Yi Jianlian: Chinese NBA Forward Still Remains a Mystery Player

When Yi Jianlian of China declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft, he suddenly became the man of mystery for every NBA general manager who held a first-round draft choice. Who is this guy? How old is he? Is he still a teenager, or is he already into his 20s?

All we know is that he is a seven-footer with a good shooting stroke and most likely to play the small forward and/or power forward positions in the NBA. He has played well internationally throughout China, but has not faced NBA-level competition before.

With the Chinese government involved in the entire process of Yi coming to the United States and the NBA, things became more even more mysterious. The Chinese government came with its list of demands, expecting Yi to be taken in the lottery, wanting Yi to be in a location where there was a significant Asian population (such as Golden State in Oakland, Calif.) that had a lottery draft selection and looked to turn away teams that were in smaller markets, such as the Milwaukee Bucks, who ended up selecting Yi with the sixth overall pick in the draft.

It took some time for Yi to officially sign his rookie contract with Milwaukee after being drafted by the franchise. His Chinese representation wanted him to be elsewhere and really put pressure on the Bucks ownership. However, Yi did sign and was placed in the starting lineup after Charlie Villanueva went down with an injury. Under former coach Larry Krystkowiak he did have a decent start to his NBA career, and in a game against the Houston Rockets and Yao Ming, the television ratings in China were at an all-time high.

His season ended in early April due to a knee injury.

His tenure with the Milwaukee lasted for only one season as the Bucks shipped Yi, along with Bobby Simmons, to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Richard Jefferson. The Nets were thrilled to bring in Yi and  his Chinese representation was happy their client was in a location that had a decent Asian population. The Nets were able to use Yi’s presence to connect with Chinese fans.

Yi Jianlian NBA Statistics (2007-2011)

Team	Games Played	Points Per Game	Minutes Per Game
Milwaukee (2007-08)	66	8.6	5.2
New Jersey (2008-09)	61	8.6	5.3
New Jersey (2009-10)	52	12.0	7.2
Washington (2010-11)	63	5.6	3.9

During the 2008-09 season with the Nets, Yi played in only 52 games as he broke his pinkie and returned after the All-Star break. After missing time, he was quite rusty in his return and was out of sorts for the remainder of the season.

His 2009-10 campaign with the Nets was probably one of the worst seasons of his short NBA career. Yi dealt with numerous injuries (sprained MCL, laceration on upper lip and a sprained left ankle) that caused him to miss 30 games and as a result fall out of the rotation entirely. His American agent Dan Fegan publicly criticized the Nets claiming that they are taking away his client’s confidence by not playing him. The Nets in the 2010 offseason traded Yi along with cash considerations to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Quinton Ross.

Yi played in 63 games for the Wizards, but his scoring and rebounding averages dipped to the lowest of his career. After falling off the map in his second year in New Jersey, he was never able to show his consistency this past NBA season. The Wizards had the choice of picking up the option on his contract, but they declined, and as of June 30, 2011, Yi is an unrestricted free agent.

Now as a free agent, Yi continues to be a mysterious NBA player as he has shown signs of being a good shooter and having some intangibles, but has not shown his consistency in all three of his NBA stops: Milwaukee, New Jersey and Washington. Maybe there is a team that will take a chance on him and bring him in and he can try to find a starting role or a bench role. His Chinese representation will hopefully look at his current situation and find a new home for him.

Yi deserves to be on an NBA roster next season and have some sort of role that he can get accustomed to show as he is too young to be a journeyman-caliber player. He does have the pressure of his home country on his shoulders as Yao Ming is no longer playing in the NBA.