The Milwaukee Bucks surprised everyone, including Yi Jianlian, when they chose him with the 6th pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Yi had said prior to the draft he did not want to play in Milwaukee and even blocked the Bucks brass from watching him work out.Larry Harris, Milwaukee Bucks GM called their bluff took Yi, and still has yet to have talks with their top pick. Yi and his "handlers" are asking for a trade, and a disappointed Yi waits to see what his future will be. Meanwhile, Yi is in Lss Vegas playing for the Chinese National team in the NBA Summer Leauge. Larry Harris and Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak vwill get a chance to see Yi in action, and are hoping to get a chance to sit down and finally talk with their top pick.
If Yi refuses to play for the Bucks and they do not trade him, he could sit out a full year and not play professionally with his Guangdong Tigers club or anyone else.
Such a move would allow him to re-enter the NBA draft. But that does not seem a desirable option, with the 2008 Beijing Olympics on the horizon and Yi hoping to benefit from a full year of NBA experience prior to next summer.
Yi has had little to say about his National Basketball Association future since being selected by the Bucks with the No. 6 overall pick in the June 28 draft. His representatives, including his Chinese agent, Zhao Gang, have said they hoped the Bucks would consider trading Yi.
On Tuesday, Zhao was quoted in the China Daily newspaper as saying, "We are considering Yi's future at the Bucks and are looking at trade possibilities."
But Harris has repeatedly insisted he does not want to trade Yi and hopes to convince him to join a young Bucks frontcourt that includes third-year center Andrew Bogut and third-year forward Charlie Villanueva.
Read more here from Charles Gardner's article in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here:
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