How good will Yi become?

[paulpressey25]

Europa and some others started up the conversation in the game thread. We are getting nothing much from Yi right now.

Rookie Wall?

Not that good a player?

Tired from non-stop play year-round?

Thoughts?

Does this guy become a great PF or just a nice average to below average starter?

[LUKE23]

He's a bit tentative on offense as a rookie, and that is not a good fit with guards that dominate the ball. That, paired with lack of upper body strength is what is keeping him down.

He's still rebounding at a decent rate, getting out on shooters/hustling on D, and blocking a decent amount of shots. I think he's a 16/8 type guy next year with good D and %'s, eventually evolving into a 20/10 player.

He'll never be a good passer, IMO. But he can take guys off the dribble. Once he starts finishing those drives paired with his jumper, he'll be a very tough matchup.

[europa]

This is what I posted in the game thread:

I was going to start a thread on this at some point but most superstars show signs of that stardom in their rookie seasons. Not all - Nowitzki and Nash come to mind (Billups to a lesser extent). But usually, if a player becomes a superstar there were strong signs of that on display at some point in their rookie seasons.

Have we really ever seen that with Yi? I'm not so sure. He's shown signs of being a good player, but a superstar?

[Buck You]

He's not ready to play right now but I think in a couple years he'll be our 1sst or 2nd best player.

[jokeboy86]

Not a superstar by a long shot cause we would have at least saw it this season. He will be a very good NBA player though. Will he finish his career in Milwaukee? Who Knows.

[Simulack]

From the game thread:

I was going to start a thread on this at some point but most superstars show signs of that stardom in their rookie seasons. Not all - Nowitzki and Nash come to mind (Billups to a lesser extent). But usually, if a player becomes a superstar there were strong signs of that on display at some point in their rookie seasons.

Have we really ever seen that with Yi? I'm not so sure. He's shown signs of being a good player, but a superstar?

I got no idea why so many people ran away thinking Yi had superstar written all over him. He's lucky to be a serviceable starter at this stage. He really been struggling for the past two months.

Maybe not a superstar MVP caliber typer player but I have zero doubts Yi will eventually be a perenial(sp) all star type player in the future.Zero doubts.

The suckiness of this team has forced Yi into a non-project role that he probably shouldn't be in. He seems to have the groundwork to be a possible star, but I think he's so far off it's hard to tell still.

I do think that he's proven that he's going to be a more than serviceable player, as long as he can get a lot stronger with the ball.

Agreed. The guy is averaging 10 and 6 while basically being ignored by everyone on our team. He needs more upper body strength to help finish at the rim. But I've seen enough to think he'll be a 20/10 player in time.

Not yet IMO. His 29 point game was obviously primarily hot shooting. That's great but Tony Delk scored 50+ in an NBA game once.

CV of course had 48 as a rookie.

For me the biggest issue is that he is totally reliant on someone else setting up his shot for him. In addition to have no post-game, he has zero ability to drive to the basket or to shoot a jumper after taking a dribble or two to get his defender off-guard.

I don't expect rookies to have a full-developed offensive repertoire but Yi is totally one-dimensional. He mostly just stands around on the perimeter even more than CV does.

I'm fine with waiting for him to develop if that is the plan. But we aren't going to win a lot now with him as our 4 when we also have one of the worst starting 3's in the league.

I said before and I will say again. Yi this season = Ersan last year. Only taller

People constantly overrate 7-footers who can shoot outside of 15 feet and have some semblance of athleticism. The problem is even if you shoot well for a 7-footer, that's probably a low percentage shot, and if you don't have the quickness and ability to change directions quickly to avoid swarming guards, those skills aren't won't translate fully to games.

Exactly Luke and Yi also has the intangibles,he does the little things out there and he plays hard and plays to win and he plays good defense and has a high basketball IQ.

When you combine those things with his size and talent he is going to be a good player no doubt about it.

And one thing I wanted to mention and im kind of echoing you Luke about him being ignored is that Yi from the start of the season untill now has actually seemed to have gotten worse as a player.

For some reason I don't think its because he hit a rookie wall.

Probably the same problem Steve Blake had as a Buck, Yi has come down with a bad case of ''I play to win but im playing with selfish me first cancers-itis''.

[Sigra]

Rasheed Wallace. If we are lucky.

I doubt he ever become as good as Gasol for example. That's why I would trade him and Simmons' terrible contract for Gasol RIGHT NOW. Doubt Memphis do it though

[europa]

I should add I'm not saying I believe Yi is going to suck or be a bad player. Far from it. I think he's shown the skill set to be a good player. I'm just not sure he's going to be the superstar some thought. I haven't seen that from him but again there are examples of other elite players such as Nash and Dirk who were worse as rookies than Yi has been. So it is possible. But I do think that most of the time a superstar player shows clear indications right from the outset that he can reach that elite level in time.

[Baddy Chuck]

He'll nev er be better then Shawn Marion.

[REDDzone]

I almost feel the question about Yi should be, not whether he can be a superstar, but how well does he fit with Bogut?

[75totheMACCfund]

he needs a true finisher's strength...no crappy jokes about him not being from finland.

[Simulack]

My main problem always comes back to the "win now" vs "build for the future" debate.

Regardless what you think of Yi's potential, its very obvious the guy isn't ready right now. He fooled us there with a couple of hot-shooting games earlier in the year combined with him being a better defender than anticipated. But right now we are basically seeing the project pick we all expected him to be.

That's fine and I'm comfortable with waiting for him to develop. But then we need to make other personnel moves that fit the "build for the future" plan. We aren't winning **** right now with Yi as our 4. We'd probably be better if we at least had a rebounding specialist like Reggie Evans there instead of a jump shooting specialist like Yi since we often get killed on the defensive boards.

The problem is obviously exacerbated by also having one of the worst starting 3's in the league (whoever it is that night).

What is the plan here?

[jokeboy86]

I'm starting to believe that 20-25 minute rumor though, because for a rookie who isn't the #1 or #2 pick to continue to start after having such a bad stretch doesn't make any sense. No matter how much we talk about CV, he still has been in the league longer than Yi and it wouldn't hurt to start him for a game.

[LUKE23]

My main problem always comes back to the "win now" vs "build for the future" debate.

Regardless what you think of Yi's potential, its very obvious the guy isn't ready right now. He fooled us there with a couple of hot-shooting games earlier in the year combined with him being a better defender than anticipated. But right now we are basically seeing the project pick we all expected him to be.

That's fine and I'm comfortable with waiting for him to develop. But then we need to make other personnel moves that fit the "build for the future" plan. We aren't winning **** right now with Yi as our 4. We'd probably be better if we at least had a rebounding specialist like Reggie Evans there instead of a jump shooting specialist like Yi since we often get killed on the defensive boards.

The problem is obviously exacerbated by also having one of the worst starting 3's in the league (whoever it is that night).

What is the plan here?

That's why I do a full rebuild mode around Bogut/Yi. Let both those guys get a bunch of minutes/touches this year, ignore wins, trade Redd and/or Mo for guys that can defend and do something other than score, and use the lottery pick wisely.

There is absolutely no way this team makes the playoffs, so I'd rather develop our future now at the expense of wins.

[magpies]

He will be a all star only due to the fact The Chinese fans will put him in, can not see him being a 20pts 10rbs per game but maybe a 15pt 8rbs

But it is a couple of years off and my feelings is he will leave The Bucks in three years

[Simulack]

I doubt he ever become as good as Gasol for example. That's why I would trade him and Simmons' terrible contract for Gasol RIGHT NOW. Doubt Memphis do it though

I'd do that as well. In fact, its better than my earlier Bogut for Gasol trade thread not just because of how Bogut is playing this month but because Gasol/Bogut is a better win now pairing than Yi/Gasol.

That doesn't mean I don't like Yi. I just think there are very, very few prospects you can ever project to 20/10/3/2 numbers like Gasol has proven capable of. Gasol is likely near what Yi's ceiling is so I'd go with the proven thing since Pau is still reasonably young.

Maybe that is playing it too safe.

I'd prefer to trade Redd/Mo and build for the future with Bogut/Yi. But if this team is deadset on winning now, that would be a good trade.

[Bernman]

People usually overrate rookies and 7 footers who can shoot and aren't complete oafs. All of those attributes describe Yi.

I made these comparisons around draft time; Donyell Marshall and Joe Smith. Some keep on saying all he needs to do is get stronger, but if that occurs, he loses mobility. He's already 240, but isn't mentally tough enough to withstand contact in the post. Post play post defense will never be an asset as a result. He's pleasantly surprised me with lateral quickness, or at least understanding of how to use his length on the perimeter. On the interior, his 1+ block total per game are garnered largely by leaping ability and aforementioned length, and he just doesn't have the awareness there to consistently alter shots or raise that total substantially.

The main difference between Yi and other rookies is that he's been gifted a starting opportunity, where the others have been blocked by competent veterans. 10/6 in 28 minutes at 23 years old (yes he is around that age), doesn't project to 20/10 his 3rd or 4th year in the league. That's an unbelievable reach. If he averages much over 16/7 on around 45 percent shooting, on a decent team I'll be shocked. If you watched him in international competition, he's never shown near the rebounding awareness or intensity to haul down close to 10 boards. He couldn't really swoop to the hoop or score down low against a group of his peers. He's pretty much resigned to being a perimeter and occasional putback and dunk offensive player, which has always been the case.

[Mike X]

He'll be very good.

Just give him some smarter players to play with and some time. Theres a few people on here who were quick to limit Boguts potential his first year and he's just starting to blossom now.

As with most young players its about the small glimpses that indicate the player they CAN become rather then any sustained period of dominance.

[Simulack]

There is absolutely no way this team makes the playoffs, so I'd rather develop our future now at the expense of wins.

We should be out of it here shortly. I've been looking at the GS, NO, Phoenix set of games as losses than are going to put us 10 games below .500.

I'm sure we will hear "We are only 3 games out of the 8th seed!" and "The schedule gets easier at the end of the year" like we do every single year but who really believes this team is coming back from 10 games below .500?

[smauss]

The first step will be up to him. Obviously, he needs to gain some upper body strength this off-season to be an effective 4 in the long term. He is definitely teachable, which is HUGE in this day and age. He is obviously a great jump shooter. He has wonderful mechanics and is quite talented. He also appears to have great desire to improve. These are all very positive qualities in a young man in the NBA.

I believe he will gain upper-body strength this off-season but there is one facet to him that I'm a little concerned about. I think he needs to get involved in the physicality of NBA play. He needs to become more aggressive, and maybe a little "nasty" at his position to be successful rather than shying away from it. I don't believe that a successful PF can only play a finesse game.