Yi Wants Trade? The drama continues...

[VF21]

See preceeding posts. These are the teams (I think) that Yi said he would play for - the only teams. My comments refer to the ammo, or lack thereof, that these teams can use in trading for him from the Bucks.

Wrong.

He entered an open draft for all 30 teams - except for the 4 that had no picks this season. He tacitly agreed, therefore, to play for whichever team selected him. The NBA is a large corporation with franchises in 30 cities. He was putting himself up for employment by the NBA with whichever franchise picked him.

Yi Jianlian isn't a member of a democratic society where he can choose his own future. He is pretty much at the mercy of whatever decisions the Chinese government makes. THAT'S part of my objection. Yi won't be keeping all his millions; you can bet on it.

The Chinese are trying to manipulate how the NBA - and the various franchises - conduct their business by saying they'll only deal with certain ones. That's not right, IMHO. If he or anyone else wants to become an employee of the National Basketball Association, they agree to abide by the guiding rules and principles. That includes the draft.

 

[Bricklayer]

Wrong.

He entered an open draft for all 30 teams - except for the 4 that had no picks this season. He tacitly agreed, therefore, to play for whichever team selected him. The NBA is a large corporation with franchises in 30 cities. He was putting himself up for employment by the NBA with whichever franchise picked him.

Yi Jianlian isn't a member of a democratic society where he can choose his own future. He is pretty much at the mercy of whatever decisions the Chinese government makes. THAT'S part of my objection. Yi won't be keeping all his millions; you can bet on it.

The Chinese are trying to manipulate how the NBA - and the various franchises - conduct their business by saying they'll only deal with certain ones. That's not right, IMHO. If he or anyone else wants to become an employee of the National Basketball Association, they agree to abide by the guiding rules and principles. That includes the draft.

Its not right, but its predictable until that dictatorship finally gets overthrown, or melts away. And its not as if more individualistic players in the U.S. haven't done the same thing without a government behind them, but just a nsty agent. Kobe did it. Steve Francis. Eli Manning in football. Remember Lindros in hockey. And what's his name in baseball (Cardinals outfielder?). Always odious. Actually am GLAD that this may be the Chinese rather than Yi himself. I alreayd have no regard for that government, whereas it would be nice to think Yi is mostly a pawn at this point.

Despite the aggravatrion, its worked out just fine for Houston. If we could just get the kid into town, worry about the rest later.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Kingster is wrong: Yi ceased to be a free agent the second he declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft. He declared for the draft because he expected to be a lottery pick, and wanted that guaranteed money. But declaring for the draft brings with it the understanding that any team in the draft can get you if you're still on the board when it's their turn. If he and his representation were really serious about only wanting to play for a certain number of teams, then they should have kept Yi out of the draft and let him sign as an unrestricted free agent with whomever they want; I can't imagine that there's a team in the league that, if Yi had shown up in their building on July 1st and said "I want to play for you" wouldn't have signed him. But, they wanted to have their cake and eat it too and, like any other spoiled child, they are acting petulant because they can't have their way.

See, this is why I couldn't be a billionaire/multi-millionaire: I would flat-out tell Yi and his representation, "Look, ****nugget, we own your draft rights, and we're NOT going to trade you. You're going to play for us, or you won't ****ing play... and **** you if you don't like it!" And I don't preserve this sentiment for Yi, either, I'd have said the same thing to Steve Francis, or Kobe Bryant, or any other prick whom thought that they were special enough to demand a trade without even setting foot in an NBA game.

 

[Bricklayer]

Actually I think players have to declare for the draft once befor3e a certain age or some such. Forgotton the deal. But you can't just jump right in as a free agent without having made yoursefl draft eligible. I you could, none of the top young players would ever go into a draft -- they'd just go become free agents and stack up in Lakerland to collect titles and whatnot.

I'll see if I can find the CBA again.

 

[VF21]

Kingster is wrong: Yi ceased to be a free agent the second he declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft. He declared for the draft because he expected to be a lottery pick, and wanted that guaranteed money. But declaring for the draft brings with it the understanding that any team in the draft can get you if you're still on the board when it's their turn. If he and his representation were really serious about only wanting to play for a certain number of teams, then they should have kept Yi out of the draft and let him sign as an unrestricted free agent with whomever they want; I can't imagine that there's a team in the league that, if Yi had shown up in their building on July 1st and said "I want to play for you" wouldn't have signed him. But, they wanted to have their cake and eat it too and, like any other spoiled child, they are acting petulant because they can't have their way.

See, this is why I couldn't be a billionaire/multi-millionaire: I would flat-out tell Yi and his representation, "Look, ****nugget, we own your draft rights, and we're NOT going to trade you. You're going to play for us, or you won't ****ing play... and **** you if you don't like it!" And I don't preserve this sentiment for Yi, either, I'd have said the same thing to Steve Francis, or Kobe Bryant, or any other prick whom thought that they were special enough to demand a trade without even setting foot in an NBA game.

Thank you. My sentiments exactly.

 

[Double-K]

Like I said, it's more than likely not Yi's decison. I bet the young man doesn't really care where he plays.

 

[VF21]

Like I said, it's more than likely not Yi's decison. I bet the young man doesn't really care where he plays.

And that makes it more problematic, IMHO. What if we did get him and for whatever reason he didn't really strike a chord in Sacramento? What if his keepers decided he should be elsewhere? Would they attempt to put pressure on any decisions involving him?

He needs to stay in Milwaukee and play. If he refuses to report to Milwaukee - or if the Chinese will not allow him to report - then he needs to get on a plane and head home.

I think if David Stern, the NBA and the Milwaukee Bucks play hardball here - but without having it look that way - the Chinese will not force the issue. They want the exposure in the NBA as much as Stern wants the larger market of China for future revenue. It's a symbiotic relationship.

 

[Double-K]

Or Yi might just be forced back to China and play there for the rest of his life.... and that's certainly not what David Stein wants to see... I'm not saying it WILL happen but it's China we talking about.... things like that happen everyday over there.....


but that's another story....

 

[BreakfastWithYao]

Whether because of government machinations or Archie Manning's ego, the draft process has been disrespected frequently, over a long period of time. Danny Ferry declared himself better than the draft, got shipped to Cleveland, ruined a potential perennial contender there because he was a flop and Cleveland gave up a young Ron Harper (in his 'poor man's Jordan' years), got spit on by Bonzi, then became GM of the very team he ruined. So good things can come of this.

I'm only wary of an Yi trade because his flop potential is high. Sacramento kind of has a China town, so it's all good in that regard. I love the Bucks too, and it would be interesting to see him stick it out there.

 

[Double-K]

Just found this Chinese report about the Yi's draft...

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/070629/60/2akb1.html


Basically says Yi, whose born and live in a big city, looked surprised to be drafted by Milwaukee.

He says, "Very surreal. It was like winning the lottery. Chinese TV doesn't boardcast the Bucks' match too much. Even though I've came to the States a couple of times, (we) didn't have contacted with them. So I don't have any knowledge about the city of Milwaukee. But I'm still very happy because I'm going to play in the NBA.

When asked why he looked shocked when picked by the Milwaukee, he replies, "I was stunned. I wasn't unhappy, I was just very nervous. It doesn't matter which team I'm going to play for. To play in the NBA is my dream."

About his agent trying to force the Bucks to ship him to a bigger city, he didn't say much, "I don't have an idea yet. My agent handles these things."

There are approximately 600,000 population in Milwaukee. A Chinese businessman working in Milwaukee says, only 2000 of them are Chinese and around 100 of them are basketball fans.

Dan Fegan, Yi's US-based agent, didn't show interested to the Milwaukee before the draft, and basically told them that the GuanDong Tigers might not even let him go. But the Milwaukee Bucks still picked him up with their #6 pick.

 

[VF21]

Milwaukee isn't that far from a lot of midwestern cities. I suspect, although there are only 100 Chinese basketball fans in Milwaukee itself, that there will be lots of them in the stands to root their countryman on.

And when the team travels, he could well be the draw that actually puts more non-Bucks fans in the seats everywhere they go just to see him.

 

[bozzwell]

Milwaukee is 90 miles north of Chicago. Most afluent suburbs (like Highland Park where MJ and Kukoc live) are in the Lake county between Chicago and Wisconsin. If he gets a serious coin from the Bucks he could live there like MJ or Toni (both when he was with Bulls and Bucks) and commute. In fact, if he was drafted by Bulls and opted to live in North burbs like other athletes, his commute to United would be worse then his commute to Bradly center can be.

Tri-state area (S Wisconsin, Chicago and NW Indiana) is huge, very metropolitan, and to knock Milwaukee as if it is some sort of outpost in Kansas-stan is really stupid.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Um Kids... Yi has said nothing negative about Milwalkee, has not personally refused to play there nor has he even comented on his handelers criteria for aprovall of teams. I really caution against over simplyfing the situation and bashing Yi. This is a very complex situation where two cultures with differing value structures are simultaniously clashing and attempting to communicate.

If you really want to understand the situation I strongly suggest reading up a little on inter-cultural communication AND Chinese culture.

If you just want to sit on your front porch and throw stones go for it but I don't think you will reap much but wind that way.

 

[VF21]

I am reacting solely to what has been said in the media, Celt. If it was taken as personal bashing of Yi, I apologize. I will not, however, retract my strong feelings about the influence of the Chinese government on the NBA.

 

[Double-K]

Um Kids... Yi has said nothing negative about Milwalkee, has not personally refused to play there nor has he even comented on his handelers criteria for aprovall of teams. I really caution against over simplyfing the situation and bashing Yi. This is a very complex situation where two cultures with differing value structures are simultaniously clashing and attempting to communicate.

If you really want to understand the situation I strongly suggest reading up a little on inter-cultural communication AND Chinese culture.

If you just want to sit on your front porch and throw stones go for it but I don't think you will reap much but wind that way.

I agree completely.

And so far, his agent been doing all the talking. I'm not even sure if the Chinese government has expressed anything regarding the draft yet.

 

[Gilles]

Actually I think players have to declare for the draft once befor3e a certain age or some such. Forgotton the deal. But you can't just jump right in as a free agent without having made yoursefl draft eligible. I you could, none of the top young players would ever go into a draft -- they'd just go become free agents and stack up in Lakerland to collect titles and whatnot.
I'll see if I can find the CBA again.

When an international guy becomes 22 during a year or a student graduate from a college he's automatically eligible to draft. That's why Splitter had to be picked this year.

 

[jacobdrj]

Or Yi might just be forced back to China and play there for the rest of his life.... and that's certainly not what David Stein wants to see... I'm not saying it WILL happen but it's China we talking about.... things like that happen everyday over there.....


but that's another story....

I am not so sure that is the case: Someone brought up an interesting possibility about the whole thing when I mentioned this situation to him... It is *possible* that this might have just been a mandate by the Commish to the Bucks... this was a 'final straw' situation. Sure, the NBA wants the chinese players, and may even be willing to take a little bit of manipulation. But this went further than with Yao... this breaks down the whole system if a player can dictate where he plays on draft day. Yes, I am aware of previous incidents with Kobe and Eli. However the Bucks aren't a stupid franchise. They have made mistakes, but nothing on the level of, say, the T-Wolves or Knicks. They probably know what they are doing (either getting more value for Yi by trade with almost all NBA teams) or by following a self-benefiting mandate by all the teams in the NBA.

I am also aware that Yi might not be dictating... it could very well be the agent... in which case, I could definitely see this scenario as a possibility.

 

[Gargamel]

Kingster is wrong: Yi ceased to be a free agent the second he declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft. He declared for the draft because he expected to be a lottery pick, and wanted that guaranteed money. But declaring for the draft brings with it the understanding that any team in the draft can get you if you're still on the board when it's their turn. If he and his representation were really serious about only wanting to play for a certain number of teams, then they should have kept Yi out of the draft and let him sign as an unrestricted free agent with whomever they want;

Unfortunately, screwing Milwaukee and running w/ the guaranteed money is still wiser than going that other route.

"Look, ****nugget, we own your draft rights, and we're NOT going to trade you. You're going to play for us, or you won't ****ing play... and **** you if you don't like it!"

And they should get Del Harris to tell him this. That would be funnier than Del taking the block on Michael Adams. The Bucks could then give Yi's people a tape of Beavis & Butthead for context on the term "buutnugget".

 

[Gargamel]

Milwaukee isn't that far from a lot of midwestern cities. I suspect, although there are only 100 Chinese basketball fans in Milwaukee itself, that there will be lots of them in the stands to root their countryman on.

And when the team travels, he could well be the draw that actually puts more non-Bucks fans in the seats everywhere they go just to see him.

They'd better make Yi happy, because they had to trade Kareem before he left them twisting. I wonder if there are more Chinese or Muslims in Milwaukee.

Btw, did you know that Milwaukee is the only major American city which has elected 3 Socialist mayors? -- Alice Cooper. There's something Yi can get behind!

 

[Bricklayer]

Couple of things here -- the Chinese and the agent huffed and puffed,m and Milwaulkee called their bluff. That may have been stupid. Its the sort of thing that could quickly get their GM in hot water if it does not work out. But they might very well still get him to play there...for a while. Remember the team is owned by a U.S. Senator -- ahve to wonder how concerned the Chinese might be about directly insulting such an owner. The agent ironically probably does not care, but I suspect he's jsut been there making promises to the Chinese and whatnot, and if they change thier stance, so will he.

As for Stern, suspect he wanted this to work out ion such a way that the chinese were happy. He's still openly courting that monster market. That said, he is an agent for the owners, and if he takes any role in this dispute, its likely to be as a mediator tryign to get Yi to actually go to Milwaulkee.

So just by powers that be, I see a solid chance that Yi could at elast start in Milwaulkee, if they want to press the point.

Think the real questions might be for Milwaukee:
1) how are your fans going to react? can Yi be shielded by throwing the balme on agent and country? Or is there going to be backlash against the kid. And maybe against your ticket sales. If that happens, better to trade him.
2) Will he stay? Not much point in forcing him into town if its made clear to you by his agent that he will leave you jsut as he;s hitting his prime and escapes the rookie contract.

 

[Bricklayer]

Couple of things here -- the Chinese and the agent huffed and puffed, and Milwaulkee called their bluff. That may have been stupid. Its the sort of thing that could quickly get their GM in hot water if it does not work out. But on the other hand they might very well still get him to play there...for a while. Remember the team is owned by a U.S. Senator -- have to wonder how concerned the Chinese might be about directly insulting such an owner over a basketball player. The agent ironically probably does not care about the Senator -- they are paid to be cynical jerks basically. But I suspect he's just been there making promises to the Chinese and whatnot, and if they change thier stance, so will he.

As for Stern, I suspect he wanted this to work out in such a way that the Chinese were happy. He's still openly courting that monster market. That said, he is an agent for the owners, and if he takes any role in this dispute, its likely to be as a mediator trying to get Yi to actually go to Milwaulkee. He's hardly going to side with the Chinese against his own owner and own draft.

So just by powers that be, I see a solid chance that Yi could at least start his career in Milwaulkee, if they want to press the point.

Think the real questions might be for Milwaukee:
1) how are your fans going to react? Can Yi be effectively shielded by throwing the blame on agent and country? Or is there going to be backlash against the kid? And maybe against your ticket sales. If that happens, better to trade him.
2) Will he stay? Not much point in forcing him into town if its made clear to you by his agent that he will leave you jsut as he;s hitting his prime and escapes the rookie contract.

 

[whozit]

I am not so sure that is the case: Someone brought up an interesting possibility about the whole thing when I mentioned this situation to him... It is *possible* that this might have just been a mandate by the Commish to the Bucks... this was a 'final straw' situation. Sure, the NBA wants the chinese players, and may even be willing to take a little bit of manipulation. But this went further than with Yao... this breaks down the whole system if a player can dictate where he plays on draft day. Yes, I am aware of previous incidents with Kobe and Eli. However the Bucks aren't a stupid franchise. They have made mistakes, but nothing on the level of, say, the T-Wolves or Knicks. They probably know what they are doing (either getting more value for Yi by trade with almost all NBA teams) or by following a self-benefiting mandate by all the teams in the NBA.

I am also aware that Yi might not be dictating... it could very well be the agent... in which case, I could definitely see this scenario as a possibility.

It is also possible the pick and its ramifications may have nothing to do with basketball. Brick pointed out in a later post that the owner of the Bucks is a US Senator. There didn't seem to be any problem or issue until it became common perception that the Chinese authorities did not want him to play there. At that point if you are a US Senator and trade with China is a issue and it is, you might not want to be seen as buckling in to them. You call a bluff for the PR and then find out that it wasn't a bluff, you end up with a ugly mess. Then again, possibly a mountain out of a molehill. Who knows?

 

[VF21]

I've amended the title. Since there was no announcement on Friday, contrary to what was originally said by SI, I think it may well be -as whozit said - a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[Jerryaki]

I've amended the title. Since there was no announcement on Friday, contrary to what was originally said by SI, I think it may well be -as whozit said - a mountain out of a molehill.

those are the best thread topics!

 

[Dime Dropper]

Maybe there is still some trouble in Milwaukee.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=626935

Seems like Yi may actually have requested a trade, but I can't see the Kings landing him.

----------------------------------------------------------

Kohl seeks meeting with Chinese star
Bucks owner aims to reach out to Yi
By CHARLES F. GARDNER
cgardner@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 1, 2007

Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl has written a letter to the team's first-round draft pick, Yi Jianlian, requesting a meeting with the 7-foot power forward.

Yi did not meet with Bucks officials or have the traditional post-draft day news conference Friday. Instead he moved on from New York to Dallas, where he played with the Chinese national team against the U.S. Under-19 team Sunday night.

Kohl, speaking at the state Democratic convention Saturday, said the Bucks were "reaching out" to Yi.

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

"Our basketball people, our general manager and coach, we're all in the process of reaching out to try to establish a constructive dialogue with him and his family and his representatives."

Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said on draft night that his sons were asking when Yi "was coming over for dinner."

Krystkowiak said he would do whatever he could to make Yi feel more comfortable in Milwaukee.

Yi's agents are seeking to force a trade by the Bucks and place him on another NBA team. They had hoped he would be drafted by a team in a city with a larger population of Asian-Americans.

"Our agent team had meetings to study this case immediately after the draft," Yi's Chinese agent, Zhao Gang, told SportsTicker. "Yi's selection at six has proved his capabilities and his value.

"However, we feel that the Bucks are not the best fit for Yi Jianlian. Our team will make contact with other teams who have watched Yi's training and games to see if there is any possibility of a trade."

Bucks general manager Larry Harris has insisted he does not want to trade Yi. The forward could return to his team in the Chinese Basketball Association, the Guangdong Tigers, but the Bucks would retain his NBA rights.

"Though the final result of the negotiations and communication are uncertain, I can guarantee whatever the outcome is, it could not be so bad that Yi will be back to play in the CBA," Liu HongJiang, an official with the Guangdong team, said in the SportsTicker report.

 

[Bricklayer]

Maybe there is still some trouble in Milwaukee.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=626935

Seems like Yi may actually have requested a trade, but I can't see the Kings landing him.

We may have to change the title of the thread back again...

Kohl wanting to personally meet would seem to be a hrad request to refuse, again as the man is a sitting U.S. Senator. And that would again seem to push things towards Yi ending up in Milwaulkee. But so far they aren;t bending, clearly are keeping him far away from that franchise, and there was a little article about Yi playing a game with the Chinese NT yesterday where his response to a question about the Bucks was simply "I do not want to talk about that."

 

[VF21]

We may have to change the title of the thread back again...

Done.




















In other news, word out of Spain is that Francisco Franco is still dead.

 

[VF21]

Yi's agents are seeking to force a trade by the Bucks and place him on another NBA team. They had hoped he would be drafted by a team in a city with a larger population of Asian-Americans.

"Our agent team had meetings to study this case immediately after the draft," Yi's Chinese agent, Zhao Gang, told SportsTicker. "Yi's selection at six has proved his capabilities and his value.

"However, we feel that the Bucks are not the best fit for Yi Jianlian. Our team will make contact with other teams who have watched Yi's training and games to see if there is any possibility of a trade."

I have a couple of questions.

1. Does "a city with a larger population of Asian-Americans" include ALL Asian-Americans or is it really the Chinese population they're talking about?

2. How many NBA cities have large enough Asian-American populations to satisfy the Chinese?

"Though the final result of the negotiations and communication are uncertain, I can guarantee whatever the outcome is, it could not be so bad that Yi will be back to play in the CBA," Liu HongJiang, an official with the Guangdong team, said in the SportsTicker report.

This seems to be a preliminary means for them to save face should they not be able to force Milwaukee to trade Yi away, doesn't it?

 

[hiero]

I have a couple of questions.

1. Does "a city with a larger population of Asian-Americans" include ALL Asian-Americans or is it really the Chinese population they're talking about?

2. How many NBA cities have large enough Asian-American populations to satisfy the Chinese?

Sacramento does.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

1. Does "a city with a larger population of Asian-Americans" include ALL Asian-Americans or is it really the Chinese population they're talking about?

2. How many NBA cities have large enough Asian-American populations to satisfy the Chinese?

Yi will need a city with asian population. South sacramento is decent sized asian area where he would feel comfortable with his peeps. He's going to have a difficult time transitioning if he doesn't. Who is he going to hang out with during the off hours? where is he going to eat some of his hometown food? While some of you might say that isn't true. I sold my home in natomas so i could move to elk grove to be closer to that area. While natomas is a nice area, the drive to get a decent meal, shopping etc. was becoming a pain. 10-15 min drive frequently was not cool. There was some talks about a hour+ drive from wisconsin to some metropolitan areas with asian communities.. that is wayyy too much. If 10-15 min drive was bothersome for me, I couldn't imagine having to drive 1+ hour every time I had a urge to get some home cooking..