How good will Yi become?

[RiotPunch]

Where can I bet on chair?

[Jez2983]

In this thread I saw PER to support an argument and general optimism for a young player.

My how we've changed.

[raferfenix]

We were so young.

Thread’s got some bangers in it (including from me) gauging whether Yi would be a superstar or a Gasol or Marion type or merely a solid starter.

Really on reflection I wonder what our alternative history would be if we would have taken Joakim Noah instead.

[fan230]

It was v nice to read this thread from 2008. I saw some names that write today and others who do not.

I remember being excited by the Yi pick. I saw Yi playing for the Bucks in Bradley Center.

I remember his name being announced over the public address system at Bradley.

[stellation]

I think the biggest issue for him now is just strength, hopefully he can bulk up a bit but if he doesn't I can't see him getting much past 14/7 with 1.5 blocks.

Vague, no real insight- suggest a young (?) big needs to put on muscle to compete in the NBA and offers obvious/modest attainment. Chef's kiss to this guy's analysis!

Yi's (brief) NBA career year: 12/7 with 1 block

[JayMKE]

If Yi was actually 19 instead of like 25 when we drafted him maybe he would have had more upside, he was pretty much maxxed out day 1 as a player. So crazy the Bucks did this multiple times, Yi was exciting for a little while I remember the game vs Yao that supposedly had more people watching than the Superbowl. China seems like they're in a real drought for players now.'

bad weak hands with zero ability to put it on the floor, I remember him getting striped a bunch. Pure looking shot tho and good athlete, there was something there.

[HKPackFan]

If Yi was actually 19 instead of like 25 when we drafted him maybe he would have had more upside, he was pretty much maxxed out day 1 as a player. So crazy the Bucks did this multiple times, Yi was exciting for a little while I remember the game vs Yao that supposedly had more people watching than the Superbowl. China seems like they're in a real drought for players now.'

bad weak hands with zero ability to put it on the floor, I remember him getting striped a bunch. Pure looking shot tho and good athlete, there was something there.

Well it least they learned their lesson from Yi and never again drafted in the top 10 a tall skinny foreign player with bad hands who's age is confusing and probably much older than what is listed.

[engelmartin]

Watch on YouTube

[Ron Swanson]

What a time capsule of a thread lol. Besides the infamous chair workout story, all I remember about the Yi pre-draft process was that his reps made it very clear that he didn't want Milwaukee to draft him (didn't he want to angle his way to Golden State at #8?), and spending back-to-back Top-10 picks on him and Potsie the next year nearly broke me as a Bucks fan (I could count the number of games I watched on two hands between the 2007-2009 period before Jennings broke out).

[El Pooch Grande]

"Well, you have a river...you have a lake"

[paulpressey25]

Frank, foreshadowing his soon to come Locked on Bucks style, where he manages to make a point, and then add every possible logical qualifier needed, before coming up for a breath.

(Love you Frank. )

I see him as a possible 18-20 ppg guy with 8 rebs, maybe a couple blocks per game. He's been a middle-of-the-pack rebounder among PFs so far this year, which is probably as good as we could have expected. Offensively he's got skills but needs plenty of polish in terms of finishing. Defensively I've been thrilled...he's got the physical attributes and attitude to improve a lot on that end as he gains experience. I was expecting him to suck on defense but he's been good for a foreign rook.

I think Sim mentioned early on that he has to figure out a way to get his own shot, that's the main thing to me. In China he could do that by getting little turnarounds in the post but in his rare post chances he looks too anxious at the moment. He doesn't have a reliable baby hook which would seem to be something he could develop give how much touch he has. Especially given his length that would be a great weapon alongside a little more strength. He might never be a great ballhandler but if he can develop a little jab step that could also get him open looks. Either way, jump-shooting is the easiest skill to translate into the NBA. Post stuff is the hard thing, and that's been true for Yi.

No one's mentioned three point shooting, but I'd be kind of surprised if we don't see more of that next year. He has the form and hasn't been bad when he's taken them this year.

His finishing has been the most disappointing aspect of his game IMO, way too many blocks around the rim, and as a result he doesn't seem to trust himself as much when he's in there. Too many headfakes. But I think that's a major adjustment in the NBA...he's never had to deal with NBA athletes before.

Reading through this thread, there also seem to be a couple points that people are mindlessly repeating without much justification.

I don't see the mental weakness part at all...I'd say his mindset and focus have been one of the encouraging things about him. All the guy does is play basketball. He doesn't party, he doesn't talk much, he just plays and practices. Talk to people with the Bucks and they'll tell you he usually doesn't even leave his hotel room on road trips. He works on both ends and while he makes mistakes you don't have to worry about his attitude or effort.

He's been a star in China for years and this is now the next thing. Aside from that shot he missed at the end of OT in Cleveland he's been a pretty money player when he's shot the ball late in games. We don't know for sure if he has the mindset to be a dominant player, but I don't think we've seen anything from his personality to suggest he can't be a very good player.

Also, I keep seeing references to him struggling for the past two months, but he didn't win the rookie of the month purely on the Bobcats game. He's been struggling for a couple weeks. It happens, and I think the reorientation of the offense around Bogut has something to do with that. We'll have to roll with it.

[Licensed to Il]

Ouch, I have a quote in the first 4 pages that Yi is going to save pro basketball in Milwaukee.

We wanted a savior so bad in those days.

So thankful for Giannis.

In retrospect, weird that a legit seven footer with agility and touch busted so bad.

[ReginaldDwight]

Ouch, I have a quote in the first 4 pages that Yi is going to save pro basketball in Milwaukee.

We wanted a savior so bad in those days.

So thankful for Giannis.

In retrospect, weird that a legit seven footer with agility and touch busted so bad.

Well unlike the chair NBA players play back. That mighta been the first issue. Yi into Potsie is about as bad of back to back top 10 picks i can think of.

[Licensed to Il]

Ill throw out that Yi should have been at worst, a rotational NBA big. Its obvious he didnt have the drive or desire to be a star player. But he could shoot, guard the rim, and rebound (functionally) and the league has always wanted those types.

True story, Kohl wanted Yi because the Rockets had experienced a huge jolt of Chinese fans to their fanbase, and he thought Yi could do the same. So he reached out and said he would pick him, and Yi’s camp said he wouldn’t play here, he wanted to go to LA, NY, Oakland… somewhere with a lot of Asians. So Kohl had his assistant (a girl I knew) look online through interviews, of all Yi’s favorite foods and music and products. Then she found it all in state, and they sent it to him in a gift basket.

Most significant basket of Yi’s NBA career. LOL.

[KidA24]

Chairman Yi still lives...

https://deadspin.com/the-totally-unexpected-true-story-of-yi-jianlians-magic-1818728951

The thing is, the chair workout almost certainly never happened, which means that the video almost certainly never existed. I’ve spoken with numerous scouts, execs, players, trainers, and media members, and not one remembers ever actually seeing the clip. I’ve obtained the broadcast-once, now-lost TV program in which the chair workout was allegedly aired, and it’s not there. No matter how sure you are you’ve seen the clip, you haven’t.

[SupremeHustle]

Reading this thread will make this non-believer pray that Giannis re-signs with us because I can't go back. I can't.

[Mags FTW]

We hardly knew Yi.

[sidney lanier]

Chairman Yi still lives...

https://deadspin.com/the-totally-unexpected-true-story-of-yi-jianlians-magic-1818728951

The thing is, the chair workout almost certainly never happened, which means that the video almost certainly never existed. I’ve spoken with numerous scouts, execs, players, trainers, and media members, and not one remembers ever actually seeing the clip. I’ve obtained the broadcast-once, now-lost TV program in which the chair workout was allegedly aired, and it’s not there. No matter how sure you are you’ve seen the clip, you haven’t.

I never saw it, but you're right -- even back in 2007 there was talk of it and some claimed to have seen it. What I do remember about Yi and workouts is that his agent, Dan Fegan, allegedly blocked the Bucks from working Yi out. I had something to say about that on the jsonline board back then, but I have no idea what it was.



https://web.archive.org/web/20070703044923/http://www2.jsonline.com/idealbb/forum.asp?forumid=37&sessionid=%7B26522adf-75cd-43e3-b0a1-6f595215cc66%7D

[JayMKE]

Chairman Yi still lives...

https://deadspin.com/the-totally-unexpected-true-story-of-yi-jianlians-magic-1818728951

The thing is, the chair workout almost certainly never happened, which means that the video almost certainly never existed. I’ve spoken with numerous scouts, execs, players, trainers, and media members, and not one remembers ever actually seeing the clip. I’ve obtained the broadcast-once, now-lost TV program in which the chair workout was allegedly aired, and it’s not there. No matter how sure you are you’ve seen the clip, you haven’t.

Legit Mandela effect, its still real to me I can picture it in my head aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[paulpressey25]

Chairman Yi still lives...

https://deadspin.com/the-totally-unexpected-true-story-of-yi-jianlians-magic-1818728951

That article was fantastic. Captured that moment in time as a Bucks fan.

And between the article and this thread seeing so many names from past, whether forgotten players we debated for years like Brandan Wright or posters like Simulack who were mainstays here.