[Basketball News]

MILWAUKEE, June 29 (AP) -- Even after the NBA draft, the biggest international player remains a mystery.

Yi Jianlian did not travel to Milwaukee on Friday to be formally introduced. He has no plans to visit, either, with responsibilities playing for the Chinese national team starting this weekend in Dallas and then the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Agent Dan Fegan pushed for the 19-year-old Yi to go to a city with a heavy Asian influence, and general manager Larry Harris said Fegan was shocked that the Bucks selected the 6-foot-11 Yi with the sixth pick in Thursday night's draft.

Messages left for Fegan at his office and on his cell phone were not returned Friday.

Milwaukee’s Image at Stake After Selecting Yi

[Lefty Noob]

As expected, Yi no-showed on his own meet and greet. Even on draft day they were talking about him being unhappy that the Bucks drafted him. So will this kid ever suit up for Milwaukee, or will he stay in China and demand a trade?

ok. this pick is about money, mostly. harris and kohl think that a billion chinese are going to buy bucks jerseys, tv rights etc whatever. not to say Yi isn't going to be a good player, but in the mke bucks system, even if he is a good player he won't help the team see past the first round of the playoffs, because HE IS JUST ANOTHER JUMP-SHOOTER on a team FULL of outside shooters (the only starter who doesn't constantly chuck shots from the perimeter is bogut, but he can't even get a touch offensively, let alone get a play called for him) redd, simmons and villanueva (who will only get lazier offensively on this team) are all primarily (and by "primarily", i mean "totally") perimeter shooters- and so is mo williams. there is NO offensive flow, variation, half-court offense, penetration, fast-break, ball-pushing etc with mo williams at the point- everyone stands around 15 feet out or more, one or (maybe) two passes later and one of those four has fired a jump-shot. Now, how will things be any different with Yi? PLUS, nobody on the team can defend- well, neither can YI. I take it back, hes a perfect fit. Here, trade yi and mo williams for mike conley and pau gasol. The grizz might bite on that one, they're so desperate for an immediate-impact point guard-- that trade might be good for both teams. either way, i'd trade mo right away before his super-inflated stock falls and other teams realize hes a two or a sixth man, couple him with Yi (who has a lot of interest as well) and pull off something meaningful. please?!

[jets28]

if he won't play in Milluakee will they trade him to

[Gotham Dark Knight]

I really thought Boston was going to take him...is better than what they ended up doing...

[vincesanity82]

Its simple make a lot of money in the NBA or stay in china because you hate the bucks, think hard about this YI..

[davidfwq]

After considering about what happened since Yi drafted , I definitely feel that Yi will join Bucks because he wants to play basketball in a appropriate team where he can realize his potential, not as his agent just for $$$!
Bucks is the right place, all the managements show their honesty and warm welcome.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by davidfwq

After considering about what happened since Yi drafted , I definitely feel that Yi will join Bucks because he wants to play basketball in a appropriate team where he can realize his potential, not as his agent just for $$$!
Bucks is the right place, all the managements show their honesty and warm welcome.

Welcome to GoTeamsGo, david! Good to have you here? I think given his options, Yi will play for the Bucks. But I also bet you that he would've definitely rather gone to NY or LA and will jump ship to a bigger city first chance he gets. Definitely seems to be one who digs the social scene.

[davidfwq]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Welcome to GoTeamsGo, david! Good to have you here? I think given his options, Yi will play for the Bucks. But I also bet you that he would've definitely rather gone to NY or LA and will jump ship to a bigger city first chance he gets. Definitely seems to be one who digs the social scene.

I agree with you that he wants to play in NY such big cities, but Bucks team will provide him with the best envionment to develop his basketball skill.

[Lefty Noob]

Well, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Yi Jianlian has announced that he will "definitely not" play for the Milwaukee Bucks this season. Apparently the Guangdong Tigers, Yi's Chinese team, is going to block his move to the NBA franchise. According to that team's owner, Chen Haitao, "This is not - as media reports have said - because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi's commercial development... Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi's growth. That's the root of the problem." Your thoughts?

[bears9]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Well, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Yi Jianlian has announced that he will "definitely not" play for the Milwaukee Bucks this season. Apparently the Guangdong Tigers, Yi's Chinese team, is going to block his move to the NBA franchise. According to that team's owner, Chen Haitao, "This is not - as media reports have said - because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi's commercial development... Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi's growth. That's the root of the problem." Your thoughts?

Well if the national is more an important then whyed you come the NBA anyway Yi

Just trade Yi to warriors...coz BayArea is the largest chinese populations for People from Guangdong and Yi speak Cantonese...there is useless trade him to N.Y or Boston.....N.Y or boston is not cantonese populations.Don't let him go back to China coz Bucks will be only the stupid team that get nothing on the draft day...trade him and get some valuable player for the team...
This is owner fault...why we skip corey brewer,B.wright and just for Yi....
Everybody in USA already know Yi don't want to play in small asian population team like Bucks...so just trade him....why not offer him to Warriors for Patrick O'Bryant 7-2" and 1st round pick 2008

[Basketball News]

It's another typical summer day in Guangzhou, the capital of Yi Jianlian¡'s home province of Guangdong. The temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the extremely high level of humidity makes the air almost drip, and people of all ages have their trusty umbrella in hand, not because of a sudden downpour, but to shield themselves from the summer sun.

Even with summer break upon schools in China, there are still groups of students coming and going from downtown Guangzhou's Guangdong Industrial College on this blistering summer day. Meeting with teachers? Going to the library? No. The basketball courts are the place to be.

During a break in the action, the topic of the Milwaukee Bucks top draft pick Yi Jianlian comes up. Since the Bucks drafted Yi with the 6th pick, the process of trying to sign Yi has left many with rather strong opinions. The students intelligently debate if Milwaukee is too small, whether Yi will get enough playing time, and whether Yi will eventually sign with the Bucks. Being NBA fans who love to play basketball themselves, their overriding conclusion is that Yi will definitely be in a Bucks uniform come the start of the 2007-2008 season. The dream of all basketball players is to make it to the NBA, and Chinese players are just the same. For a Chinese basketball player though, it is a dream that seems even further away than for others. When Yi plays his first NBA game, he will be only the 4th Chinese person to do so.

Yi being drafted by the Bucks has put Milwaukee at the forefront of almost all discussions for Chinese basketball fans. The above students had never heard of Milwaukee before the Bucks drafted Yi. One blogger on the popular basketball website HoopsChina astutely observed that no matter what happens, Milwaukee, the Bucks, and Yi are all tied together. Opinions vary, and everyone has one about the Bucks and Yi. This in itself has become a controversy. Talk of Yi has taken over the Bucks section of the ChinaHoops website in such a way that it has left some people wondering if Yi topics should be banned from the Bucks section until after his status with the Bucks becomes certain.

Yi And The Bucks: The View From China