Yi should just play for the Bucks already

[grimfan]

Teams choose players, not the other way around, unless you're a supposed sure-fire franchise superstar (like John Elway), or an egotistical self-worshipper (like Steve Francis or Kobe Bryant). Yi is neither, and not even Greg Oden could get away with refusing to play for the Blazers. The Bucks have a decent team with guys like Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, and Mo Williams (if he re-signs), which will save Yi the burden of having to accelerate his development beyond a natural pace. He will not have to be the face and savior of the franchise with his every move scrutinized, like Yao's early situation in Houston.

But no, the big man in China supposedly can't cope in scary America without a sizable Asian population. He needs a Chinatown to hide in so that he won't have to put himself in a situation where he's the only Asian guy.

Look, Asians can't just stick to San Fran and New York. Damn whiners always gripe about how people in the South or the Heartland don't "get" Asians and are always racist, but unless you get to know them, how's the problem going to be solved? If people in Middle America only know of Asia through stories of how America went to war with them, prejudice isn't going away. So Yi should just be a pioneer and show these Milwaukee folks what a Chinese athlete can do for their team.

The Bucks look like they've made a good choice, as Yi outshone both Oden and Durant in the summer league in Las Vegas.

[SunWuKong]

shit, don't let anybody stop you from being the Bringer of Asian Goodwill or something, but there are enough racist motherfuckers and otherwise clueless dumbasses even in cities with heavy Asian populations. if i had the choice, i'm definitely sticking with the Asians. and there's also a lot to be said for having some amount of Asian culture near you.

on the other hand, there's probably a disproportionate number of slutty chicks in Las Vegas, so that's something that deserves some serious consideration.

[yoMAMA]

there's only so many asians in america.

he's got to be more realistic.

also, is there a lot of asians in houston?

[grimfan]

Yes, Houston has a significant Asian population.

If Yi wanted to be near Asians, I know where there's lots of them: China!

He wanted to play in the NBA, and he wanted to be in America.

[mrazntre]

Yes, Houston has a significant Asian population.

If Yi wanted to be near Asians, I know where there's lots of them: China!

He wanted to play in the NBA, and he wanted to be in America.

Interesting you should use that demeaning tone. It's a bit reminiscent of anti-<insert> propaganda, i.e. "if you don't like it you can go back to <insert country of choice>"

Don't forget about self-involved, egotistical Eli Manning.

What's your interpretation of America? You make it sound like all of the American cities are homogeneous, regardless of the cultural and history rooted in them. Many players of American pedigree have decided that they didn't want to play in certain cities. Were they also told "if you don't like it, you can go back home?" How racist and how much of an uproar would that bring about?

You're dancing on a very precarious line of "uncle tom" type racism.

Basketball is a business and Yi is a businessman. His camp is looking out for his best interests and they seem to be doing a fine job of it. I'm sure no employee in the history of the world ever complained that they were going to be shipped to a remote area. :rolleyes:

Humans like familiarity. Humans like being able to relate to others. Being out of element can wreck players and their game. Spanoulis of Houston is a prime example, lest we forget Ricky Williams.

Employees have certain rights that cannot be taken away arbitrarily.

[CBC guy]

I would say that Yi should play for Milwaukee, at least for a while.

Funny that he's from Shenzhen, one of the more cosmopolitan areas of China and in SI interviews clearly stated he wanted to be in America. Well, this is it, as middle America as you can get. Just play out your first contract at least, then after you've established yourself, THEN look to sign in bigger markets.

[yoMAMA]

he can always demand a trade to the clippers :biggrin:

[Geese]

From my understanding and from watching Sports Final here in Philly, the Sixers were interested in Yi and now that the Bucks not getting him to stop there too well... we may well be able to snag him. Billy "Teflon Don" King, GM for the Sixers talked last week about the fact that the Bucks already know how to reach him if they can't come to terms. But he did stress that he hasn't chased after Yi since being picked up by the Bucks. Hopefully he'll refuse to report and he might end up here.

[pikachupacabra]

Not having a significant black population didn't stop all those black players from playing in utah...oh wait.

[mrazntre]

Not having a significant black population didn't stop all those black players from playing in utah...oh wait.

karl ma-.....oh wait, nevermind....


Do people really think that foreigners think of milwaukee, indiana, ohio, etc etc when they think of the US? Heck no! They think of Los Angeles, New York or San Francisco.

Let's reverse it.

Think of any other country that has a strong pop cultural bastion that you want to visit and the main cities that have been laid out in your eyes will pop out. When I think of Japan it's mainly about Tokyo, China - Hong Kong, Shanghai, Great Wall of China, Russia - Moscow, UK - London, Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, Italy - Rome, France - Paris/Riviera, Germany - Berlin, Egypt - the Pyramids...

You grow up with visions of other countries as being a certain thing. Those are concocted conventions that fuel your desire to visit those places. Sometimes it satisfies your made up fantasies, but sometimes it doesn't.

It's LIFE.

All over ESPN and Foxsports the forums abound with "if you don't like it here, go back to China" "Who cares about Chinese people" This is bigotry at its most dangerous, when it is used subconsciously in place of another motivation.

[proazn]

Seriously, elite Chinese basketball players don't get drafted every year to the NBA. It might be another 5 years or more before another Chinese player get this type of hype. From a business standpoint, this will be a wasted opportunity if Yi plays in Milwaukee.

If Yi (or his agent or handlers) decides to play in Milwaukee, he will just be like any ordinary player and Milwaukee will sell the same amount of tickets as before.

If Yi goes to a big-market team with a big Chinese/Asian population, Yi would be an idol and that team will surely sell way more tickets which results in way more $$$ revenues.

Imagine if YaoMing was drafted by Golden State or Los Angeles, every game would be a sell out instead of thousands of empty seats in Houston.

If David Stern was smart and wanted to help the NBA, he would step in and facilitate a trade for Yi to a big city with lots of asians. The last time i checked, the NBA is in the business of making money.

So, why not trade a white guy to Milwaukee and Yi to L.A., NY, Sac or GoldenState? everybody will be happy!

[CBC guy]

Dude, I would hate to see any commisioner jump in and "force" a trade for the sake of one player. Last I checked, there is no "I" in team. :mad: :mad:


The reason why I personally am so sensitive about this is because our city, Vancouver, was once rejected by another high-profile player, namely (cough cough) Steve Francis, who said Vancouver sucks and rains a lot and therefore refused to report to the team that drafted him. This basically turned our city against the NBA forever, and to this day many Vancouverites are still very bitter about the whole thing. This is the main reason why I want Yi to play in Milwaukee, the team that did draft him, after all. The LAST thing I want to see is ppl remembering Yi as, " oh, the Chinese fucker that jumped ship on the team that drafted him. What a loser."

maybe because I am a sports nut so in my books team loyalty is important.

Just report to camp, Yi, play out your first contract, if its really that bad then you play out your contract and sign elsewhere when you're through.

its like you guys slamming white expats in Asia for not going "native" enough. Is this really any different? Only its the other way around, so yeah its ok because he's chinese and one of us and can't be bothered to go to some boondock redneck town like Milwaukee. If some white guy was signed by some Chinese company or team and refused to report because it was in Lanzhou and not in Beijing, there would be a big uproar on this forum.

Ok, I;m out.

[grimfan]

Seriously, elite Chinese basketball players don't get drafted every year to the NBA. It might be another 5 years or more before another Chinese player get this type of hype. From a business standpoint, this will be a wasted opportunity if Yi plays in Milwaukee.

Um, no. Ever since Wang Zhizhi or whoever the first Chinese NBA player was, the NBA has looked to China to be the next great source of international basketball talent. Soon, they're going to look for guards like Sun Yue, in addition to big men like Yao Ming. Pretty soon, a Chinese NBA player will be as commonplace as a European player. Or does your Asian inferiority complex render that thought unlikely?

If Yi (or his agent or handlers) decides to play in Milwaukee, he will just be like any ordinary player and Milwaukee will sell the same amount of tickets as before.

I'm pretty sure those White folks like their teams to win, and they'll support winning teams. With a core of Redd, Bogut, and Yi, the Bucks have a pretty good starting lineup for years to come.

If Yi goes to a big-market team with a big Chinese/Asian population, Yi would be an idol and that team will surely sell way more tickets which results in way more $$$ revenues.

Imagine if YaoMing was drafted by Golden State or Los Angeles, every game would be a sell out instead of thousands of empty seats in Houston.

I don't know what planet you're on, but Yao is an idol in Houston only to its large Asian populace but also to its basketball fans who seem him as the rock their franchise is built on.

If David Stern was smart and wanted to help the NBA, he would step in and facilitate a trade for Yi to a big city with lots of asians. The last time i checked, the NBA is in the business of making money.

Yeah, Asians are so scared and weak that they need the big bad commissioner to step in and take them away from mean Whiteys.

Were you bullied by White kids in school? Did you lust after the blonde cheerleader but were too afraid to talk to her after class?

[haplesshobo]

From a business standpoint, this will be a wasted opportunity if Yi plays in Milwaukee.

If Yi (or his agent or handlers) decides to play in Milwaukee, he will just be like any ordinary player and Milwaukee will sell the same amount of tickets as before.

If Yi goes to a big-market team with a big Chinese/Asian population, Yi would be an idol and that team will surely sell way more tickets which results in way more $$$ revenues.

Imagine if YaoMing was drafted by Golden State or Los Angeles, every game would be a sell out instead of thousands of empty seats in Houston.

If David Stern was smart and wanted to help the NBA, he would step in and facilitate a trade for Yi to a big city with lots of asians. The last time i checked, the NBA is in the business of making money.

So, why not trade a white guy to Milwaukee and Yi to L.A., NY, Sac or GoldenState? everybody will be happy!

With regards to selling and merchendasing Yi, it really doesn't matter where he plays since the audience who he'll be selling to will be in China and does it really matter to somebody in China if Yi plays in Milk. or Phoneix? Even then, in the age of ESPN and the Internet, where you play doesn't have to limit your appeal as we've seen with LeBron James who plays in Cleavland, a city on the decline.

Fans will buy tickets if the team wins. If Yi makes Milk a better team that gets to the playoffs, you'll see an increase in tickets. If Yi goes to another city and stinks it up and doesn't improve the team, I'm not going to go to a game just because he's Chinese.

But, let's just say for argument sake, that Yi did go to another city and asians decided to go watch him play. Let's examine what effect he would have on revenue on the teams you mentioned he should be traded to:

After GoldenStates's playoff run and the excitiment it brought, fans were going to go see GS play anyways this season.

As long as Kobe plays, LA Lakers won't have issues with attendance.

And, the Knicks have struggled in attendance in the sense that they no longer sell out every game. But, even then, they avg. 18,805 last season at Madison with a capacity crowd 19,763. The Knicks attendance started off slow but got better as the season progressed as the Knicks got better. And, with the addition of Zack Randolf combined with a weak East, the Knicks will probably even do better this season and see their avg. attendance go up this year even without Yi.

Even, if we assumed Yi did have an effect on attendance, it would be pretty limited because those teams already have strong, healthy fanbases who go to those games anyway.

[proazn]

Soon, they're going to look for guards like Sun Yue, in addition to big men like Yao Ming. Pretty soon, a Chinese NBA player will be as commonplace as a European player. Or does your Asian inferiority complex render that thought unlikely?

If you follow Chinese basketball as closely as I do, there WON'T be any chinese players drafted next year. There's only one player in the next 4 years with a remote chance of being a late first round pick. He won't get the same type of hype as Yi because he's a small point guard.



I don't know what planet you're on, but Yao is an idol in Houston only to its large Asian populace but also to its basketball fans who seem him as the rock their franchise is built on.

I've seen nearly every Yao game on TV. Houston averages 14,000 fans in their 17,000 arena. I usually see about 3-4 asians in the lower level each game. That's not saying much.




Were you bullied by White kids in school? Did you lust after the blonde cheerleader but were too afraid to talk to her after class?
[/QUOTE]
I have no idea where you got this from. But FYI, i was bullied by only one person in school and he was the biggest guy in school - a korean dude. Then we became friends after I fought back.

[proazn]

Dude, I would hate to see any commisioner jump in and "force" a trade for the sake of one player. Last I checked, there is no "I" in team. :mad: :mad:


The reason why I personally am so sensitive about this is because our city, Vancouver, was once rejected by another high-profile player, namely (cough cough) Steve Francis, who said Vancouver sucks and rains a lot and therefore refused to report to the team that drafted him. This basically turned our city against the NBA forever, and to this day many Vancouverites are still very bitter about the whole thing. This is the main reason why I want Yi to play in Milwaukee, the team that did draft him, after all. The LAST thing I want to see is ppl remembering Yi as, " oh, the Chinese fucker that jumped ship on the team that drafted him. What a loser."

.


I can understand what you're trying to say here about Steve Francis, but he probably made the right move because Vancouver lost their basketball team not too long after that. Milwaukee is in a similiar situation.

Look at Yi's situation. How would you feel about coming from a big-time city Guangzhou/Guangdong with 12 million+ people who idolize you... to a small city with about 500,000 people who will call you a "gook", "chink", "traitor" if you struggle as a player. It shouldn't matter how much money you make. money doesn't make the racists go away.

FYI, Yi is already making big bucks, he's got endorsements from Nike already.

[haplesshobo]

Look at Yi's situation. How would you feel about coming from a big-time city Guangzhou/Guangdong with 12 million+ people who idolize you... to a small city with about 500,000 people who will call you a "gook", "chink", "traitor" if you struggle as a player. It shouldn't matter how much money you make. money doesn't make the racists go away.


And, is that really that different from what other NBA players have to go through? Let's say you're a young black man, who grew up in a predominantly urban, black neighborhod, and then you get drafted by Utah. Teams like Utah or Milk. have a difficult enough time with getting players to come over there via free agency, and the draft helps to level that playing field. If you start allowing players to only get drafted by cities they want to play in, then you might as well contract the NBA to only a few cities like LA, NYC, and a couple of other cities.

[CBC guy]

I can understand what you're trying to say here about Steve Francis, but he probably made the right move because Vancouver lost their basketball team not too long after that. Milwaukee is in a similiar situation.

Look at Yi's situation. How would you feel about coming from a big-time city Guangzhou/Guangdong with 12 million+ people who idolize you... to a small city with about 500,000 people who will call you a "gook", "chink", "traitor" if you struggle as a player. It shouldn't matter how much money you make. money doesn't make the racists go away.

FYI, Yi is already making big bucks, he's got endorsements from Nike already.


They're pro athletes, suck it up, yes they do make big bucks, and anytime an athlete or whoever does this to any city its a fucking slap in the face. I don't want to turn off an entire area of the US to all Asians.

I can kind of understand what Yi's going through, but come on, this team is giving you a chance, all rookies have to pay their dues if you know what I mean. Was he going to go straight to the Lakers? No. Its not the way sports works. All great athletes battle through adversity.

Ok, here's another example. Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the MLB. Did he enjoy his situation with the Dodgers and their racist fans? Hell no. By letting his play do the talking Robinson became one of the best ever. Yi should also let his play do the talking. I'm sick of athletes bitching and whining about the cities they play in when they should just get on with it and just compete hard every game. If he wants to be truly great, you have to battle through adversity and for new multi-millionaire Yi this transition to a place like Milwaukee is a lot easier than for any of his predecessors in sport.

That said, I support Yi Jianlian;s NBA career and wish him the best. It would be interesting to watch Yi battle Yao in the NBA season haha. :biggrin: Maybe one of the 4-5 NBA games I will watch on TV this year.

P.S. Don't even mention the name "Steve Francis" in Vancouver if you ever visit. :wink:

[BeTheReds]

Seriously, elite Chinese basketball players don't get drafted every year to the NBA. It might be another 5 years or more before another Chinese player get this type of hype. From a business standpoint, this will be a wasted opportunity if Yi plays in Milwaukee.

If Yi (or his agent or handlers) decides to play in Milwaukee, he will just be like any ordinary player and Milwaukee will sell the same amount of tickets as before.

If Yi goes to a big-market team with a big Chinese/Asian population, Yi would be an idol and that team will surely sell way more tickets which results in way more $$$ revenues.

Imagine if YaoMing was drafted by Golden State or Los Angeles, every game would be a sell out instead of thousands of empty seats in Houston.

If David Stern was smart and wanted to help the NBA, he would step in and facilitate a trade for Yi to a big city with lots of asians. The last time i checked, the NBA is in the business of making money.

So, why not trade a white guy to Milwaukee and Yi to L.A., NY, Sac or GoldenState? everybody will be happy!

Most revenue that sports teams make is from TV, not ticketsales. How many of us don't live in Houston, but tune in specifically to Rockets games to see Yao? How many of us outside of Houston suddenly took an interest in the team?

Milwaukee is looking to do the same. It makes perfect sense from their standpoint.

I can understand Yi wanting to play somewhere else, but unless he can pull an Eli Manning...

[cloudzero]

for those of you who think the bucks have a good team, you are wrong. don't let the scoring stats fool you. their starters have nice offensive stats but they let their opponents do the same night in and night out. scoring yourself and then let the other team score won't get you many wins. i know this because i play fantasy and won in my leagues last season. one of the best teams to play against is the bucks. their defense is a total mess. if yi starts stuffing people like its thanksgiving, it still wont get the team much wins because one player wont make a difference, not an inside man atleast. seems to me hes going to be another KG with his team not going anywhere.

[grimfan]

Ok, here's another example. Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the MLB. Did he enjoy his situation with the Dodgers and their racist fans? Hell no.

Comparing Yi to Jackie Robinson just shows how delusional and scared some Asians are. Yi is not the first Chinese player in the NBA, and after the trials of Yao Ming, the NBA has largely accepted the notion that a Chinese star can transition into the NBA-style game. Yes, there will always be nay-sayers, but every kind of regional player, from the urban And1 street-baller to the fundamentals-steeped European jump shooter will get their knocks from critics.

I've heard nothing but praise about Yi from American sports commentators, and if anything's going to be a strike against him, it won't be the alleged horde of KKK grand wizards hiding in Milwaukee, but his presumptuous disregard for standard rookie decorum.

[CBC guy]

Comparing Yi to Jackie Robinson just shows how delusional and scared some Asians are. Yi is not the first Chinese player in the NBA, and after the trials of Yao Ming, the NBA has largely accepted the notion that a Chinese star can transition into the NBA-style game. Yes, there will always be nay-sayers, but every kind of regional player, from the urban And1 street-baller to the fundamentals-steeped European jump shooter will get their knocks from critics.

I've heard nothing but praise about Yi from American sports commentators, and if anything's going to be a strike against him, it won't be the alleged horde of KKK grand wizards hiding in Milwaukee, but his presumptuous disregard for standard rookie decorum.

I'm not comparing Yi to Robinson. I was saying that great atheletes overcome their situations, no matter how bad it gets. I understand Yi is praised as a stud, and of course Robinson's situation was FAR worse. I'm not delusional, I didn't say anything about the KKK, all I said was that if Robinson can rise above such a bad situation, Yi should stop whining and "overcome" his "situation". I actually agree with you about the thing about standard rookie decorum. If he feels so entititled to go to a big team already before he's even stepped on a court, what's going to happen when the veterans make him a) pay for a huge team meal (tradition in pro sports, these tabs can run to $10,000 per rookie) and b) carry their bags once in a while? Even Yao had to do these kind of things in his rookie year.

(BTW the NBA has nothing on the NHL in terms of hazing. Traditionally, rookie hockey players are tied down to a table and had their, uh, "pubes" shaved off :wink: I heard the NHL banned this so its back to the "meal and bags" part.)

[cloudzero]

Yi will be a fantasy stud. I hope Oden and Durant become two Delfinos :biggrin:

[Craig]

Seriously, elite Chinese basketball players don't get drafted every year to the NBA. It might be another 5 years or more before another Chinese player get this type of hype. From a business standpoint, this will be a wasted opportunity if Yi plays in Milwaukee.

If Yi (or his agent or handlers) decides to play in Milwaukee, he will just be like any ordinary player and Milwaukee will sell the same amount of tickets as before.

If Yi goes to a big-market team with a big Chinese/Asian population, Yi would be an idol and that team will surely sell way more tickets which results in way more $$$ revenues.

Imagine if YaoMing was drafted by Golden State or Los Angeles, every game would be a sell out instead of thousands of empty seats in Houston.

If David Stern was smart and wanted to help the NBA, he would step in and facilitate a trade for Yi to a big city with lots of asians. The last time i checked, the NBA is in the business of making money.

So, why not trade a white guy to Milwaukee and Yi to L.A., NY, Sac or GoldenState? everybody will be happy!Yet another Progressive California Asian who is ignorant of the country he lives in and the world around him, (and is too lazy to take a couple of minutes to check up on easily accessible information) ... yet has the gumption to tell other people how things are in areas he has never been to and has no reasonable knowledge base ... just the brainwashing that California is the center of the universe and most of America is flyover land so undesirable that no Asians would ever live there or even want to be caught dead there.

[proazn]

Yet another Progressive California Asian who is ignorant of the country he lives in and the world around him, (and is too lazy to take a couple of minutes to check up on easily accessible information) ... yet has the gumption to tell other people how things are in areas he has never been to and has no reasonable knowledge base ... just the brainwashing that California is the center of the universe and most of America is flyover land so undesirable that no Asians would ever live there or even want to be caught dead there.

Craig, you're from Oklahoma? If so, i don't care too much for you or any other oklahomians.. because you ain't doing anything for the economy.

Back to basketball, I've been to several basketball games. Whenever Yao Ming is playing in the BayArea the games are almost always sold out. If Yao Ming was a Golden State Warrior, every game would be sold out.

These Chinese players are not like your typical black player. You see alot of black players, but black people don't pay for basketball tickets. Basketball crowds are mostly whites and in some cases rich asians.



And, is that really that different from what other NBA players have to go through? Let's say you're a young black man, who grew up in a predominantly urban, black neighborhod, and then you get drafted by Utah.


Blacks player don't need to worry because they got their posse with them at all times. (Their posse can consist of highschool friends, cousins, bouncers). Yi only has his daddy and his mommy with him. He's gonna be a loner in Milwaukee that's for sure.

[grimfan]

Don't forget that Black players also have their pimps and hoes to protect them.

[mrazntre]

Yet another Progressive California Asian who is ignorant of the country he lives in and the world around him, (and is too lazy to take a couple of minutes to check up on easily accessible information) ... yet has the gumption to tell other people how things are in areas he has never been to and has no reasonable knowledge base ... just the brainwashing that California is the center of the universe and most of America is flyover land so undesirable that no Asians would ever live there or even want to be caught dead there.

well.. yeah, it's true, California is the center of the universe and most of America is flyover land.

I've been through the midwest, north west, south, east coast.....it's really true.

[mrazntre]

Back to basketball, I've been to several basketball games. Whenever Yao Ming is playing in the BayArea the games are almost always sold out. If Yao Ming was a Golden State Warrior, every game would be sold out.


The man has a valid point. Chinese and other Asians flock to Staples when the Rockets are in town.

[mrazntre]

Comparing Yi to Jackie Robinson just shows how delusional and scared some Asians are. Yi is not the first Chinese player in the NBA, and after the trials of Yao Ming, the NBA has largely accepted the notion that a Chinese star can transition into the NBA-style game. Yes, there will always be nay-sayers, but every kind of regional player, from the urban And1 street-baller to the fundamentals-steeped European jump shooter will get their knocks from critics.

I've heard nothing but praise about Yi from American sports commentators, and if anything's going to be a strike against him, it won't be the alleged horde of KKK grand wizards hiding in Milwaukee, but his presumptuous disregard for standard rookie decorum.

not necessarily. wang zhi zhi and mengke bateer were fodder before yao came in. yao is only one player and who knows if they're accepted.

You either knowingly or unknowingly mislead some uninformed readers when you say that it has been "accepted the notion that a Chinese star can transition into the NBA-style game"...

ONLY BIG MEN (if we're accepting the Yao phenomenon as the barometer for measure). the NBA gives a rats ass about Chinese/Asian guards and small forwards. Haven't seen any of those around huh?

[grimfan]

not necessarily. wang zhi zhi and mengke bateer were fodder before yao came in. yao is only one player and who knows if they're accepted.

You either knowingly or unknowingly mislead some uninformed readers when you say that it has been "accepted the notion that a Chinese star can transition into the NBA-style game"...

ONLY BIG MEN (if we're accepting the Yao phenomenon as the barometer for measure). the NBA gives a rats ass about Chinese/Asian guards and small forwards. Haven't seen any of those around huh?

My god you're paranoid. You should call up Gary Sheffield and you can play a game of poker with all your race cards.

Generally speaking, most foreign players are big men because there are plenty of American guards. Look at the highly touted foreigners like Dirk Nowitzki, Darko Milicic, Andrea Bargnani, Pau Gasol, and Andrei Kirilenko: what do they all have in common? They're all huge! With the exception of people like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili (who were lower draft picks with red flags all around them), most American GMs would rather find a 6-foot ball-handling wiz in their own backyard while looking for the next MJ/Wilt Chamberlain hybrid in countries abroad. Size and height are things you can't control or learn, thus the outsourcing of big-men jobs in the NBA.

And the Lakers took Sun Yue, a 6'7" Chinese PG with the 40th pick, which was 17 spots higher than the pick the Spurs used to draft Manu Ginobili (a guard-type player from Argentina/Italy). Looks like there's no great racist bias against Asians after all, at least no more than any other foreigner from anywhere else in the world would get. Maybe the next time a girl rejects you, you won't blame it on the world.

[mrazntre]

My god you're paranoid. You should call up Gary Sheffield and you can play a game of poker with all your race cards.

Generally speaking, most foreign players are big men because there are plenty of American guards. Look at the highly touted foreigners like Dirk Nowitzki, Darko Milicic, Andrea Bargnani, Pau Gasol, and Andrei Kirilenko: what do they all have in common? They're all huge! With the exception of people like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili (who were lower draft picks with red flags all around them), most American GMs would rather find a 6-foot ball-handling wiz in their own backyard while looking for the next MJ/Wilt Chamberlain hybrid in countries abroad. Size and height are things you can't control or learn, thus the outsourcing of big-men jobs in the NBA.

And the Lakers took Sun Yue, a 6'7" Chinese PG with the 40th pick, which was 17 spots higher than the pick the Spurs used to draft Manu Ginobili (a guard-type player from Argentina/Italy). Looks like there's no great racist bias against Asians after all, at least no more than any other foreigner from anywhere else in the world would get. Maybe the next time a girl rejects you, you won't blame it on the world.

WTF are you talking about?

Are we talking about basketball or are we trying to analyze your idiotic jabs from sports to social interactions? I mean seriously, you're putting yourself out there to be the end all sports media and just because others don't agree with you, you're pushing the paranoia card and "blame it on the world" after being rejected?

Maybe the next time you analyze sports you shouldn't just watch ESPN?
Or maybe you just blend in with the rest of the cast of ESPN? Who knows, maybe you're the new age servant complying to the wishes of his master, "yess'um suh."

So back in school you were the guy that was cool with Brad, Billy, Bobby, Suzy, and Rachel? It's nice to be accepted huh? Did they at least KY you up?

btw: When did 6'9" become a non-BIG? If Sun plays, it's going to be at the 3 spot or the 4 spot.

So Charles Barkeley's comment about "Oh, look who's grown up now?" didn't at least set the minimum tone of the NBA's POV on Asian players?

Nice that you mention Ginobli (6'7" small forward), Dirk, Darko.. don't forget Drazen Petrovic, Nene, Pau, Stojakovic, Divac, Skita, that list goes on. The NBA was specifically mining the European leagues for players, period. It started in the late 80's and became the next big thing until European players started coming in WAY OVERHYPED and no production was shown. It was at that point that teams became weary about European players and their contract buyouts. So yeah, they started to look around and landed in Asia.

Nice homegrown guards that GMs have been looking/looked at:
Juan Carlos Navarro
Sergio Rodriguez
Leandro Barbosa
Steve Nash
Beno Udrih
Sasha Vujacic
Jiri Welsch

[grimfan]

Well of course South American and European guards are now getting looked at, now that they've largely proven they can adapt to the NBA game. But the original foreign pioneers are almost always big men as I pointed out. And no, Steve Nash doesn't count as a foreigner. He went to Santa Clara for God's sake.

After only one Chinese superstar (Yao Ming), it seems like the NBA GM's are willing to take a look at ballhandlers. Yes, Sun Yue is freakishly tall, but he is primarily a point guard, and the Lakers would be wasting him if they just turn him into a post-up player. I'm expecting them to turn him into a Magic Johnson/LeBron James type mismatch player.

So what am I trying to prove? I'm trying to prove that Chinese players, after some initial hesitation by GMs and scouts, have largely been accepted as adaptable and competitive as any basketball player, homegrown or foreign, out there. The drafting to skill players like Sun Yue and even Yi Jianlian proves that they're not just looking for gigantic stiffs to simply act as a tree trunk for 10 minutes a game. No, they're looking for dynamic and team-running type players who will lead them in many statistics. So there's no need to act as if Yi is going to suffer immeasurable abuse from a hostile Milwaukee crowd, unless he proves unworthy of the 6th pick of course. But that would be normal fan abuse, not racial abuse (just ask Whitey Darko Milicic).

And citing Charles Barkley, who openly refers to Steve Nash as "white boy", is not very intelligent.

[grimfan]

So back in school you were the guy that was cool with Brad, Billy, Bobby, Suzy, and Rachel? It's nice to be accepted huh? Did they at least KY you up?

You mean my friends Brad Wong, Billy Chu, Bobby Kim, Suzy Cheong, and Rachel Hyun? How'd you know about them?

[grimfan]

So back in school you were the guy that was cool with Brad, Billy, Bobby, Suzy, and Rachel? It's nice to be accepted huh? Did they at least KY you up?

You mean my friends Brad Wong, Billy Chu, Bobby Kim, Suzy Cheong, and Rachel Hyun? How'd you know about them?

[mrazntre]

Well of course South American and European guards are now getting looked at, now that they've largely proven they can adapt to the NBA game. But the original foreign pioneers are almost always big men as I pointed out. And no, Steve Nash doesn't count as a foreigner. He went to Santa Clara for God's sake.

After only one Chinese superstar (Yao Ming), it seems like the NBA GM's are willing to take a look at ballhandlers. Yes, Sun Yue is freakishly tall, but he is primarily a point guard, and the Lakers would be wasting him if they just turn him into a post-up player. I'm expecting them to turn him into a Magic Johnson/LeBron James type mismatch player.

So what am I trying to prove? I'm trying to prove that Chinese players, after some initial hesitation by GMs and scouts, have largely been accepted as adaptable and competitive as any basketball player, homegrown or foreign, out there. The drafting to skill players like Sun Yue and even Yi Jianlian proves that they're not just looking for gigantic stiffs to simply act as a tree trunk for 10 minutes a game. No, they're looking for dynamic and team-running type players who will lead them in many statistics. So there's no need to act as if Yi is going to suffer immeasurable abuse from a hostile Milwaukee crowd, unless he proves unworthy of the 6th pick of course. But that would be normal fan abuse, not racial abuse (just ask Whitey Darko Milicic).

And citing Charles Barkley, who openly refers to Steve Nash as "white boy", is not very intelligent.

Steve Nash is a Canadian. Canada is NOT part of the US, or did that slip past you in elementary? The Dream went to school in the US too, did you consider him a hometown boy when he came into the league? Rony Turiaf on the Lakers is from Martinique, but played at UOP, is he also homegrown?

Anyways. My point being, it is not that the NBA will not accept other position players, however they are primarily going after the bigs. In maybe 5, but more like 10 years, smaller position players from Asia will probably get looks. That's historical, though of course it's not mutually exclusive. Right now, the hotbed is Europe, wether they're european players or not (manu was out there), Europe is the mining grounds for the NBA. Asia, more specifically china, is now starting to get looks because of Yao. And as the bigs get pulled out, then they'll start at the smalls.

At this point, though, I think you've crossed conversations with someone else because I never said anything about immeasurable abuse by a hostile crowd in Milwaukee. People work all the time in non-desirable work places, that's just a fact of life, however if you were in the position of being able to select your city of choice where you believe you would have the highest level of satisfaction then it would be the obvious choice to do so. I'm not sure about your work experience, but i'd rather drive an hour in traffic to an office where the work environment was relaxed and comfortable and get paid less than to work in an office that was 20 minutes away with a less than desirable work environment (based on experience).

My point is this, racism is still rampant today in the USA. Some areas are more conscientious about it and are reserved in the fact that they're able to conceal their bigotry in an obscure manner. Yi's offcourt transition into the NBA would be much better in a major city due to the pre-exposure of different cultures and ethnicities as opposed to... Milwaukee.

I'm sure nobody else in the L calls Steve Nash "whiteboy." Or in the world, as a matter of fact.

[grimfan]

Steve Nash is a Canadian. Canada is NOT part of the US, or did that slip past you in elementary? The Dream went to school in the US too, did you consider him a hometown boy when he came into the league? Rony Turiaf on the Lakers is from Martinique, but played at UOP, is he also homegrown?

Anyways. My point being, it is not that the NBA will not accept other position players, however they are primarily going after the bigs. In maybe 5, but more like 10 years, smaller position players from Asia will probably get looks. That's historical, though of course it's not mutually exclusive. Right now, the hotbed is Europe, wether they're european players or not (manu was out there), Europe is the mining grounds for the NBA. Asia, more specifically china, is now starting to get looks because of Yao. And as the bigs get pulled out, then they'll start at the smalls.

At this point, though, I think you've crossed conversations with someone else because I never said anything about immeasurable abuse by a hostile crowd in Milwaukee. People work all the time in non-desirable work places, that's just a fact of life, however if you were in the position of being able to select your city of choice where you believe you would have the highest level of satisfaction then it would be the obvious choice to do so. I'm not sure about your work experience, but i'd rather drive an hour in traffic to an office where the work environment was relaxed and comfortable and get paid less than to work in an office that was 20 minutes away with a less than desirable work environment (based on experience).

My point is this, racism is still rampant today in the USA. Some areas are more conscientious about it and are reserved in the fact that they're able to conceal their bigotry in an obscure manner. Yi's offcourt transition into the NBA would be much better in a major city due to the pre-exposure of different cultures and ethnicities as opposed to... Milwaukee.

I'm sure nobody else in the L calls Steve Nash "whiteboy." Or in the world, as a matter of fact.

There's a difference between being a foreign player recruited by a college and a foreign player recruited by the NBA. With NCAA experience, a foreign player is no longer a mystery, and can be compared with other collegiate future NBA players. So there's a gulf of difference between a Dikembe Mutombo, who proved himself while at Georgetown, and a Dirk Nowitzki, who was an X-factor coming out of Europe.

And of course racism is alive in the U.S. In some places, age-old anti-Catholicism is still lingering. But Asians can't keep retreating to San Francisco forever, and if anybody's to be the pioneer, it should be Yi. Of all the Chinese imports to the NBA, he's the most cocksure of them all. He can definitely handle himself.

[yoMAMA]

My point is this, racism is still rampant today in the USA.

racism is rampant everywhere on the planet, including asia.

[mrazntre]

racism is rampant everywhere on the planet, including asia.

keeping within the context of the nba....i didn't think i'd have to bring to light the rest of the world.


...but thanks for your contribution.

[yoMAMA]

keeping within the context of the nba....i didn't think i'd have to bring to light the rest of the world.


...but thanks for your contribution.

i think the only color the NBA really cares about is green.

let's see:

1. NBA loves money

2. China loves basketball.

3. there's a billion of them in china!

4. even if 1/10th of people in china buys a jersey (for 1$ each), that's 100 million $.

5. so in order to make lot's of dough in the chinese market, let's draft one of the best ballers from china, send him to the american siberia, just so the local rednecks can call him gooks and chink and slanty eye?

....that's makes a lot of business sense.

[mrazntre]

There's a difference between being a foreign player recruited by a college and a foreign player recruited by the NBA. With NCAA experience, a foreign player is no longer a mystery, and can be compared with other collegiate future NBA players. So there's a gulf of difference between a Dikembe Mutombo, who proved himself while at Georgetown, and a Dirk Nowitzki, who was an X-factor coming out of Europe.

And of course racism is alive in the U.S. In some places, age-old anti-Catholicism is still lingering. But Asians can't keep retreating to San Francisco forever, and if anybody's to be the pioneer, it should be Yi. Of all the Chinese imports to the NBA, he's the most cocksure of them all. He can definitely handle himself.

And that would explain Manut Bol... how?

Regardless of whether guys are being recruited to college and showing off their goods in the NCAA, it simply could be a moot point because of the mounds of disappointments leaving school after frosh/soph seasons - U.S. kids. There's always a NCAA kid that comes out firing from the second round or didnt even make the draft and came on as a free agent. Being an NCAA player does not automatically make a player a "known quantity." Harold Miner, Ed O'Bannon, Lorenzo Orr, Cherokee Parks, Kandi-man. Even high school busts Kwame Brown, Ndudi Ebi. They've grown up in the system, they've grown up in this country. They were known quantities coming out. Let's not forget the Bogut kid, a croatian-australian.

Nobody knows how Yi will do so we'll just have to wait and see what happens when the season rolls around.

With the progress of technology and the amount of scouts and leagues, no big name player should be an unknown quantity. Of course nobody knows what that player can do in the NBA, but that's the playing field for everyone trying to get into the L.

[yoMAMA]

Cherokee Parks.

LOL

brings back memories when i actually gave a damm about the nba.

[deez nuts]

Teams choose players, not the other way around, unless you're a supposed sure-fire franchise superstar (like John Elway), or an egotistical self-worshipper (like Steve Francis or Kobe Bryant). Yi is neither, and not even Greg Oden could get away with refusing to play for the Blazers. The Bucks have a decent team with guys like Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, and Mo Williams (if he re-signs), which will save Yi the burden of having to accelerate his development beyond a natural pace. He will not have to be the face and savior of the franchise with his every move scrutinized, like Yao's early situation in Houston.

But no, the big man in China supposedly can't cope in scary America without a sizable Asian population. He needs a Chinatown to hide in so that he won't have to put himself in a situation where he's the only Asian guy.

Look, Asians can't just stick to San Fran and New York. Damn whiners always gripe about how people in the South or the Heartland don't "get" Asians and are always racist, but unless you get to know them, how's the problem going to be solved? If people in Middle America only know of Asia through stories of how America went to war with them, prejudice isn't going away. So Yi should just be a pioneer and show these Milwaukee folks what a Chinese athlete can do for their team.

The Bucks look like they've made a good choice, as Yi outshone both Oden and Durant in the summer league in Las Vegas.

i agree

[Geese]

11 pm news here in Philadelphia just reported that talks are starting up in bringing Yi to Philadelphia and that his attempts to play in Milwaukee are now being blocked by Chinese officials themselves now. Technically, I have not really looked into this situation, but I will post this little tidbit that I found on CHINAdaily, it is an old article July 7th 2007, but it does have some odd information... I didn't know that they didn't go to his closed workouts, bizarre to draft someone whom you never attended their closed workouts and only scouted him 30 times out of 4 years and have no real reason to get him aside from the fact that he was there... OH, I'm sorry, we're talking about the Bucks, so rhyme and reason are optional, LOL! Ahem, sorry;

Yi Jianlian's team plots escape from Milwaukee
By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-03 08:45

The Milwaukee Bucks believed Chinese power forward Yi Jianlian was a steal with the sixth pick of last week's NBA draft. But the ramifications of the move were laid bare this weekend as Yi's handlers confirmed they were looking to get their client out of a city he wants no part of.

Yi claimed he was "totally surprised" to be taken by the Bucks - a team not granted access to his workouts - and his agent said that they are looking at trade possibilities.

"We started to contact teams that had shown an interest in Yi right after the Draft," Zhao Gang, Yi's Chinese agent, told China Daily. "His representatives and I won't sit here and do nothing just because he was picked by Milwaukee. We are considering Yi's future at the Bucks and are looking at trade possibilities."

"Yi's selection at six has proved his capabilities and value," he added.

Yi showed little emotion on draft night - in contrast to the celebrations of the other draftees - and he did not hold the traditional next-day press conference in his new city.

Instead of flying to Milwaukee he joined the Chinese national team in Dallas, where he will compete in the NBA Summer League.

On Sunday Yi scored 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in China's 91-75 defeat to a USA U-19 team. He refused to comment on his Bucks future, with US media quoting him as saying "I don't want to talk about that".

Led by experienced NBA agent Dan Fegan - who has yet to comment on the situation - Yi adopted an unusually restrictive workout strategy before the Draft to ensure he would land in a suitable destination.

It is thought Yi wants to be in a major market with a large Chinese population - in many ways the opposite of Milwaukee. The city, in the northern state of Wisconsin, has a population of just 550,000 - only 1.7% of whom are of Chinese origin.

GM optimistic

Bucks' General Manager Larry Harris talked up his pick after the Draft, and hit back at speculation Yi was chosen solely on the advice of his father, Dallas Mavericks' assistant and former Team China coach Del Harris.

"You're always defending decisions and things that you do. It's the nature of the beast in professional sports," Harris told Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel newspaper. "I guess having a father that coached him is irrelevant. I guess that doesn't matter, and he's been coaching for 50 years.

"I can tell you this. There isn't any other GM in the league talking about Yi who ever coached him, other than my father. I think I have a leg up on some people. But what I don't want to get misconstrued out there is, I've never seen the guy, and I woke up (Thursday) and drafted him. It's just not the case."

Bucks scout Scott Howard has seen Yi play 30 times over the last four years, the newspaper reported.

The Bucks are coming off a torrid 28-54 season. Led by Michael Redd and 2005 top pick Andrew Bogut, the team was expected to be in Playoff contention in a weak Eastern Conference. Injuries and disinterested defense put paid to that, but Bucks management believes Yi could be the piece that has the franchise finally moving forward.

"Yi could move into the starting line-up alongside center Andrew Bogut, or at least share time at power forward with third-year pro Charlie Villanueva, who is coming off shoulder surgery," Dave Babcock, the Bucks' director of player personnel, was quoted as saying.

"I think he fits perfect with them. He can really pass it. He and Bogut can play off each other. It's a good fit. The post-season is very attainable," he added.

Yet to make contact

Harris is yet to make contact with Yi, however, citing the power forward's international commitments in Dallas and next Las Vegas.

"We will encourage him to come here as soon as he can. But his priority is with the national team," he said.

Local media welcomed Yi's risky selection but warned of the consequences if he does not show up.

"Yi willingly entered the NBA Draft this year and must now abide by its rules, which state that the Bucks own his rights forever if he plans to enter this league," wrote the Journal Sentinel. "Short of a blockbuster trade, he has no other recourse but to play in the CBA."
The most notable example of an NBA draftee demanding a trade came in 1999, when No 2 pick Steve Francis refused to play for Vancouver Grizzlies. In acrimonious circumstances he was traded to the Houston Rockets.

There are already reports linking Yi with a trade.

Philadelphia 76ers GM Billy King, who watched Yi work out in Los Angeles, said he would make efforts to sign one of the players already drafted before his 12th pick.

"Now, the next step involves teams that drafted guys that I have a high interest in," King told the Wilmington News Journal, referring to Yi and Joakim Noah who was taken 9th by Chicago Bulls.

"I will do everything I can to acquire them. There are also some people we've talked to about some other veterans. We've still got more work to do."

But Bucks owner Senator Herb Kohl is intent on keeping Yi, and has written a letter urging him to at least meet with team officials.

"We're going to try to establish personal contact with him and his family," Kohl said on Saturday. "I wrote him a letter yesterday. I requested a meeting with him and his family."

[JesusIsmyFriend]

If other players such as Kobe Bryant, Steve Francis, Danny Ferry, etc had the right to refuse to play for certain teams that were going to draft them...then I think Yi Jianlian should be allowed to do the same. The problem here I think is David Stern taking no action to punish these players, but because David Stern knows that there is more money with having Yi in a bigger market...Stern is not going to do anything and probably just hope Yi does get traded to a bigger market.

I think the Bucks decided to take Yi Jianlian because they were looking to cash in as well on Yi Jianlian. Larry Harris, GM of the Bucks, hadn't even seen Yi play live in person and just went off of advice from his father Del Harris. At the end of the day...the NBA is a business and unless the NBA says "Players can not complain or refuse to play for the teams that drafted them, if they do then they are BANNED from playing in the NBA then something like this will continue.

[doe-sun]

I feel bad for the guy. If he eventually plays for another team (for whatever reason... trade, sit out a year and re-draft, whatever) he will get booed by a lot of people. But especially by Bucks fans - all two dozen of them.

[Edwin]

Yeah, Yi is the real victim in all this in that he is already seen in a bad light by fans & the press because of this standoff. He will have enough troubles trying to adjust to NBA & American life as an Asian man and doesn't need all this negative baggage to carry with him if he ever does play in the NBA this year.

[grimfan]

The Chinese government is run by a bunch of clueless insecure dorks. It's like what happens when you give the quiet fugly Asian geek in your class totalitarian power over billions of people.

[WillyWazza]

Yep, he should just SUCK IT UP and play for the Bucks.

If he really hates the situation then he should just wait till he becomes a free agent and sign with a team where he'll be better exposed.