7 footer chinese guy declared in 2007 draft

[NeverFail]

YI JIAN LIAN declared he will join 2007 nba draft.

Post on your thoughts, guys where do you think he will be taken??? and which team interested in???



:cool:

[Genjuro]

YI JIAN LIAN declared he will join 2007 nba draft.

Post on your thoughts, guys where do you think he will be taken??? and which team interested in???



:cool:
Every team is interested in athletic seven footers. He has a very good chance to crack into the lottery.

[coachjon]

he will be drafted somewhere in the late lottery this year. i think he will turn into a legit #1 star on a weak team and #2 star on a good team.

he is agile, explosive, athletic, excels in the transition game, high basketball IQ, slasher, can post up (inside/outside guy), good shotblocker, too soft to play the post in the NBA right now more of a finesse outside bigman, poor hands, needs to add strength, has been inconsistent when playing against good competition.

teams i think will be in the late lottery this year that would take him are: houston, sacramento, or indiana.

[NeverFail]

thanks guys, btw Jon, did you hear anything like any team interested him????
you probably know that better than us. :)

[coachjon]

i am sure a lot of teams would be interested in him but no havent heard any specifics yet, but the season is still young.

[Hitster]

As the coach states Yi is more of a finesse big man that teams seem to be looking at now, where he will be drafted and who will take him cannot really be predicted. He has a shot at going top 10, as I've said before Houston is the obvious team to take him with the Yao connection. He'd fit in well at say Toronto or Phoenix (with pick from Atlanta via Joe Johnson trade), if he slips down the draft expect one of the play-off teams to grab him up. Indiana is a posibility to back up Harrington JO etc also New Jersey and Washington both could make use of him, could not see him fitting into say Detroit or Utah for example.

[CV3bandwagon]

It's november, teams are looking towards their next game not the draft. At this point teams ALL teams are interested in a 7' athletic freak but saying who might draft him this early.....well that's just insane.

I still don't think however Houston is drooling over him simple because he shares the same origen of their young stud. The fact that they are a contender they might not like the fact the CBA aparantly have a deal in place where he is only allowed to enter the NBA if he is guaranteed so many minutes.

[Hitster]

If the CBA try and demand that Yi plays a certain amount of minutes, this could really screw up his NBA prospects. Most people accept that he'll be a mid to late lottery pick but also that he is that wonderful word a "project". Look at players such as Bargnani and Bynum who did not or are not seeing many minutes in their first season, likewise with Tyrus Thomas and Aldridge when he gets fit, they'll come from the bench. No GM would select a player who may not sign for the team unless certain guarantees are met and risk him not coming over or more importantly put a player on a team and instruct a Coach to play him for a minimum 10-15mpg. Could you imagine say someone like Coach Sloan for an example being told to play a rookie for guaranteed MPG. Also with Yi not likely to be say a top 8 pick then he could be potentially be picked by a team with more depth than one drafting higher which would again potentially limit his minutes.

[11player]

I can't see any team going for that minimum playing time they are talking about, in fact, I think they will not demand it because Yi is totally capable of getting playing time right from the start, depending only on himself.

Regarding his draft position, based on what I saw from him to this moment, I can't see him slipping past the tenth pick.

[bigpapi0304]

There are a coulple good videos of him on google video... He looks like he could be an athlete right now at best. Worse Case Senario: Stromile Swift?
Best Case: Could be a poor man's Kevin Garnett?? I could be way off, but if he bulks up and keeps improving he could be a star...

[nextstar1019]

many teams are interested...tall, athletic, but just a little raw but he will be good

[Genjuro]

There are a coulple good videos of him on google video... He looks like he could be an athlete right now at best. Worse Case Senario: Stromile Swift?
Best Case: Could be a poor man's Kevin Garnett?? I could be way off, but if he bulks up and keeps improving he could be a star...
No way Garnett. We are talking about a guy (Yi) who might lack skills to play PF, let alone to ressemble anything to a combo-forward such as Garnett.

[11player]

The news is he just hired Dan Fegan as his agent and that his team officials have already begun negotiations with the CBA to release him to the NBA.

[nextstar1019]

i think he might even end up as a lottery pick

[11player]

I doubt he will not end up a lottery pick, I'd say top 10.

Bigs are always overrated and more valuable than other players.

Just look at Saer Sene for example.

One thing that might hurt Yi is his wingspan, which doesn't seem that long. I'd say around 7'0-7'1.

[Hitster]

The teams will be watching Yi closely and his workouts will be probably what will decide his draft stock. Although obviously he has been seen in the World Championships and Asian Games etc, the CBA is not the same level of competition as the NCCA let alone the top European Leagues so to compare him to the other draft talent the workouts will be really interesting. Also any team looking to draft him will want to be sure that he will sign for them if drafted and not have buyouts clauses or conditions attached.

The 2007 draft is much more loaded than the 2006 draft so the likes of say Sene would not have had a chance of going top 10 next year.

[Hitster]

The teams will be watching Yi closely and his workouts will be probably what will decide his draft stock. Although obviously he has been seen in the World Championships and Asian Games etc, the CBA is not the same level of competition as the NCCA let alone the top European Leagues so to compare him to the other draft talent the workouts will be really interesting. Also any team looking to draft him will want to be sure that he will sign for them if drafted and not have buyouts clauses or conditions attached.

The 2007 draft is much more loaded than the 2006 draft so the likes of say Sene would not have had a chance of going top 10 next year.

[11player]

Yi is better than Sene, just look at Gliniadakis playing ahead of him and you will understand me, too raw.

The 2007 draft is definitelly loaded, but filled with underclassmen who will withdrawn if they can't get a promisse or feel they can get a better position in a future draft.

In fact, I think you can't have a safe picture with Yi, it will all depend on how he presents himself for workouts.
If he comes in and displays an agressive attitude, his freaking athleticism, a killer instinct, consistency and all his skills, then whe are talking about a top 5 pick, but if he comes in and shows a timid, shy attitude, hiding his skills, not using his athleticism, then he will be drafted only on his upside, around number 15-20.

[coachjon]

Yea Yi is not like Sene he is a skilled finesse bigman and Sene is a raw defensive role player. He is more like Bargnani and maybe Aldridge.