BillySixty
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- Jun 6, 2005
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World War III has been averted:
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=8/29/2007&id=28518
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 29, 2007, 2:24 a.m.
By Charles F. Gardner
Yi signs to play for Bucks
Yes, Yi Jianlian is following Yao Ming as China's latest import to the National Basketball Association.
And the 7-foot power forward indeed will be playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
After Bucks owner Herb Kohl made a trip to Hong Kong to conduct personal negotiations with Yi's representatives, the young Chinese star signed a multiyear deal with the Bucks, ending a saga that began on draft night when he was selected with the sixth overall pick by Milwaukee.
Kohl, Bucks general manager Larry Harris and team vice president Ron Walter met with Yi, Chinese Basketball Association officials and Guangdong Tigers owner Chen Haitao on Wednesday in Hong Kong.
"We all anticipate Yi's arrival and welcome him and his family to Milwaukee," Kohl said. "We look forward to a successful relationship for many years to come."
Yi and his representatives initially had balked at signing with the Bucks and requested a trade to another NBA team, preferably one in a major market or with a large Asian American population. Prior to the draft, agent Dan Fegan had warned the Bucks not to select Yi and had not allowed Bucks officials to conduct a private workout of the Chinese player at his Los Angeles training base.
But the Bucks insisted throughout the summer that they did not intend to trade Yi, and their hand was strengthened when they were able to sign their own free agent point guard, Mo Williams, to a six-year, $52 million contract. That lessened the chances they would be inclined to deal Yi, who had gained fame in China for his play with the Guangdong team.
Yi has spent most of his summer with the Chinese national team, which recently finished playing in a tournament in Turkey. Bucks officials were able to watch Yi play with his national team in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in early July, and Harris and Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak had a one-hour meeting with the Chinese player there.
Yi impressed NBA observers in Las Vegas, and his clutch shot in the final seconds against the Cleveland Cavaliers summer team gave China its only victory in five games.
Earlier this summer, Sen. Kohl wrote a letter inviting Yi, his family and his representatives to visit Milwaukee.
Chen has said that playing time is an issue in whether Yi will sign with the Bucks, and that was expected to be a topic of discussion at the meetings in Hong Kong. Chinese officials wanted assurances that Yi would play enough in his rookie season in the NBA to prepare him well for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Bucks have an opening at power forward, which was considered their most pressing need entering the draft. But the Bucks do have a number of frontcourt players who will be vying for time this season, including 6-foot-11 forward Charlie Villanueva, who was acquired in a trade last summer but was limited to 39 games due to injuries.
Kohl and Harris were expected to tell Chen and Chinese officials that Yi will have a solid opportunity to play with the Bucks, even as the team has designs on an Eastern Conference playoff berth in the upcoming season.
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=8/29/2007&id=28518
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 29, 2007, 2:24 a.m.
By Charles F. Gardner
Yi signs to play for Bucks
Yes, Yi Jianlian is following Yao Ming as China's latest import to the National Basketball Association.
And the 7-foot power forward indeed will be playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
After Bucks owner Herb Kohl made a trip to Hong Kong to conduct personal negotiations with Yi's representatives, the young Chinese star signed a multiyear deal with the Bucks, ending a saga that began on draft night when he was selected with the sixth overall pick by Milwaukee.
Kohl, Bucks general manager Larry Harris and team vice president Ron Walter met with Yi, Chinese Basketball Association officials and Guangdong Tigers owner Chen Haitao on Wednesday in Hong Kong.
"We all anticipate Yi's arrival and welcome him and his family to Milwaukee," Kohl said. "We look forward to a successful relationship for many years to come."
Yi and his representatives initially had balked at signing with the Bucks and requested a trade to another NBA team, preferably one in a major market or with a large Asian American population. Prior to the draft, agent Dan Fegan had warned the Bucks not to select Yi and had not allowed Bucks officials to conduct a private workout of the Chinese player at his Los Angeles training base.
But the Bucks insisted throughout the summer that they did not intend to trade Yi, and their hand was strengthened when they were able to sign their own free agent point guard, Mo Williams, to a six-year, $52 million contract. That lessened the chances they would be inclined to deal Yi, who had gained fame in China for his play with the Guangdong team.
Yi has spent most of his summer with the Chinese national team, which recently finished playing in a tournament in Turkey. Bucks officials were able to watch Yi play with his national team in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in early July, and Harris and Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak had a one-hour meeting with the Chinese player there.
Yi impressed NBA observers in Las Vegas, and his clutch shot in the final seconds against the Cleveland Cavaliers summer team gave China its only victory in five games.
Earlier this summer, Sen. Kohl wrote a letter inviting Yi, his family and his representatives to visit Milwaukee.
Chen has said that playing time is an issue in whether Yi will sign with the Bucks, and that was expected to be a topic of discussion at the meetings in Hong Kong. Chinese officials wanted assurances that Yi would play enough in his rookie season in the NBA to prepare him well for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Bucks have an opening at power forward, which was considered their most pressing need entering the draft. But the Bucks do have a number of frontcourt players who will be vying for time this season, including 6-foot-11 forward Charlie Villanueva, who was acquired in a trade last summer but was limited to 39 games due to injuries.
Kohl and Harris were expected to tell Chen and Chinese officials that Yi will have a solid opportunity to play with the Bucks, even as the team has designs on an Eastern Conference playoff berth in the upcoming season.
