My curious fascination with Yi Jianlian continues. Today, Chad Ford takes a look at him in his blog (Insider), and he loves him. Insert your own joke about Chad and International prospects here.
I spent two days watching Yi work out in Los Angeles and walked away convinced that he's the third-best prospect (see the Top 100), ranking immediately behind Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.
He also goes on to say that the important thing for Yi is the right fit. He mentions the Celtics specifically:
The Celtics are another team that could give Yi a long look if they don't win one of the two top positions in the draft. Al Jefferson proved that he could play center in the pros last season. He and Yi would make a formidable pair in the frontcourt.
By the way, the comparisons to the 2003 draft are somewhat eerie. Oden and Durant are like LeBron and Melo, Yi is like Darko, Brandan Wright could be another Bosh. Now someone needs to figure out who the Wade of this draft is.