# Draft: Yi Jianlian?



## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

7-0, 230 lbs, 19 years old. 










Pros: 

- Ball-handling: Rare to find a 7-footer who can move like he can.
- Athleticism: He can dunk, jump, and might be able to eventually block shots (only 19). 
- Pace: Can run the break like a guard. If Portland goes fast break, he'd be perfect.
- Mid-range, outside game: Yet another shooter for Sergio and Roy to dish to.
- A developing low-post game: Has been spotted using a jump hook and a turnaround jumper.
- Can draw fouls and get to the line.
- Marketability. If this guy swims, he'd be great to put alongside Roy, Aldridge and Sergio. He's the best player to come out of China since Yao. (Caution: we said the same thing about Morrison... some of us anyway)
- He suits the style of play the NBA is heading in.
- He's a pretty good passer; big hands.

Cons:
- If Durant, Oden, B. Wright, or Hawes don't come out, he might go as high as top-3 (Portland is projected at #6 right now...)
- Has trouble when he gets banged around, and avoids contact still. 
- Tweener. He's like Bargnani with better dribble penetration, but again... At his size he's not a 3, and he doesn't have the developed post play to be a 4, and he can't defend at the 5. Portland would need to install a fast break type of game for Yi to have success.
- Might not be 19 at all, but 21-24. 
- How does the CBA project? Is it like Morrison in a mid-major? Weaker? Better? 

*Projections:* He could be as good as a Pau Gasol or Chris Bosh if he learns to get dirty in the paint. At worst, he's a Channing Frye, Bargnani (this year) type. 

I've been skeptical about Yi for a while, but I felt the same way about Bargnani last year and he looks decent. I think it'll be 2-3 years before anyone really knows about Yi, but if he learns the pro-game well, we could have an extremely good player. Let's hope Pritchard has a good understanding of him.

*What do you guys think?*


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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

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## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

Competition Questions aside, Highlights aside, Commercials aside....If you watch clips of him playing there are things you can determine about how he moves with and without the Ball. He's very coordinated, relatively quick and has explosive jumping. He handles the ball well and has soft hands. 

There really isn't much not to like. It's not like guessing on Ha. Ha you could tel the minute he touched the ball was rock hands and slow. This guy is flat out talented.


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## Ed O (Dec 30, 2002)

His athleticism is evident from that second clip, and it's surprising. He doesn't run or leap like a seven footer.

Ed O.


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## RedHot&Rolling (Jun 26, 2004)

He's either an actor in some great film work - OR - a skilled, 7 footer with potential to be a serious player.

I don't know.

He's compared to Yao, but he's second in stats to Wang Zhi Zhi.


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## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

He sounds very good. His lack of position is the only thing that scares me. SF? PF? C?


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## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

I just don't think the Asian game translates well to the NBA. Their players are soft like Charmin. Even Yao, who really is the only guy who has come over here from Asia and lived up to his hype, doesn't play as a physically-imposing center like his 7-6 frame would suggest he should. He plays a finesse game, and at his position, it's been proven that he wilts in a playoff situation where there are less calls at both ends and where he gets pushed around.

I'd say pass. The NBA game is more of a guard/small-forward oriented game now, anyway. And I like our roster at the bigs. We need a three who can defend and score from the perimeter.

-Pop


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

This year's Bargnani?


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## Darkwebs (May 23, 2006)

He seems like an exciting player, but how would he fit in with the Blazers? What position(s) would he play on this team? I haven't seen any of his games so I don't know if he is quick enough to guard small forwards, and he doesn't appear to be bulky enough to play the 4 or 5.

But if Portland drafted him, I wouldn't be too upset. He will probably make the All-Star game before any of the other Blazers since he's from China.


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## B_&_B (Feb 19, 2004)

..



> Yao: Yi's A Taller Stoudemire
> Mar 20 - With several NBA scouts sending representatives to China to scout Yi Jianlian in the China Basketball Association finals, Rockets center Yao Ming offered his own, typically generous, scouting report.
> "He is very close to a player who is in the NBA like I would say Amare Stoudemire," Yao said. "Yi is taller. He is almost seven-foot. He has a very nice touch, very athletic. He has everything (to be) a great player. -- Houston Chronicle
> 
> ...


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

Those clips get me excited about drafting Yi again.


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## craigehlo (Feb 24, 2005)

Darkwebs said:


> What position(s) would he play on this team?


He looks like a skinny PF to me.

He's got a great jumpshot with high release like Dirk over opposing PFs from 15-feet out. He also looks like he's a great finisher on the break. If we drafted him, we'd have to go the Bargnani rout and stash him on the bench as we bulk him up. 

To the people that slam Chinese basketball for being "soft," so is the competition in high school. If you can ball, you can ball anywhere.


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## GOD (Jun 22, 2003)

First off, I loved the Nike ad.

I really like what I see and read about Yi, but I just have not seen him play in real games. If he were drafted, I would be pretty happy, but that's mostly out of hope and ignorance (two things I have a lot of).


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## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

craigehlo said:


> To the people that slam Chinese basketball for being "soft," so is the competition in high school. If you can ball, you can ball anywhere.


Totally disagree. The competition may be less physical in high school, but the basketball culture here prepares you for a much more physical game. I still think high school players come into the NBA with a better understanding of how the game is going to be played and how the game is going to be called than Asian players.

Until there's an influx of talent from that area that actually pans out, I'm going with what history has told us. And that's SOFT with a capital S.

-Pop


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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

SodaPopinski said:


> I still think high school players come into the NBA with a better understanding of how the game is going to be played and how the game is going to be called than Asian players.


In the CBA you have to combat 6-8+ bigs who are pretty heavy and are men who have played the game at a competitive level for longer than 4 years. With high school ball, you have bigs who are maybe 6-5 and have limited defensive skills. The top level of AAU is different, but that's less of a team game than the CBA.

I have a hard time taking your argument seriously.


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## craigehlo (Feb 24, 2005)

SodaPopinski said:


> Until there's an influx of talent from that area that actually pans out, I'm going with what history has told us. And that's SOFT with a capital S.


There's quite a few former USA college players over there if you check out the CBA rosters. Not saying the competition is anywhere as good as the Euroleagues, but it's certainly not as soft as you may think.


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## Foulzilla (Jan 11, 2005)

SodaPopinski said:


> Until there's an influx of talent from that area that actually pans out, I'm going with what history has told us. And that's SOFT with a capital S.
> 
> -Pop


Er.. what history? There's been a total of two Chinese players to come to the NBA so far, right? I don't really remember much about Wang (maybe because he barely played), but Yao actually seems more physical then other ~7'6 guys such as Shawn Bradley and Manute Bol. I certainly wouldn't call him a bruiser, but he's not particularly soft either.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

MAS RipCity said:


> This year's Bargnani?


I liked Bargnani the most of all the prospects last year and I like Jianlian more than I liked Bargnani last year.

Jianlian's athleticism and coordinated movement is incredible for someone seven feet tall. He really does resemble KG to me, in that he can face up and handle the ball, pass well, shoot jumpers and score on turn-arounds out of the post. I have no idea if he will ever defend like Garnett, but in all other ways, you can really see the similarities.

If we can't get Oden/Durant, I think B. Wright and Jianlian represent the greatest upside prospects. J. Wright and Horford might be slightly safer than Jianlian, but I don't think they have the potential upside. I'd be very excited to get Jianlian if we end up outside the top-three.


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

Minstrel said:


> Jianlian's athleticism and coordinated movement is incredible for someone seven feet tall. He really does resemble KG to me, in that he can face up and handle the ball, pass well, shoot jumpers and score on turn-arounds out of the post. *I have no idea if he will ever defend like Garnett,* but in all other ways, you can really see the similarities.


That's what we have Aldridge for:clap2:


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## darkhelmit54 (Jan 23, 2005)

How about this scenario, (I have a feeling it won't be too popular), this is definetely three things, 1 - hypothetical, 2- my wishes where my player preferences come into play, 3 - hypothetical (I don't think this will or would happen!)

So how about between now and the draft lots of Yi hype builds and he is thought of as an almost sure #3 pick. We grab the #3, But maybe Pritch doesn't like something about him, doesn't think he'd mesh well with the team, doesn't think that he could play D very well...

Maybe Houston gets knocked out of the playoffs, doesn't think that the T-Mac and Yao combo will ever quite work out, and is tempted by the marketing and basketball thoght of two big Chinese players...

Philly, really is ready to win now, finishes and ends up with the #6 pick, doesn't quite think their young players will mature fast enough to win now, and they love Andre Miller...

(three pretty big IFS)
then...

Philadelphia 76ers
Incoming Players

Tracy McGrady
Salary: $16,901,500 Years Remaining: 4
PTS: 24.4 REB: 5.2 AST: 6.2 PER: 23.00

Zach Randolph
Salary: $12,000,000 Years Remaining: 5
PTS: 23.5 REB: 10.1 AST: 2.0 PER: 22.58

Outgoing Players: Rodney Carney, Kevin Ollie, Samuel Dalembert, Andre Iguodala, #6 pick (Horford)

Philly does need to add some money to make this work too. Philly knows that Horford, Carney and Iggy could mature to great players, but the thought of Mcgrady and Randolph and the increased wins tempts them into making the move. Mcgrady and Randolph both would benefit a lot playing next to a killer shooter like Korver punishing teams who double, and Miller would distrubute great to Zach, Mcgrady can break anybody down at any point of the game. Decent lineup...

Miller, Korver, Mcrady, Randolph, Hunter 


Houston Rockets
Incoming Players

#3 Pick Yi Jian Liang(sp?)

Rodney Carney
Salary: $1,439,760 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 6.3 REB: 1.8 AST: 0.3 PER: 11.08

Jarrett Jack
Salary: $1,137,960 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 12.0 REB: 2.7 AST: 5.5 PER: 14.57

Samuel Dalembert
Salary: $9,464,307 Years Remaining: 5
PTS: 10.6 REB: 9.1 AST: 0.7 PER: 16.64

Outgoing Players: Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, #15 pick

They sacrifice a lot of their wins currently, but marketing wise it's gold and Mcrady is aging. They'd be gambling on Yi, but getting Jack would benefit their half court style with Yao, please JVG, and feed Yao well. And having Dalembert would bring a low post defender to help Yao out as that's not his strength, but they have no one else to do that currently. They could mature and be a very good team too. Carney's still got a lot of potential too.

Jack, Carny?, Yi, Yao, Dalembert (nasty half court team with lots of potential)


Portland Trail Blazers
Incoming Players

Kevin Ollie
Salary: $3,196,050 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 3.9 REB: 1.4 AST: 2.6 PER: 8.69

Juwan Howard
Salary: $6,392,100 Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 10.2 REB: 5.9 AST: 1.7 PER: 13.67

Andre Iguodala
Salary: $2,201,640 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 18.2 REB: 5.8 AST: 5.5 PER: 18.30

#6 pick Al Horford

#15 pick Rudy Fernandez

Outgoing Players: Jarrett Jack, Zach Randolph, #3 pick

Portland gives up a lot in this deal, but clears a lot of room for the future, adds some very solid fundamental players who compliment thier current future with playing style, good personality, good attitudes, and unselfish play. They clear up playing time for their future, and add some players who can help right away. Iguodala could change the game on defense, adding a lot of fast break offense through his steals. The type of guy that gets transition points, and creates transition opportunities while playing a half court game (kind of like what the mavs are doing now), Sergio is allowed to take the reigns on offense. Horford turns into a rebounding and low post defense big threat that compliments Aldridge awesome, and Fernandez provides a more stable threat off the bench (ala Dixon but much better) who can pass well, and thrives in the half court with Sergio, he probably doesn't play until Jones is done, but its sets us up with a future of...

Sergio, Roy
Roy, Fernandez, Webster
Iguodala, Webster
Horford, Outlaw
Aldridge, Pryz, Outlaw

Plus, ollie and howard are here to help out sergio and horford until they are consistent enough to start probably, but they have small egos and won't get in the way. Howard is supposed to be great with young players.

Look out, after the 0.8% chance of all these things happening occurs we'll be awesome in two years! (a bit satyrical, but I wouldn't mind it either)


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## Ed O (Dec 30, 2002)

Foulzilla said:


> Er.. what history? There's been a total of two Chinese players to come to the NBA so far, right? I don't really remember much about Wang (maybe because he barely played), but Yao actually seems more physical then other ~7'6 guys such as Shawn Bradley and Manute Bol. I certainly wouldn't call him a bruiser, but he's not particularly soft either.


Mengke Bateer was a third one. He was actually a pretty physical player.

Wang was a softy, but I agree with you that Yao isn't really soft, given his skill set and size.

Three is too small a sample to have confidence in, but two out of three ain't bad.

Ed O.


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## ebott (Jan 7, 2003)

It's all relative. My feeling on Yi is the same as my feeling on Thaddeus Young. They both seems to have lots of upside but they really haven't done anything impressive thus far. 

It's swell that Yi is part of AND1 China, but there's TONS of guys that couldn't hack it in the NBA all over the world that could do the same thing.

If we've got the 8th pick and Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Brandan Wright, Al Horford, Julian Wright, Joakim Noah and Jeff Green are all gone I'm all for it. But I'm not wild about the idea that we'd pass up one of those guys for Yi.


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

Theres no way Philly could net Zbo and TMac..they just don't have the assests. I don't like the deal from our perscpective either. I'd take Brandon Wright in a heartbeat at #3.


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## ThatBlazerGuy (May 1, 2003)

I like him but I wish he had a better jumper. He seems to have the speed/quickness/coordination to play SF, but his J is not there.


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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

*World Basketball Championships*

9 pts vs. Italy

13 pts vs. USA

4 pts vs. Puerto Rico

Only 8 min. vs. Senegal

2 pts. in 5 min. vs. Slovenia

9 pts. vs. Greece

Looks like he either fell out of favor with his coach or was injured.


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## drexlersdad (Jun 3, 2006)

I heard he patterned his fade away jumper after watching hours of Dirk on film. And that Dirk is his favorite player.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

did his best agianst the US....

i have seen two games of his and maybe nbatv will play the chinese champions again so we can see him agian, he is fast and quick with nice arm length, is agressive with his first step, have a very nice spin move, has a pretty good shot too and is a sf/pf.

The games I saw his team Quongdong won the title because of him, the other players werent preforming so he put the team on his back and caught fire, announcers seemed to be calling his name on almost every play. 

I hope we get to see him in the championships agian to make sure he can do what he did last wasnt a fluke. YI and Aldridge would be a nice tall mix of fast lean players dip, drive and swish.


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## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

if durant, oden, and b.wright are all gone...id take a strong look at him


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## rainman (Jul 15, 2002)

Minstrel said:


> I liked Bargnani the most of all the prospects last year and I like Jianlian more than I liked Bargnani last year.
> 
> Jianlian's athleticism and coordinated movement is incredible for someone seven feet tall. He really does resemble KG to me, in that he can face up and handle the ball, pass well, shoot jumpers and score on turn-arounds out of the post. I have no idea if he will ever defend like Garnett, but in all other ways, you can really see the similarities.
> 
> If we can't get Oden/Durant, I think B. Wright and Jianlian represent the greatest upside prospects. J. Wright and Horford might be slightly safer than Jianlian, but I don't think they have the potential upside. I'd be very excited to get Jianlian if we end up outside the top-three.


First off Yi is a slightly better athlete than Bargnani but i dont think he's as good, certainly doesnt shoot it from the perimiter like Bargs. Where the Blazers are in the standings i dont see them having a shot at Yi unless they get into the top 3, if not they're looking at around 7 or 8, he wont be there.


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## ThatBlazerGuy (May 1, 2003)

I am starting to actually like the idea of a future SF/PF/C combo of Yi-Zach-Aldridge. 

I have seen LaMarcus guard SF's, and I think he and Yi have the physical tools to easily guard most SF's. Putting 3 men this big on the floor at the same time would be devestating to the other teams defense. We would lack a true 3 point threat(In our starting lineup), but all three players are great mid ranged shooters. In fact, Zach and LaMarcus are far better at shooting outside than most PF/C's. I have watched some more take of Yi, and now think he is a tie with J.Wright for 2nd best SF in this draft.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

oh btw Quongdong will be on NBATV during the final of the chinese championships at 7:30am et! its tied 1-1 but Q won 97 to 57(maybe 54) last game! 

SO someone record it and see how Yi is doing!


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

....and YI was on fire during the game they were showing highlights on nbatv


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

rainman said:


> First off Yi is a slightly better athlete than Bargnani but i dont think he's as good, certainly doesnt shoot it from the perimiter like Bargs. Where the Blazers are in the standings i dont see them having a shot at Yi unless they get into the top 3, if not they're looking at around 7 or 8, he wont be there.


I don't think Jianlian will require a top-three pick. Oden and Durant are locked in, and Brendan Wright seems pretty consensus for the third pick. After that, Jianlian is in with a group of players like Horford, Noah and J. Wright who could go in any order depending on teams' individual appraisals of them. Jianlian could last as far as 7 or 8. NBADraft.net has Jianilian going 8th, for example.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

well there were plenty of nba guys watching Yi play today so there is a lot of interest!


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## Blazed (May 24, 2006)

Yao said that Yi's A Taller Stoudemire


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## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Interesting. Reminded me of a 7' Shawn Marion without an outside jumper.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

ummm watch the nbatv highlights of the game he was shooting it outside


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Minstrel said:


> I don't think Jianlian will require a top-three pick. Oden and Durant are locked in, and Brendan Wright seems pretty consensus for the third pick. After that, Jianlian is in with a group of players like Horford, Noah and J. Wright who could go in any order depending on teams' individual appraisals of them. Jianlian could last as far as 7 or 8. NBADraft.net has Jianilian going 8th, for example.


with the way he's being pimped by the league, I dunno... nba.com's following the CBA finals live, has a page just for Yi and says he's comparable to KG. Bulls, 76ers, Suns, Warriors, and Nets all had ppl fly to China to scout on him, including Chris Mullin and John Paxson. 

Honestly I think he'll have his adjustment period in the NBA and will be happy if he's a 10/5 player in his rookie season, but whatever team that drafts him will be getting a lot of attention from the rest of the world.


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## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

I believe in the playoffs for the CBA he is averaging about 28ppg and nearly 13rpg...Last I checked which was prior to the finals starting. He averages 24 and 11 for the season, so given lower competition how does that fair compared to Noahs 12ppg and 8rpg?


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Schilly said:


> I believe in the playoffs for the CBA he is averaging about 28ppg and nearly 13rpg...Last I checked which was prior to the finals starting. He averages 24 and 11 for the season, so given lower competition how does that fair compared to Noahs 12ppg and 8rpg?


for referece, these are Yao's numbers in his final year in CBA:
http://www.nba.com/draft2002/profiles/yao_ming.html



> In the 2001-02 CBA (China Basketball Association) season, Yao led the league in blocked shots (4.8 bpg), and ranked 2nd in scoring (32.4 ppg) and rebounding (19.0 rpg).
> He was even more dominant in the championship series, where he led the Sharks to a 3-1 victory over the Bayi Rockets, earning Shanghai’s first CBA championship.
> In that four-game series, he averaged 41.3 points, 21 rebounds and 4.3 blocks.
> In the clinching 123-122 victory, Yao recorded 44 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
> For the playoffs, he averaged 38.9 points, 20.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks.


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

Yi looks like the prospect Bargnani was before last year's draft. He is a very interesting talent and hope Prichard did his homework on him. The more I think about it, the more I think Noah would fit really well with our club, especially coupled with Aldridge. That intrigues me.


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## craigehlo (Feb 24, 2005)

Schilly said:


> I believe in the playoffs for the CBA he is averaging about 28ppg and nearly 13rpg...Last I checked which was prior to the finals starting. He averages 24 and 11 for the season, so given lower competition how does that fair compared to Noahs 12ppg and 8rpg?


Noah doesn't seem to have the midrange game or handles of Yi at this point. I have a feeling like a lot of folks here that Yi's stock is going to rise to #4 when all is said and done.


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## CocaineisaHelluvaDrug (Aug 24, 2006)

if yi jianlian goes outside of the top 5 i`ll eat my foot.

The league wants foreign players taken high and especially ones from nations that huge fanbases(re: MARKETING ABILITY) like china.


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## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Utherhimo said:


> ummm watch the nbatv highlights of the game he was shooting it outside



Um I did. I didn't see any 3 pointers. But its all just a blur, and sometimes the players on the footage are so small you can't tell really well where they are.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

www.starbury.com said:


> The league wants foreign players taken high and especially ones from nations that huge fanbases(re: MARKETING ABILITY) like china.


Who cares what "the league" wants? Individual teams are going to select the player they think is best. They're not going to select Yi simply for "marketing purposes" unless they think he's actually a really good player. Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer don't offer any marketing possibilities, because they've sucked in the NBA. If a team thinks Yi is legitimately an excellent prospect, marketing might be an added factor. But they're not going to pass on someone they think is even better.

And, in any case, I absolutely believe Yi could go top-five. I'd select him #4, myself. But it's not at all inconceivable that some GMs prefer Joakim Noah, Julian Wright, Al Horford or some combination of those guys.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Ed O said:


> Mengke Bateer was a third one. He was actually a pretty physical player.
> 
> Wang was a softy, but I agree with you that Yao isn't really soft, given his skill set and size.
> 
> ...


Well, Wang used to be much tougher than he was in the NBA. He used to be quite physical in CBA but I admit he had been pretty much a softy ever since he landed on NBA and is still playing softly right now back in CBA, i don't know what his problem is. 

Here is a clip of him blocking Grant Hill's dunk in 96 Olympics when he was 19 years old. (I am not trying to prove anything by it, just saw it by chance.)and I remember in 98 or sth, he sprained his ankle in a international game but he wanted to go back game so badly that he asked for a injection of pain killer and played excellently afterwards.


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## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

Chad Ford chimes in today with the latest wildly speculative statement about an international draft prospect most people have never seen or heard of:

_What happens when you cross Yao Ming with Allen Iverson? You get
a prospect like Yi Jianlian, a fundamentally sound 7-footer from China with a sweet stroke, great handle and world of intrigue._

:lol:

Cross Yao Ming with Allen Iverson? Where the hell does he come up with this stuff? Oh, I get it ... because he's tall and Chinese, but he's got mad ball SKILLZ. So Yao covers the tall and Chinese part, and Allen Iverson covers the mad ball SKILLZ portion.

PROPER!

Currently on front page of ESPN.com and the NBA page of ESPN.com. Also comes fully equipped with OMG video of Yi making jump hooks over nobody, making two consecutive free throws, and catching unguarded alley-oop dunk passes from obligatory gray-shirted trainer/coach.

SIGN ME UP!

:worthy:









-Pop


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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

SodaPopinski said:


> Currently on front page of ESPN.com and the NBA page of ESPN.com. Also comes fully equipped with OMG video of Yi making jump hooks over nobody, making two consecutive free throws, and catching unguarded alley-oop dunk passes from obligatory gray-shirted trainer/coach.


I don't want to parade on your rain, but we had the exact same video of Bargnani last year (open dunks, free throws, etc.) and he looks like he'll be a legitimate player in this league.

How can you be so conclusive about Yi when you haven't seen him play save for a few internet video clips?

Good thing KP has a multifaceted evaluation process that doesn't include snap judgements like yours.


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

I don't know why, but I kind want to draft Yi if we stay at 6 and he's there. I think I'd put Yi 4th on my board below bw,kd, and go.


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## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

I'm fine with Yi. He seems decent enough. I just have to laugh at the media and how they flip out over all these international players. You don't get the intrigue surrounding guys like Corey Brewer and Mike Conley. But get a fuzzy youtube video of some international guy dunking over some other international guy, and suddenly the guy's a media superstar.

And then you get Chad Ford calling him the blend of Iverson and Yao, which is a stretch for anybody.

It's just funny to me.

Those who read and appreciate Bill Simmons ("The Sports Guy") and his NBA Draft diary know what I'm talking about.

"I'm not sure if his potential upside is as great as the upside to his potential."

-Pop


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## Ed O (Dec 30, 2002)

Ah, yes. The annual (or monthly) Chad Ford bashing.

If you actually read his article, you'll see that Ford isn't the only one who's raving about Yi. Noah, for example, seems very impressed.

There are certainly questions about whether his game will translate well into the NBA style, and there are big-time questions about whether he's 21 or 19... but he's a legit prospect and an argument can definitely be made that he's the third-best guy available in the draft.

Ed O.


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## sa1177 (Feb 18, 2005)

SodaPopinski said:


> Chad Ford chimes in today with the latest wildly speculative statement about an international draft prospect most people have never seen or heard of:
> 
> _What happens when you cross Yao Ming with Allen Iverson? You get
> a prospect like Yi Jianlian, a fundamentally sound 7-footer from China with a sweet stroke, great handle and world of intrigue._
> ...


Perhaps you should actually read the article (maybe u can't because it's insider)...the comments from other prospects and coaches are rather impressive IMO. 



> Have you seen the Yi kid yet?" Young's trainer Don MacLean said after I watched him work out Young and Jason Smith on Saturday. "That kid was amazing."
> 
> "The dude can play," Young chimed in. Then, with a wide grin, he proudly declared he had dunked on Yi in a workout. "When you see him play, you'll know how impressive that is."





> At the Home Depot Center, trainer Joe Abunassar interrupted a discussion of the players he's training to say, "Wait until you see Yi. There isn't a drill I could come up with that Yi couldn't excel at."
> 
> Noah was giving love, too.
> 
> "Where did that guy come from?" Noah asked when I asked him about his workouts with Yi. "That's something to behold."


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## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Ed.

Chad Ford is an absolute tool box.

Let me give you his background. He has very little, if any, REAL experience with a professional sport. He has a BS in history from BYU-Hawaii, a Master's in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason, and a juris doctor from Georgetown. He also did research for the United Nations in Northern Ireland. He ran a website called SportsTalk.com that was eventually bought out by espn.com. SportsTalk basically just perused newspapers nationwide for rumors and shared them on their site. They did a pretty decent job of breaking down the draft, and that was about it.

Somehow Mr. Ford has parlayed that into a career as a "basketball insider" for ESPN. Which is a joke. He doesn't know anything more than any of us do. He's basically just a "fan" of basketball who has no real background in sports. So, to me, his analysis and rumors are to be taken with a grain of salt, and - in most cases - laughed at.

Until he actually proves to me that he has some sort of inside information, or he breaks a story, or he comes out from hiding behind his golden keyboard to do some real analysis on NBA Fast Break or ESPN News with guys that have been in the league and know the GM's and know the CBA and know the ins and outs, the dude is not to be taken seriously.

But, he'd make a great lawyer. Which is my best guess of why Ed O is so quick to defend the guy.

-Pop


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## ROYisR.O.Y. (Apr 1, 2007)

yi sounds legit. should be an interesting prospect in the right system


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## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

He's a top prospect due to his physical attributes which indeed can be evaluated vs international competition. It's not hard to tell that he is 7' tall with great athleticism for that size and very soft hands also appears to have great touch. The nice thing is there is plenty of game footage of him to evaluate. He has been a prospect for several years, unlike a few Euro's (Tskita) who appear out of nowhere and are drafted on height and mobility.


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## Ed O (Dec 30, 2002)

SodaPopinski said:


> I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Ed.
> 
> Chad Ford is an absolute tool box.
> 
> ...


Ford started his own Web site. The site was popular enough, and was respected enough, to be bought by ESPN. Whether he was a history major or played in the NBA, he proved that he knew his stuff to the ESPN.com decisionmakers. Even YOU agree he did a good job on the draft, which is the focus that he has on a year-round basis at this point with ESPN.com.

He travels across the country and around the world to review prospects. He talks to scouts and GMs and other NBA people. He talks to players and to their trainers and to their coaches.

Do you do any of that? If you do, you do a terrible job of communicating. I know that I don't do any of it, so I'm hard-pressed to see how I have just as much inside information as he does.

Ed O.


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## dudleysghost (Mar 24, 2006)

SodaPopinski said:


> Chad Ford chimes in today with the latest wildly speculative statement about an international draft prospect most people have never seen or heard of:
> 
> _What happens when you cross Yao Ming with Allen Iverson? You get
> a prospect like Yi Jianlian, a fundamentally sound 7-footer from China with a sweet stroke, great handle and world of intrigue._
> ...


I think that's a pretty funny post. I'm sure Chad Ford does talk to lots of people, and Don MacLean maybe loves Yi (didn't he make a similar statement about Morrison last year?), but there is a hype machine about foreign players. I don't blame Ford, but rather the fans who are eager to place their dreams on the blank canvas of an unknown foreign player. Maybe Yi is for real, maybe not. I think most of us haven't seen enough of him to be qualified to say, unfortunately.


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## Perfection (May 10, 2004)

I have been on the Yi bandwagon for quite some time now. I know that the top-3 picks are likely going to be Oden, Durant, Wright and then ???. Some people have mentioned Horford at #4, etc. Anyways, I think that Yi could end up being a very Dirk-like player, and is someone that I don't want to pass upon. It's definitely a gamble drafting international players, but I like what I've seen from videos so far and I'm not THAT enamored with any of the other top-10 prospects. 

Overall, I think that a future of Sergio, Roy, Yi and Alderage could be very imposing once we find a solid 3, which is a somewhat easy position to find help at.


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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

dudleysghost said:


> I don't blame Ford, but rather the fans who are eager to place their dreams on the blank canvas of an unknown foreign player.



I think one could make the case for that with players like Nikoloz* T*skitishvili, Darko Milicic, Saer Sene, Fran Vasquez, Ersan Illyasova, Mickael Pietrus... etc. 

These were extremely young international players that only achieved marginal success in their respective European leagues before making the jump to the NBA. 

I'm not sure we can make the same case about Yi Jianlian. Though Wang Zhi-Zhi averaged similar numbers in his final year in the CBA before making the jump as Yi did this year, Yi is altogether faster, more athletic, and simply more impressive than Wang. 

What I'm trying to say is, he's not the the blank canvas that the busts taken in the lottery in years past were.


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## dudleysghost (Mar 24, 2006)

Samuel said:


> I think one could make the case for that with players like Nikoloz* T*skitishvili, Darko Milicic, Saer Sene, Fran Vasquez, Ersan Illyasova, Mickael Pietrus... etc.
> 
> These were extremely young international players that only achieved marginal success in their respective European leagues before making the jump to the NBA.
> 
> ...


I think he's a blank canvas because none of us has even seen him play a game. Sure, you can look up his CBA stats and watch him on some youtube videos, but is that really enough to get a good idea about a prospect? I think not, but so many are willing to based only on that nonetheless. Without reading the nbadraft.net report, can you or anyone give me a comprehensive list of the weaknesses in Yi's game? That's what I mean by blank canvas, because we haven't seen enough of him to know what his flaws even are. We can just imagine him without them, or imagine that they just aren't that important, which is a lot tougher to do with a guy who we actually have seen multiple games from.

Yeah, we have CBA stats. How much predictive value does that really have? It's nothing like playing in Europe. Chinese pro teams are probably comparable to the weaker mid-major conference US college teams. Just like you wouldn't just use stats from a guy in the Mid-American conference as a basis for scouting or comparison, I'm guessing CBA stats similarly lack predictive power. It's nothing like the NBA.


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## BlazingHeat (Jul 16, 2004)

No No NO this would be the biggest mistake we could make this draft is way too talented to take a risk like this. Drafting on purely potential and there's no doubt that this guy is going to be a project. I just don't understand why you'd take this guy over Corey Brewer who can come in and at the very least contribute defensively.


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## ROYisR.O.Y. (Apr 1, 2007)

BlazingHeat said:


> No No NO this would be the biggest mistake we could make this draft is way too talented to take a risk like this. Drafting on purely potential and there's no doubt that this guy is going to be a project. I just don't understand why you'd take this guy over Corey Brewer who can come in and at the very least contribute defensively.


very least....he is gonna be a defnsive specialist like bowen. toss in a bucket every now and then but nothing special on the O


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## Nightfly (Sep 24, 2002)

My biggest fear is that he will end up being a project, as a couple of posters before me stated.

I want someone that will contribute to this team right away.


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## craigehlo (Feb 24, 2005)

BlazingHeat said:


> No No NO this would be the biggest mistake we could make this draft is way too talented to take a risk like this. Drafting on purely potential and there's no doubt that this guy is going to be a project. I just don't understand why you'd take this guy over Corey Brewer who can come in and at the very least contribute defensively.


EVERY player outside the top 2 is a project to an extent. Yi reminds me of an energy player like Beidrens with a better midrange game. Don't hold it against him that he doesn't play in America, he already looks like a better than Bargnani.

Assuming we stay at 6, I'd be happy with Yi, Brewer, Horford or Conley Jr. All are very talented players that could contribute to this young team next season.


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