LOCAL basketball sensation Yi Jianlian signed a multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday, putting aside concerns that a move to Wisconsin might not best serve the forward’s career prospects and style of play.
“My feelings are that it’s a new start, a fresh challenge,” Yi told reporters after signing his contract in a luxury Hong Kong hotel.
Bucks owner Herb Kohl, present at the signing, said he was eager to see Yi in action.
“A-Lian is an extraordinarily fine person and he’s a great basketball player and we couldn’t be more pleased with having him,” said Kohl, using Yi’s Chinese nickname.
Since the 2.13-meter Yi was taken by Milwaukee with the sixth selection in the NBA draft in June, the potential move has been fraught with problems.
Chinese media reported the forward was reluctant to play in Milwaukee and that he preferred a city with a larger Asian population.
It was also reported that Yi’s former club, Guangdong Hongyuan, wanted to block the move and that Yi was looking to trade to another NBA club.
“We had legitimate, serious concerns,” his U.S. agent Dan Fegan said.
Yi, however, said he was now firmly focused on the future.
“These things have passed, there’s no need to speak of them again… I have no regrets. I think this team and the boss, we have a common goal, for me, it’s a good opportunity.”
Fegan said Yi’s contract was worth “roughly US$3 million” a year, guaranteed for the first two years pursuant to an NBA collective bargaining arrangement for rookies on the draft.
“We felt that he was the type of player who’d really fit our team. The thing that excites us is the different ways he can play, his versatility,” Bucks general manager Larry Harris said.
Yi has played for Guangdong since 2002-03, when he was named the Chinese Basketball Association’s (CBA) Rookie of the Year. The 19-year-old helped lead Guangdong to the CBA finals each of the last five seasons, winning the championship in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Named the CBA finals MVP in 2006, Yi has improved his numbers on a yearly basis, going from an average of 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds as a rookie to 24.9 points and 11.5 boards last season. He played in five games for Team China in the NBA Summer League this year, averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 28.0 minutes.
Yi scored a team-high 23 points in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies and added 20 in a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Yi is expected to join the team for training camp Oct. 1.(SD-Agencies)