agent just wants Yi to be in an environment where Yi can be comfortable. Yi is from China and can only speak limited English, so throwing him in a predominantly English speaking environment will be tough on him. They want to find a place where there are more Chinese people to help him merge into the American culture. Thats IMO though, could be totally off.
^It doesn't matter though. That's the risk you take when entering the NBA draft. If another team drafted him, there's a possibility he could be traded to a team that doesn't have a large Asian population. I hope it is just his agent though. I've always hated when players demand trades after being drafted.
<div class="quote_poster">DIRK4L1FE Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think the agent just wants Yi to be in an environment where Yi can be comfortable. Yi is from China and can only speak limited English, so throwing him in a predominantly English speaking environment will be tough on him. They want to find a place where there are more Chinese people to help him merge into the American culture. Thats IMO though, could be totally off.</div> Yi is almost pretty fluent in English, if I'm not mistaken. He's been taking english classes and been getting around on his own without a translator. I don't think him playing a Non-Chinese culture where he can play a lot better is the case though, where I think it's the money and marketing that piles in if he plays in a town like San Francisco or in New York. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">^It doesn't matter though. That's the risk you take when entering the NBA draft. If another team drafted him, there's a possibility he could be traded to a team that doesn't have a large Asian population.</div> That's why Yi's agents limited teams to watch Yi workout, instead only wanted the teams like Boston or Minnesota to take a look at him because that's where they wanted Yi to end up. To them, if he was the number 1 chosen by the Bucks, they'd probably still end up requesting a trade because they know that's not the team they don't want to be situated with.
I don't see anything wrong with a player trying to dictate where they go where they live where they play. Our teams always dictate players lives trading them around like they are products and not people. All Yi's agent is basically doing is as long as he is a product of the NBA I am going to get the most i can for him instead of letting him go to an unmarketable enviroment. Saying so I am dissapointed its happening to one of my favourite teams.
<div class="quote_poster">tinyballer Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I don't see anything wrong with a player trying to dictate where they go where they live where they play. Our teams always dictate players lives trading them around like they are products and not people. All Yi's agent is basically doing is as long as he is a product of the NBA I am going to get the most i can for him instead of letting him go to an unmarketable enviroment. Saying so I am dissapointed its happening to one of my favourite teams.</div> The NBA is a business. Players are getting paid millions of dollars to play this game and getting traded is just a part of it. It's hard for me to feel sorry for a player getting a guaranteed $2 million to travel the country and play basketball.
Yes the NBA is a business so the products aka players the thing that make the money in the first place would get a say in where he makes the money.
From what I've seen, I think it is purely Yi's agent. I think his look at draft night was of confusion because I'm sure that his agent probably told him that he was going to get drafted by a big city or something. The agent is probably doing this for the money as well.
Players should not be able to dictate where they play when they are drafted. Rules should be in place for such displays of total selfishness, I would not mind a 2 season suspension for anyone who tries it (in any sport). And if China want to interfere, the NBA should not let any Chinese players in the league.
<div class="quote_poster">I-Miss-MJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Players should not be able to dictate where they play when they are drafted. Rules should be in place for such displays of total selfishness, I would not mind a 2 season suspension for anyone who tries it (in any sport). And if China want to interfere, the NBA should not let any Chinese players in the league.</div> Agreed. One particular player should not be be allowed to dictate any draft (we see it in baseball all the time). The NBA can't possibly be content with the way that Yi is approaching this. Milwaukee has a small basketball market, and if the NBA wants to continue to expand they need these organizations to be able to build through the draft. Free agents already aren't crazy about going there, and for lack of a better term, it's horrible that the league can't even get players that are drafted to go there. We saw Steve Francis take down the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1999, and the NBA really needs to do something about this issue and fast. Yi is quickly becoming one of my least favorite players in the league, that's for sure.
Chinese players should not be allowed in the league if China try to dictate what team they play for...that's possibly one of the most stupid things I've ever heard.
Would this proposed ban on chinese players extend to american players of chinese descent? You can't restrict players based on their nationality. American players have done this sort of thing before, like Kobe with Charlotte, or Eli Manning and the San Diego Chargers. Yi being Chinese isn't the major issue, it's that he's supposed to be really good. I don't know that Wang Zhi Zhi is dictating his career moves at this point.
It was obvious that Yi didn't want to go to Milwaukee.I think he wants to go to a big name city maybe Phili but Milwaukee got themselves a good trade piece to get good players.
<div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/bask...tml?eref=si_nba If this is true, then I don't think I'll ever be able to root for him. If there's one thing that pisses me off about the NBA it's the way the players get to dictate wherever they are going. What makes it worse is the fact he's a rookie. We're talking about a rookie - not a veteran like Kobe or Iverson, but a rookie. Yi needs to man up and play for the team that drafted him. It's not fair for the Bucks who drafted Yi to keep him.</div> Don't let the decisions of his agents (who are probably acting more on China's behalf than Yi's) influence your view of him. Remember, Yi is not only representing himself in the NBA like American NBA players, he represents a country of 1.3 billion. Being Chinese, I can tell you that national pride is VERY important, and it is NOT Yi's place to go against the gov't. So please, until we know more, refrain from making unnecessary denunciations.
<div class="quote_poster">Montaman Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Would this proposed ban on chinese players extend to american players of chinese descent? You can't restrict players based on their nationality. American players have done this sort of thing before, like Kobe with Charlotte, or Eli Manning and the San Diego Chargers. Yi being Chinese isn't the major issue, it's that he's supposed to be really good. I don't know that Wang Zhi Zhi is dictating his career moves at this point.</div> Agree 100%. I don't understand why people are so quick to criticize Yi, I think he's just caught inbetween trying to play the best ball he can and appeasing everyone (apparently, not everyone here). Besides, Milwaukee KNEW what they were drafting, it's not like they drafter him and then Yi's camp decided they didnt want Yi playing in Milwaukee. There was a reason WHY Yi's agents did not let him work out for teams like Milwaukee. I personally feel like Milwaukee made a gutsy and good move though, draft the best player available at 6, and if it doesn't work out, you still have value for him.
You have to ask yourself why Yi would refuse Milwaukee and Minnesota workouts on the basis that they have small Asian communities, and then allow Phoenix a workout. They don't have much of an Asian community and they weren't even in the lottery, so there was no guarantee that Yi would even get minutes there. I think its obvious though, that his agents were trying to put him in situations that could improve his profile and, as a result, make him a more marketable commodity. There's a lot riding on this kid. He's supposed to be the "next Yao Ming" that can be marketed towards a younger Chinese demographic and his agents obviously didn't want to jeopardize that by allowing him to go to a small market team going through a rebuilding process. Franchises like Boston, LA and Chicago have a lot of history behind them. While a team like Phoenix would put him in the spotlight right away, as he'd be playing on one of the more exciting teams in the league. If he didn't get picked in the top 3, I'm sure they were gunning for one of those situations. The most telling thing is that, right after he was picked, Yi basically stated that he was happy to be in the NBA and that he'd play in Milwaukee. A couple days later, after his agents began letting out all those rumours and demands, he wouldn't comment on any questions of a similar nature.