Sports / NBA Draft 2007
Yi not interested in working out for Bucks
(Journal Sentinel)
Updated: 2007-06-28 16:23
The intrigue surrounding Chinese power forward Yi Jianlian is building,
with less than a week remaining until the National Basketball Association
draft.
Yi Jianlian averaged 24.9 points for the Gundong Southern Tigers last
season in China.
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Buy a link here Yi is no Yao Ming, and in fact has little in common with
the 7-foot-5 Houston Rockets center. Yi is a 7-footer who can dribble,
jump and face the basket. His game has been compared to that of former
Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoc.
Yet many experts aren't sure what to make of Yi, who could be sliding a
bit in the June 28 draft.
The Milwaukee Bucks won't get a first-hand view of Yi, whose camp has
declined a workout request by the team. Bucks director of player
personnel Dave Babcock wanted to go to Los Angeles to take a closer look
but was rebuffed by Yi's agent, Dan Fegan.
"Basically they said they can't work it in the schedule," Babcock said
Friday. "We're not a high priority for them. We'll see what happens."
Fegan has sparked a good share of controversy by requiring teams to come
to Los Angeles to see Yi, by putting restrictions on the type of workouts
his client would do and by having him skip the Orlando pre-draft camp.
Yi did not even go through the physical testing in Orlando, something the
top-rated prospects normally do even if they do not compete in the camp.
The Philadelphia 76ers, who hold the 12th overall pick in the draft,
attended a private workout for Yi earlier this week.
But the Bucks, drafting sixth, were bypassed. Florida power forward
Joakim Noah earlier had declined an invitation to work out with
Milwaukee, although his Gators teammates, Al Horford and Corey Brewer,
auditioned for the Bucks earlier this week.
"It's disappointing, but I'll tell you what," Babcock said. "We still
like him (Yi). He's a good shooter, very skilled, runs. He's not a thin
kid. His English is good. He'll be an impact guy in the NBA next year."
Bucks general manager Larry Harris said he had hoped to give the team's
coaching staff a chance to meet Yi and see him in an individual workout.
"The kid is nearly 7 feet and 240 pounds, and he's getting bigger,"
Harris said.
"He can run the floor. He has great hands, and more of his forte is
facing the basket. From 16, 17, 18 feet, he can make that shot. He's more
athletic than people think."
Yi's age is a matter of debate. He is listed as 19 years old on the
Chinese national team roster, but some say he is really 21 or 22.
He's the true wild card in this draft, a player who might go as high as
No. 5 to the Boston Celtics or slip all the way to Sacramento at No. 10
or the 76ers at No. 12. The Chicago Bulls, at No. 9, also could have some
interest.
Yi played for the Gundong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball
Association last season, and he averaged 24.9 points and 11.5 rebounds
per game. He also has played with Yao as a member of the Chinese national
team and took part in the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World
Championship..
"I went to China three years ago, and I spent a lot of time around him,"
Babcock said. "We're prepared on him."
Babcock estimated that he and Harris and scouts Scott Howard and Scott
Roth had seen Yi play 20 times in the last four years.
Howard saw Yi in the Asian Championships last December in Qatar, and
Harris watched him in the 2004 Athens Olympics, where Harris' father,
Del, coached the Chinese team.
"He (Del Harris) thought Yi was a tremendous kid, really bright," Larry
Harris said. ""He had him at a young age, and at that time (in 2004)
thought he could be a small forward."
Harris and Babcock indicated that the Bucks would not be scared to select
Yi on draft night.
"I'm just saying we're still interested," Babcock said.
"If we feel like the player is the best player on the board, we're not
going to shy away from it if we think it would fit our team. Noah is the
same way. If Noah is the best player on the board, we're not going to
turn the page on him just because he won't come work out for us."
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