The Official Yi Jianlian Shrine

[JonathanJoseph]

I didn't think about the endorsement angle. That's food for thought.

That said, the Blatche situation was completely different. Effectively, Blatche was extended for 3 years, at $9M a year. That's a lot of money, but at least Blatche is slated to be a perennial starter and number one low post option for the foreseeable future. Yi is different. Coming off his FIBA performance and his preseason showing so far, my guess is that Yi thinks of himself as being nearly as good as Blatche - at least worthy of something in the $6-7M per year range. But for our purposes, does it make a lot of sense to commit that much money to him right now when, at best, he's a 25 min per game backup?

At $6M/year, he'd still be cheaper than Amir Johnson or Drew Gooden. I would happy to lock that in for a few years. Skilled, versatile 7-footers who are just starting to reach their upside do not come cheap.

And I do not think Yi thinks of himself that way at all. Asian culture is not nearly as narcisstic as US culture, and either way it's more money than anyone he ever met growing up could ever fathom. I would be fairly confident that Yi would accept a fair deal if he was happy with the situation, and there's a lot to like about what's brewing at the Phone Booth.

[Ruzious]

I liked the Yi acquisition a lot from the start, but... I think it's a little premature to sign him to an extension at this point - unless it's a great bargain - or unless they have another move in mind to add cap flexibility in the future. ITWT.

[JonathanJoseph]

I liked the Yi acquisition a lot from the start, but... I think it's a little premature to sign him to an extension at this point - unless it's a great bargain - or unless they have another move in mind to add cap flexibility in the future. ITWT.

The cap flexibility is the same move they made with Blatche. They pay Yi more this year with leftover cap space to lessen cap hits going forward.

[fishercob]

I didn't think about the endorsement angle. That's food for thought.

That said, the Blatche situation was completely different. Effectively, Blatche was extended for 3 years, at $9M a year. That's a lot of money, but at least Blatche is slated to be a perennial starter and number one low post option for the foreseeable future. Yi is different. Coming off his FIBA performance and his preseason showing so far, my guess is that Yi thinks of himself as being nearly as good as Blatche - at least worthy of something in the $6-7M per year range. But for our purposes, does it make a lot of sense to commit that much money to him right now when, at best, he's a 25 min per game backup?

It's an interesting question actually, because there's certainly a level of production -- and not necessarily an unrealistic one -- where Yi would definitely be worth $6-7M. What if he can be roughly as good as Jamison -- not as good on offense, better on defense? Wouldn't you want that guy at 25 MPG for $6-7M?

Productive backup bigs are of critical importance. I don't envy the Wiz brass's task of having to decide this by November 1.

[nate33]

At $6M/year, he'd still be cheaper than Amir Johnson or Drew Gooden. I would happy to lock that in for a few years. Skilled, versatile 7-footers who are just starting to reach their upside do not come cheap.

And I do not think Yi thinks of himself that way at all. Asian culture is not nearly as narcisstic as US culture, and either way it's more money than anyone he ever met growing up could ever fathom. I would be fairly confident that Yi would accept a fair deal if he was happy with the situation, and there's a lot to like about what's brewing at the Phone Booth.

Let me put it this way: I think other teams would be inclined to pay more for Yi this summer than we will.

Yi may choose to stay here, but he'll be voluntarily leaving money on the table in order to do so (and he'll be choosing to remain a backup rather than going for a starting role elsewhere). That would be unusual in today's NBA.

[nate33]

I liked the Yi acquisition a lot from the start, but... I think it's a little premature to sign him to an extension at this point - unless it's a great bargain - or unless they have another move in mind to add cap flexibility in the future. ITWT.

The cap flexibility is the same move they made with Blatche. They pay Yi more this year with leftover cap space to lessen cap hits going forward.

No. it's different. It's an extension, not a renegotiation. Yi's 2010/11 salary is already set in stone. We're just talking about a new contract from 2011 onward.

[nate33]

Productive backup bigs are of critical importance. I don't envy the Wiz brass's task of having to decide this by November 1.

Agreed. That's why I don't think they'll decide by then. They'll do nothing and then consider their options at the Trade Deadline or this offseason.

[JonathanJoseph]

I liked the Yi acquisition a lot from the start, but... I think it's a little premature to sign him to an extension at this point - unless it's a great bargain - or unless they have another move in mind to add cap flexibility in the future. ITWT.

The cap flexibility is the same move they made with Blatche. They pay Yi more this year with leftover cap space to lessen cap hits going forward.

No. it's different. It's an extension, not a renegotiation. Yi's 2010/11 salary is already set in stone. We're just talking about a new contract from 2011 onward.

Why is it set in stone? What's the difference from a legal perspective?

[nate33]

You can't renegotiate a rookie contract before it's up. You also can't renegotiate an existing 4-year deal. It has to be a 5 year deal or longer.

[JonathanJoseph]

You can't renegotiate a rookie contract before it's up. You also can't renegotiate an existing 4-year deal. It has to be a 5 year deal or longer.

Ahh, I got it. I thought they were going to do the same thing they did with Blatche. In that case, I withdraw any comment until I see what kind of numbers we're looking at, but Grunfeld has a pretty strong track record when locking up players early (Haywood, Arenas, Butler, Blatche).

[kirubel94]

really like what YI has done, Q-Ross For Yi Was a steal for US!

[Hoopalotta]

Yeah, but Ross has also been playing out of his mind since the trade as well. He exploded the other night for 2-2-2 in 8 exhilarating minutes.

[Dat2U]

Let me put it this way: I think other teams would be inclined to pay more for Yi this summer than we will.

Yi may choose to stay here, but he'll be voluntarily leaving money on the table in order to do so (and he'll be choosing to remain a backup rather than going for a starting role elsewhere). That would be unusual in today's NBA.

Totally disagree. Exactly what market was there for Yi earlier in the summer when the Nets had trouble finding a team to dump him on before we took him?

I think we (the fans) are putting way too much emphasis on his FIBA performance. By all accounts he accounted for himself pretty well but performances in FIBA or on the world stage don't necessarily translate to the NBA. And neither does performing well in preseason games.

I don't think many teams would see Yi as a potential starter at this stage, if any. Most would agree he has the natural talent & he's teased and played well for brief stretches but overall he's been a lousy NBA player. Not average, not close to average, but plain bad.

I think its insane to offer an extension to a guy that's been an abject disaster as an NBA player. Sorta like giving a huge contract to Kwame Brown even though he was a colossal bust his first few years b/c he had a few impressive games during that period.

Also it's a bad idea in general to be giving contract extensions to backups. Even if Yi plays relatively well this year, would he be in line to make much more than he would now under a new CBA? Especially if he's not a starter? That's debatable IMO.

If Ernie extends Yi, it would only embolden my belief that he needs to go, and sooner than later.

[MJG]

I'm with Dat on this one; extending Yi sounds like a terrible idea to me. Why would you want to extend a below average backup who hasn't even played a real game for you? Way too much emphasis on FIBA play and a couple of good preseason games, way too little emphasis on the past several years of mediocrity.

Yes, it's possible he finally gets it this year, and takes advantage of his natural talent. But I don't know, I feel like if we line up all the non-stars who were given long-term contracts who improved after being given that contract, and compared it against the same group who were no better if not worse throughout the duration of the deal than they were at the start, I kind of think the latter would be significantly longer.

[nate33]

Let me put it this way: I think other teams would be inclined to pay more for Yi this summer than we will.

Yi may choose to stay here, but he'll be voluntarily leaving money on the table in order to do so (and he'll be choosing to remain a backup rather than going for a starting role elsewhere). That would be unusual in today's NBA.

Totally disagree. Exactly what market was there for Yi earlier in the summer when the Nets had trouble finding a team to dump him on before we took him?

I think we (the fans) are putting way too much emphasis on his FIBA performance. By all accounts he accounted for himself pretty well but performances in FIBA or on the world stage don't necessarily translate to the NBA. And neither does performing well in preseason games.

I don't think many teams would see Yi as a potential starter at this stage, if any. Most would agree he has the natural talent & he's teased and played well for brief stretches but overall he's been a lousy NBA player. Not average, not close to average, but plain bad.

I think its insane to offer an extension to a guy that's been an abject disaster as an NBA player. Sorta like giving a huge contract to Kwame Brown even though he was a colossal bust his first few years b/c he had a few impressive games during that period.

Also it's a bad idea in general to be giving contract extensions to backups. Even if Yi plays relatively well this year, would he be in line to make much more than he would now under a new CBA? Especially if he's not a starter? That's debatable IMO.

If Ernie extends Yi, it would only embolden my belief that he needs to go, and sooner than later.

I don't think we disagree. I never said Yi should be extended. I agree with you that Yi hasn't proven to be worth much. I wouldn't take the FIBA games and two preseason games as sufficient evidence to conclude that he has turned the corner.

If we were to resign him, it would have to be for something very cheap, no more than $3M a year. My point is that I think Yi believes he is worth than that. I also think some other team would be more likely than us to pay him more than that. Therefore I don't see an extension taking place right now. It's not in Yi's best interests.

[Durant Durant]

too much ado about a backup player. let's just be happy that we have a big who can shoot/rebound coming from the bench this season.

[mikhailjordan]

If Yi is extended that likely means he's fine with a backup role which would also mean the influence of his handlers has dwindled even more... Which can only bode well for the future.

A word of caution though the problem with Yi in NJ wasn't how he began the season, he started every year looking physically sharp, but it was always how he dealt with the wear and tear as the season progressed.

[hands11]

I didn't think about the endorsement angle. That's food for thought.

That said, the Blatche situation was completely different. Effectively, Blatche was extended for 3 years, at $9M a year. That's a lot of money, but at least Blatche is slated to be a perennial starter and number one low post option for the foreseeable future. Yi is different. Coming off his FIBA performance and his preseason showing so far, my guess is that Yi thinks of himself as being nearly as good as Blatche - at least worthy of something in the $6-7M per year range. But for our purposes, does it make a lot of sense to commit that much money to him right now when, at best, he's a 25 min per game backup?

At $6M/year, he'd still be cheaper than Amir Johnson or Drew Gooden. I would happy to lock that in for a few years. Skilled, versatile 7-footers who are just starting to reach their upside do not come cheap.

And I do not think Yi thinks of himself that way at all. Asian culture is not nearly as narcisstic as US culture, and either way it's more money than anyone he ever met growing up could ever fathom. I would be fairly confident that Yi would accept a fair deal if he was happy with the situation, and there's a lot to like about what's brewing at the Phone Booth.

Agreed. And he is young. There will be future opportunities. I would like it better at 5M for two or three years. This isn't bad for a bench player who you can actually envision starting in case of injury at PF. Plus you have the break out possibility with him. He isn't a Nick Young dummy or anything. And that isn't to much to trade him later if needed.

[hands11]

I liked the Yi acquisition a lot from the start, but... I think it's a little premature to sign him to an extension at this point - unless it's a great bargain - or unless they have another move in mind to add cap flexibility in the future. ITWT.

The cap flexibility is the same move they made with Blatche. They pay Yi more this year with leftover cap space to lessen cap hits going forward.

True True. They could pull a few dollars forward and extend him.

Nice having caps space.

[hands11]

You can't renegotiate a rookie contract before it's up. You also can't renegotiate an existing 4-year deal. It has to be a 5 year deal or longer.

That sucks.