Does Memphis regret passing on Yi Jianlian for Mike Conley?

Diggr14 · Post #1 » by **Diggr14** » Sun Feb 3, 2008 11:27 pm

Milwaukee fan here. Prior to the draft last year, there was speculation of Mike Conley falling to 6 to the Bucks.

When the Bucks drafted Yi Jianlian, many here were not to happy with the pick. Now that he is in the fold and playing, you can really see his upside. He is definitely going to be a star in this league. I have gotten to see Conley a few times this year, but I do not think he will have the upside that Jianlian has.

I guess with Gasol at the 4, it made more sense to draft a PG for Memphis, but given the fact that it was very likely that Gasol would be moved, wouldn't a big man of some kind made more sense.

Any thoughts?

Grizzfan777 · Post #2 » by **Grizzfan777** » Sun Feb 3, 2008 11:55 pm

I have been impressed with Conley...the team plays so much better with him in there. When he isnt injured he is amazing.

Post #3 » by **SD2042** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 12:15 am

The Grizz already have defensive liabilities on the squad. Considering the Bucks and their own defensive liabilities. I doubt that the Grizz have any regrets on passing on Yi.

hard49 · Post #4 » by **hard49** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 12:27 am

The answer is no. There is nobody who was available that I would want over Conley, just Oden, Durant and Horford.

jefe · Post #5 » by **jefe** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 12:37 am

Nope. Conley has played extremely well for a 20 year old point guard who can't get consistant PT due to injuries. The sensible thing that should have been done to address the OP's issue, IMO, would have been to acquire a young big man in return for Gasol.

Sumisu · Post #6 » by **Sumisu** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 1:14 am

I hate it when you don't know the true age of your players... plus, it's always good to have a reliable PG (ask the Hawks). So far I don't regret picking Conley over Yi.

Joakim Noah's playing pretty well in the last few games, though. But so does Darko.

Cubboo · Post #7 » by **Cubboo** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 2:58 am

Knowing the issues that would surround the signing of Yi, I would say no. I applaud the Bucks for choosing and sticking out the signing process with Yi, but I seriously doubt, No- I'm sure, the Griz mgmt would be in too much chaos to even attempt a move like that. As you can see, we have enough public relations nightmares of our own making.

Hewy29 · Post #8 » by **Hewy29** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 4:00 am

Diggr14 wrote:Milwaukee fan here. Prior to the draft last year, there was speculation of Mike Conley falling to 6 to the Bucks.

When the Bucks drafted Yi Jianlian, many here were not to happy with the pick. Now that he is in the fold and playing, you can really see his upside. He is definitely going to be a star in this league. I have gotten to see Conley a few times this year, but I do not think he will have the upside that Jianlian has.

I guess with Gasol at the 4, it made more sense to draft a PG for Memphis, but given the fact that it was very likely that Gasol would be moved, wouldn't a big man of some kind made more sense.

Any thoughts?

Are you kidding me??? Yi has been struggling horribly. Wasn't he 1 of 10 against the Rockets?? He is just another soft big who wants to shy away from contact and shoot 20 foot jumpers. No thank you. I'll pass on that. Give me Conely.

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #9 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 4:01 am

Not at all. Yi seems to be a project that may pan out. Conley's already panned out IMO.

chuckerz · Post #10 » by **chuckerz** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 5:09 am

well now that Gasol is traded, there is a weakness on the front court. I do not think Kwame will ever be that good. The back court is now stacked. If a power forward like yi was drafted, this might fill the void left by Gasol. But who could really see into the future...

Post #11 » by **SD2042** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 6:33 am

There's more than just weaknesses to the Grizz frontcourt. They barely have anyone else that's capable of stepping up on offense outside of Rudy and MM. Perimeter defense is still a problem. Everything with the Grizzlies is a mess right now.

bobobolas1 · Post #12 » by **bobobolas1** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 10:35 am

Im glad conley came along. only oden, horford and durant were better for me.

The thing is the bad luck we had in the lottery! the 4th pick being the worst team. picture a healty oden with gasol. Gasol have stayed here and maybe instead the money of darko, we could have spend that money in other free agent that could look mem with a good core and pleased to come. 'Shard? who knows...

Diggr14 · Post #13 » by **Diggr14** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 3:57 pm

wow, i guess I expected the majority of you to like the Conley pick more still, but I expected a few dissenters.

I like Mike Conley too, but I'm not sold on him being a bigtime player in the NBA some day ala chris paul. I don't even think he will be Deron Williams at PG.

Yi's age is always up for debate, but whether he is 19-22, it is very apparent that there is a lot of upside there with this kid. He is long, 6-11, very quick (probably one of the quickest 4's in the league), he has one heck of a jumper (despite the one night of 1-10). He does need to refine his inside game, he seems to hurry his shots when he gets inside. He also gets blocked a decent amount because face it he wasn't playing against the best competition in China. He could extend over everyone there and get away with it.

That being said, there is definitely more upside in Yi Jianlian as becoming a franchise player. Conley is a nice glue player, he probably will never have a good shot, he probably will never be a scorer in the NBA, but he hopefully develops into an above average floor general.

Yi has superstar potential. My question with him is how the Bucks will handle him and how his handlers will handle him. As some of you mentioned (this is a major PR problem).

But thanks for the info guys.

Sumisu · Post #14 » by **Sumisu** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 4:30 pm

Diggr14 wrote:Yi's age is always up for debate, but whether he is 19-22, it is very apparent that there is a lot of upside there with this kid.

Yi could be 25 or 26, if the story about him and Shane Battier is true. Calling him a kid with a lot of upside is like calling Jose Calderon raw material.

jefe · Post #15 » by **jefe** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 9:38 pm

Diggr14 wrote:wow, i guess I expected the majority of you to like the Conley pick more still, but I expected a few dissenters.

I like Mike Conley too, but I'm not sold on him being a bigtime player in the NBA some day ala chris paul. I don't even think he will be Deron Williams at PG.

Yi's age is always up for debate, but whether he is 19-22, it is very apparent that there is a lot of upside there with this kid. He is long, 6-11, very quick (probably one of the quickest 4's in the league), he has one heck of a jumper (despite the one night of 1-10). He does need to refine his inside game, he seems to hurry his shots when he gets inside. He also gets blocked a decent amount because face it he wasn't playing against the best competition in China. He could extend over everyone there and get away with it.

That being said, there is definitely more upside in Yi Jianlian as becoming a franchise player. Conley is a nice glue player, he probably will never have a good shot, he probably will never be a scorer in the NBA, but he hopefully develops into an above average floor general.

Yi has superstar potential. My question with him is how the Bucks will handle him and how his handlers will handle him. As some of you mentioned (this is a major PR problem).

But thanks for the info guys.

I like Yi too, but I'm not sold on Yi being anything more than an average 4. In fact, I don't think he'll ever refine his inside game or develop better shot selection.

Mike Conley, on the other hand, clearly has unlimited to potential. I really believe he'll develop an automatic outside jumper, and he's already faster than the average PG and possesses above-average decision-making.

But thanks for the info, guy.

Ah, being a homer is just that easy - biased conclusory statements.

:rofl:

memgrizzlies · Post #16 » by **memgrizzlies** » Mon Feb 4, 2008 11:04 pm

I am not at all the Grizz chose Conley over Yi. I love his game and he will be an All-Star. I just know it.

Diggr14 · Post #17 » by **Diggr14** » Tue Feb 5, 2008 2:09 am

there is zero chance Yi is 25 or 26. Even the Chinese gov't isn't that crooked.

The guy looks 19-21. He by no means looks 26. Christ, Conley looks older than Yi in the face.

We shall see, Conley was the higher pick so he should be the better pro, but early indications and scouts that have seen Yi in the NBA now beg to differ about some of your analysis of his game. He might be a little soft right now, but he has a lot of energy. He has a good move to the hole and he can hit the consistent 19-20' jumper. I think he will be better than Dirk Nowitzki, He's quicker, bigger, and has a smoother stroke at a younger age. It will be interesting to see how he develops.

I like Conley, at the draft I was hoping the Bucks would get Conley, but after seeing them both play now Yi Jianlian is in my opinion the better player in the long term in the NBA.

As for him being 25-26.. that is funny. There is no way.

aznkillabeezZz · Post #18 » by **aznkillabeezZz** » Tue Feb 5, 2008 11:00 am

http://cbs.sportsline.com/columns/story/10597075/rss

heres a good article that fits my thoughts on yi. I havent seen enough games on conley to have an opinion of him. He's been injured alot. But Yi has been one of the best rookies this season. He's extremely long, and athletic, and has a pure perimeter shot. He just needs to gain more strength. Learn to finish in the post. He's extremely quick for a 7 footer too. Very good perimeter defender, and an alright low post defender. Definetely improved his rebounding and shotblocking, but still needs work.

It usually takes international players a while to adapt and have consistency. Especially being from China and dealing with a foreign culture. Yi needs to change his laidback demeanor and command for the ball. It seems unlikely this season, and the bucks have the biggest ball hogs in the nba. They don't pass to rookies. But during the second year, i'm pretty sure Yi will put down consistent numbers because he looks dedicated and he already has superior skills. He just needs to polish it.

Conley is a pretty short guard though, but we'll see how he does when he is healthy.

jefe · Post #19 » by **jefe** » Tue Feb 5, 2008 1:10 pm

aznkillabeezZz wrote:http://cbs.sportsline.com/columns/story/10597075/rss

heres a good article that fits my thoughts on yi. I havent seen enough games on conley to have an opinion of him. He's been injured alot. But Yi has been one of the best rookies this season. He's extremely long, and athletic, and has a pure perimeter shot. He just needs to gain more strength. Learn to finish in the post. He's extremely quick for a 7 footer too. Very good perimeter defender, and an alright low post defender. Definetely improved his rebounding and shotblocking, but still needs work.

It usually takes international players a while to adapt and have consistency. Especially being from China and dealing with a foreign culture. Yi needs to change his laidback demeanor and command for the ball. It seems unlikely this season, and the bucks have the biggest ball hogs in the nba. They don't pass to rookies. But during the second year, i'm pretty sure Yi will put down consistent numbers because he looks dedicated and he already has superior skills. He just needs to polish it.

Conley is a pretty short guard though, but we'll see how he does when he is healthy.

Just for comparison.

A (definitely) 21 year old, foreign rookie, Pau Gasol averaged 17.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 2.1 bpg.

Yi as a rookie, on the other hand - possibly the same age, also needing to adapt to the NBA game like Gasol was a the time - 9.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.9 apg, 1.0 bpg.

Now we've seen, more or less, what Gasol looks like in his NBA prime: if Yi's progress develops like Gasol's, is there even a legit chance he ends up merely as good as Gasol is now (i.e. great second option, not a real franchise player)? Is that the best he can hope for?

aznkillabeezZz · Post #20 » by **aznkillabeezZz** » Wed Feb 6, 2008 12:44 am

jefe wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Just for comparison.

A (definitely) 21 year old, foreign rookie, Pau Gasol averaged 17.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 2.1 bpg.

Yi as a rookie, on the other hand - possibly the same age, also needing to adapt to the NBA game like Gasol was a the time - 9.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.9 apg, 1.0 bpg.

Now we've seen, more or less, what Gasol looks like in his NBA prime: if Yi's progress develops like Gasol's, is there even a legit chance he ends up merely as good as Gasol is now (i.e. great second option, not a real franchise player)? Is that the best he can hope for?

First of all, Yi is the 4th scoring option on the team right now behind Redd, Mo and Bogut. Pau was the first scoring option for his team in his rookie year, hence he had more opportunities and his stats were higher in his first year. However, Pau was probably more developed than Yi from the get go.

No one can tell if Yi will be a franchise player, however he'll possibly be a great 2nd option in the next few years as he develops. He definitely is more athletic and quicker than pau.