Far East Scouting Report: Yi Jianlian

What this team doesnt need is more uncertainty and thats what Drafting him at 3-5 means..

leave him for someone else imo..

….and yet Yao Ming says that Yi is “better than me”…. Could Yao be indulging in politics so as to get Yi drafted as high as possible or is Yao, with his NBA experience, in a better position to judge Yi’s talent and potential than our far east correspondents?

In at least in one respect our far east correspondents correctly contrasted Tony Allen’s fearless determination when compared with the relatively meek Gerald Green. Neither player seemed to have a high basketball IQ when drafted but, thus far, Tony seems to have made the necessary adjustments that Gerald still has yet to show.

In Gerald’s case, his year-to-year court “presence” seems as raw as ever making one wonder if, with all that potential, he’ll stay frozen in court AWARENESS?

Since Danny saw something (worth making 3 trips to China to investigate) I wonder just where he projected Yi as a possible Celtic draft pick (3-5?)? While Yi has major athleticism, talent and potential but some questions as well, couldn’t the same be said for other players in competition for picks 3-5?

If anything, our far east correspondents have reminded us that the lust for size, athleticism and talent needs to be TEMPERED by a carefull assessment of a player’s “intangibles” (determination, fearless spirit, coachability, basketball IQ etc.).

Last time Yao said a bad word about anyone or anything was in sleep …

and even then , he woke up and apologised.

As for Wang’s dominance of Yi, don’t read too much into it. That sort of thing happens to all rookies when they come into first contact with NBA experience. The true telltale comes later when that same player gains NBA experience and learns how to cope with the savy of experience.

Tony Allen is 4 years older than Gerald Green, so I think any conclusions are still premature. How good will Gerald be in 4 years?

I’ve never seen Jianlin play, but the top three are locked to me right now, with Brandan Wright being the third pick. I think he could be a Camby-like player eventually.

Obviously we all want the first or second pick , however, I feel comfortable in the decisions that Danny will have to make with regard to the draft. Sure he has made some mistakes in his current role , but let’s not forget that he has shown great strength in the draft.

Yi seems too long-term a project at this point given the make-up of the Celtic’s roster. Someone who could be dominated at both ends of the court by Wang Zhi-Zhi scares me. Most rookies will fail when they come in contact with NBA experience. Did Wang play enough in the NBA to be considered “NBA” experienced?

DAS, that’s what most of us are going with too. Danny’s trades might not be too hot but most would agree he drafts well.

Jeff,

Did you write this while you were drunk? The typos are awful!

Either way, Yi is an interesting prospect and the direction I expect Danny to go in should we pick 4 or 5.

What’s this picking 4/5 stuff? No negative waves…

thanks for the write up. it was interesting to read some negative points along with the positive. all too often the web site scouting lays on so many superlatives that even 2nd round players appear to be all stars.

this analysis seems to be pretty honest in its assessments, but hey, how can i really tell? thanks again guys.

Mon – If Jianlin can play at all, the business potential of drafting him makes it a no-brainer pick at 3. However, if he’s a bust it won’t really matter, will it?

Also, nobody’s told me exactly how the NBA distributes international merchandising profits. MLB takes all of the profit from Red Sox merchandise overseas and puts it into a pool, so the Sox don’t necessarily benefit there. The sox only benefit from brand recognition and in-park advertising rights, which is hardly a bonanza. The city of Boston benefits from tourism, but besides Fenway park tours I don’t know if that is a huge money gainer for the Sox either. And the Chinese do not do nearly as much traveling as the Japanese do.

If Wyc does order Ainge to take Jianlin at 3-5, it means the Celts basically are not getting anyone who can help them win next season, unless they are willing to deal Ratliff and go into luxury tax territory. This means that there will be little changes made to a team every fan seems to believe must make the playoffs next year or heads will roll. Do you think that makes Ainge or Rivers very confident about their futures?

Didn’t Ainge also follow Telfair for years? See how well that worked out?

Well he doesn’t sound like a #3 pick to me. No post game, and nothing at all in the scouting report about his defense and rebounding. I agree that the team’s marketeers will push for him because he will make the Celtics much more prominent in the Chinese market, but he sounds like a bust waiting to happen. I hope I’m wrong.

Maybe. instead of drafting Yi, they ought to ask Grousbeck to submit to plastic surgery to give him an epicanthal fold.

That was a great write-up. THis guy is a true Celtic fan, and it was a very helpful assessment of Yi. We all tend to fantacize, especially wiht the you-tube clippings showing Yi dunking every time he has the ball. This was a very sobering assessment of him. This guy sold me as legit when he made the great comparison between Tony Allen and Gerald Green. Couln’t have said it better myself. Nice job.

I’d actually like to hear a little bit about his passing skills. If Yi can pass well and hit the 15 ft elbow jumper, he would actually be a perfect fit for Doc and Danny’s “high-post” offense, complementing Big Al down low.

I’d much rather see a guy like Yi playing that spot that can actually hit the J than the way the stick Perk there right now.

That said, I’m completely clueless as to whether he’s actually any good. But it does appear that the foreign jump shooting big man is becoming a regular sighting in the NBA these days.

Ah! I just saw the “Written by: Jeff” part and took it for granted!

Too early in the morning to be drunk!

And my Mandarin is great! How’s yours?

Yi at 3 is fine with me!

Please dont take Yi Please dont take Yi Please dont take Yi. Seriously, he’s going to get eaten alive in the NBA. Watch his “mix” on youtube If you don’t believe me. He’s going to be pushed around and brutalized. Stay the course Danny, If it comes down to it trade the 3-5 with GG, Delonte whoever and try to land KG.

Believe me, Whang is no where close to the talent and potential of Yi.when Wang played, he was soft and already at his peak, whereas Yi, though age is not totally disclosed, is still young and IMO would have improved better.You can’t teach height and as it is now,if you even considered drafting Bargnani no.1 last year, then surely enough, Yi is worthy of a top 4 pick in this year’s draft.

“If Scalabrine could get so many minutes merely because he is an inconsistent shooter who has enough size, it is no doubted that Yi will find his place in the team.”

For some reason, this sentence is even more amusing when it is written in broken english.

Thanks for the post, btw. Appreciate the info.

But Wang pitches great in New York Yankees!! ;D

Yi faced Wang in the CBA finals. Wang is an ex-NBA, full grown man and is probably a tougher opponent than anyone on a college team. I am not sure what Hibbert, Hawes, Horford, Noah… would be able to do against him in that type of setting. I don’t think you can derate his ability based on competition as compared to the competition we have seen these other guys against. The NBA is a whole new world for everyone. He might be Dirk or he might be Reaf and Oden might be Russell or he might be Sampson.

So we are supposed to get excited by the fact that Yi went up against WangZhiZhi in one game— and lost the game?

Tiago Splitter goes up against better players than that every time he steps on the floor— and that includes Tau Ceramica’s practices.

Chris Wallace was pretty convinced Yi would be the 1st foreign player chosen, before Splitter. I have not seen either play, and will trust Ainge will make the right move. This draft appears so deep, that I’d hate to make a mistake stretching for the maybe super player, when the definitely very good is right in front of you. 7 footers who can take you off the dribble and shoot 3’s may be sexy, but I’d like to draft a guy who can rebound, defend and shoot from 12 feet in.

Doc can’t get players who speak the same language to break a zone or play defense….How does he communicate with someone who doesn’t??

Oh, I’m sure that for marketing reasons (if for no other reason) Yi will be the first foreign player chosen. And maybe he deserves it—or maybe not). But let’s not justify the selection on the basis of the fact that he went up against Wang Zhi Zhi, who spent 3 years in the NBA and never got off the bench. If Wang has improved since then, why aren’t 4-5 NBA teams knocking on his door to sign him as a free agent?

Wow, that’s all the Celtics need: a lottery draft bust on top of another year of Rivers.

Thanks to our foreign corrospondents for the heads up, your efforts are greatly appreciated.

A very interesting read and about the only thing I know for sure is that this article will make me pray even harder for a number one or two pick.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, the pain of it all.

Go Tommy, go Tommy, go Tommmy !!!!!!

Cheers

Aussie

Just wanted to add my thanks for the input from China. Regardless of what happens viz. Yi there is no doubt the coming years are going to see an increasing need for these types of reports – from Europe, China, elsewhere – to keep us us sated. Well done Jeff, well done China….

I’d take Sampson.

What concerns me most is the unknow qualifications of our Chinese correspondents and our willingness to trust their judgement. They may be entirely correct in their assessment of Yi’s potential or they may feel compelled to give a very critical assessment so as not to appear biased.

I wonder what their “take” would be on others rated top 10? We seem to be in general agreement that outside of Oden and Durant, other draftees have concerns and weaknesses so that there is no general concensus on draft order. We have already seen some mocks that prefer players at the center position over more skilled 6’7" players. Size and skill position seem to be weighted more heavily than TALENT.

Which leads us back to Yi and the attraction of an athletic 7’ player with handles, a quick first step and a sound midrange game. There are some reports that hype his 3 pt. shooting as well. Does he have deficiencies. Yes, but so do other candidates for draft spots 3-5 etc.

I’m not necessarily defending Yi’s selection 3-5 because I’ve never seen him play, but I have read conflicting reports on his NBA potential and in that regard, I’ll trust Danny to make the tough choice. From what I’ve read, Al Thornton could be one of the stars to emerge from this draft and he may go in the teens. The best players are not necessarily picked in order of NBA potential but every effort is made to do just that.

The candidates for draft spots 1-2 also have their deficiencies. The problem with Yi is that he’s beginning to sound more and more like Tskitishvilli.

Po : that was a rather poor attempt :P

Thank you for your guys attention and comments, here I want to explian something:
1. We are not correspondents, I myself is an university student in China
2. Sorry for my broken English, and I am still doing my best to improve it
3. What was written in the article was just our own opinions, maybe some of them are not coherent to yours. If so, just forget about it
4. In the part of “Wang vs. Yi”, what I try to illustrate is that Yi is still lacking of exprience, especially when he was facing an ex-NBA player. He still needs to work harder and harder to gain experience and make improvements. On the other hand, What the Celts need is a rookie who can bring something on the table immediately after the recruitment. On the basis of these, I just doubt that if Yi is best suited to the Celts.But I am sure that he will get a great improvement after joining the league(maybe he can dominate the paint someday? I never underestimate his potential).
5. I totally agree with the point that “The NBA is a whole new world for everyone”, but there are some differences between a local freshmen and a foreign freshmen. A foreigner need to adapt to the new culture and new enviroment. What’s more, the style and the rhythm of NBA is totally differnt from CBA. So Yi needs to work harder.
6. So glad to see some of you are feeling that Yi will become a good player.
7. Thank you all again and I hope this article is worth reading to your guys.

While Brick seems to think more and more that Yi is another Tskitishville I’m more inclined to believe that he’s more like Bargnani. The quiet controversies that this board generates makes one realize how differently we extrapolate information and how much we temper what we read by injecting our own prejudices.

The varying depth and breadth of commentary can’t help but make us more informed as fans. We’re all hoping that this “historic” draft helps put us back on course for championship #17! While #‘s 1 and 2 would satisfy all of us, I’m thinking that we won’t have it that easy and thus the emphasis on picks 3-5.

I’m just guessing like everyone else. I’ve never seen Yi JianLian play. But I remember the glowing reports on the draft websites (and elsewhere) about players like Bruno Sundov, Maciej Lampe and Nikolas Tskitishvilli, all of who were “soft” 7 footers with perimeter skills. None of those players is still in the league.

Perhaps the Bargnani comparison is a good one, but Bargnani is also a tough kid who rebounds and blocks shots. Plus, Bargnani was 19 years old when drafted, not 23 years old.

You bring up an interesting point, Brick. I don’t recall that Bargnani liked to go inside either but he changed his game because he realized that the need was there and Bosh showed him how.

Of the players mentioned above (Sundov, Lampi, and Tskitishville) I don’t recall them having the handles or athleticism that Yi is reputed to have. The assumption that draft pundits have is that Yi, like Bargnani, will develop inside skills to include defense and rebounding. He may even develop post moves but with Jefferson as a teammate, there may be more emphasis on him taking the 12’ shot from the foul line etc. as well as 3 pointers to open the inside.