Yi to demand a trade?

[NugzFan]

screw yi. take your millions, shut up and play for milwaukee. you are lucky to even be in the best league in the world and already whining about it?!

[Mathius]

screw yi. take your millions, shut up and play for milwaukee. you are lucky to even be in the best league in the world and already whining about it?!

Yeah. He's "lucky".

Did it ever occur to you geniuses that if Milwaukee had the advantage here, they wouldn't have wanted Yi so badly that they selected him even after it was clear he wouldn't play?

If he wasn't a damn good player, they wouldn't even have taken the chance.

Mathius

[PureElement]

I still blame Nike. Its always Nike's fault.

My point is, I don't think Yi is completely in control of the situation unless he wants to face the consequences of being expelled from the Chinese National Team or some shyt.

[NugzFan]

it doesnt matter what yi wants. he should shut up and play for the team that drafts him. he hasnt even played one minute in the nba and is already complaining about it.

he should be grateful for being drafted by milwaukee and go earn him millions of dollars playing a freaking game.

[PureElement]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft...tory?id=2920483

...Disregarding his desire to play in a city with a heavy Asian influence -- there are only about 27,500 Asian Americans in Milwaukee -- the Bucks picked the 6-foot-11 forward to become the fourth Chinese player to make the NBA.

The question is whether he'll ever wear a Bucks uniform.

"I think so," Yi said. "It's a surprise to me. ... I'm not really familiar with the city as well, but I'm happy to be playing with the team and happy to play in the NBA."

...Yi is not scheduled to appear in Milwaukee, but instead will join the Chinese national team and scrimmage on Sunday and Tuesday in Dallas before heading to Las Vegas to play in the NBA summer league.

Harris said he wasn't sure if he'd meet with Yi's representatives in Dallas or Las Vegas, but that playing for the national team is Yi's priority.

"Based on timing, there wasn't any way to get him in here," Harris said. "I don't want anybody to be misled that that's a bad thing. Certainly we would encourage him to come here as soon as he could."

...Agent Dan Fegan did not allow the Bucks to hold a private workout or see Yi, but did allow teams as low as the Sixers, with the 12th pick, to take a look at one of the draft's most unknown talents during a workout in Los Angeles. Harris said Philadelphia was among several teams that called and tried to trade for the pick.

Harris said Fegan was surprised at the Bucks' pick.

"He was shocked," Harris said. "I told him several weeks ago that we're going to take the best player. ... We think he's one of the best players and if he turns out to be the best one at six, we're going to take him."

Fegan did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Yi said the Bucks never watched him workout in China, either, but Harris said that wasn't accurate.

"We felt comfortable from our standpoint, we did not need to go out there to confirm or deny our own feelings about Yi as a player," Harris said of the Los Angeles workout. "We spent a week in Qatar to see him play. ... We saw him in Japan for the World Championships. We saw him in the Olympics two years ago. We've been to China. We've estimated we've seen him over 20 times in the last four years. Rest assured, we know him."

..."When my father was coaching him on the Chinese national team, they thought he was going to be a small forward," Larry Harris said. "Now his body has grown. He's 238 pounds, he's a legitimate power forward that not only can score, but can really shoot the ball outside."

Yi appears to fit in well with the Bucks, who stumbled to the third-worst record in the league last season after injuries to four of five starters. If Milwaukee is able to keep free agent guard Mo Williams, Yi would join a rotation that includes Michael Redd, forwards Bobby Simmons and Charlie Villanueva and center Andrew Bogut, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft.

[iggy_needs_help]

"
good you prove my point. A player who got to choose where he went won NBA championships.

Kobe won championships BEFORE he told the busses who to get in, etc.

[Mathius]

Kobe won championships BEFORE he told the busses who to get in, etc.

Uhm. No. Get your facts straight. Reports state that Kobe demanded a trade when drafted by Charlotte.

Mathius

[Kiddlovesnets]

What an awkward idea! He should have known that as a rookie, there's by no means to choose a team he wants. What he ought to do is to prove himself and make the fans believe he deserve playing in a better place.

[InfiniteBaskets]

Yi got so much hate because he's chinese. If he's black and from the hood, he won't get hated for doing this.

Well actually, I think any player, black, white, asian, latin, whatever, will recieve tons of hate for entering a draft and then discussing with certain teams about not playing for them if they were to be drafted.

But I feel as though a lot of people posting under this thread is assuming one thing that I haven't seen full proof of. Yi never ACTUALLY stated himself that he would refuse to play for Milwaukee and that he wants to be traded

Some posters are criticizing Yi for entering the NBA draft and then being picky.
Others are saying it's his given right to do what he pleases if he is willing to suffer the consequences.

But I haven't seen any proof of Yi wanting a trade. I've only seen quotes from his agent Dan Fegan. And like AdamCZ said, it's about Dan Fegan getting an extra bonus for signing Yi to a more marketable place. Can you blame him? It's his job as an agent to generate the most money for himself and his clients.

So if people want to argue whether players have the option of refusing to play for a team or not, that's complete fine. But don't include Yi's name as a part of this until he himself says he wants to be traded or that he wno't play for Milwaukee.

I personally think Milwaukee knows that deep down Yi can't wait to play for them and compete with the eastern conf.

[Mathius]

Well actually, I think any player, black, white, asian, latin, whatever, will recieve tons of hate for entering a draft and then discussing with certain teams about not playing for them if they were to be drafted.

But I feel as though a lot of people posting under this thread is assuming one thing that I haven't seen full proof of. Yi never ACTUALLY stated himself that he would refuse to play for Milwaukee and that he wants to be traded

Some posters are criticizing Yi for entering the NBA draft and then being picky.
Others are saying it's his given right to do what he pleases if he is willing to suffer the consequences.

But I haven't seen any proof of Yi wanting a trade. I've only seen quotes from his agent Dan Fegan. And like AdamCZ said, it's about Dan Fegan getting an extra bonus for signing Yi to a more marketable place. Can you blame him? It's his job as an agent to generate the most money for himself and his clients.

So if people want to argue whether players have the option of refusing to play for a team or not, that's complete fine. But don't include Yi's name as a part of this until he himself says he wants to be traded or that he wno't play for Milwaukee.

I personally think Milwaukee knows that deep down Yi can't wait to play for them and compete with the eastern conf.

This is probably the most intelligent response in this entire thread. I've just been throwing Yi's name around because its easier than to continue saying "Yi's people" or "Yi's agent", etc. etc. Because in all honesty, nobody is sure if it is Feagan, or someone else, there have even been reports that some Chinese officials have been involved.

That's part of what I've been defending here, is that all these posters act like Yi owes the NBA something, and they are continually bashing his character, when the fact is, he seems to have very little control over what's going on right now.

Right now, it's about money and business. But I still think Milwaukee was dumb for taking him.

Mathius

[2LeTTeRS KD]

The Bucks made a basketball-related move and now are being faced with politics. Sucks to see something that many of us junkies hold sacred like the draft process demeaned like this but we all saw it coming. When The Bucks drafted Yi me and manphib where chatting and both thought what the hell are they doing picking a guy that doesn't want to play there. Creates an ugly situation that I wouldnt want to be a part of unless I feel a guy is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack and from what I've heard of Yi I don't see him as being that much of a stand-out. Personally I see this as a bad move by the Bucks and by Yi.

[Make It Rain]

Trade him to the Knicks. We'll give you Z-BO!

[eeeeeebro]

word is that yi's agents arnt even answering the phone for bucks when the management calls. hes gonna just ignore them lol

[reppy]

WTF tangent are you on now? I never said China threatened him. I said it wasn't a life or death situation. I said that metaphorically speaking, the NBA did put a gun to his head.

You injected yourself into a conversation when nothing had been said to you. Go back and read what was said and then come to the logical conclusion: I wasn't talking to you when I originally said it. If you need context, find it yourself. I'm not going to hold your hand and explain everything for you.

They said enter the draft or you don't play in the NBA.

Sounds fair to me.

YOU were the one who said, "They didn't put a gun to his head and make him enter the draft."

Exactly. It was a choice he made. He was not forced to enter the draft. He could have stayed in China and played basketball.

Guess what? They basically did MAKE him enter the draft.

"I'm applying for this job, and they're forcing me to fill out an application! O, woe is me!"

Ok, but that's why there are penalties. Yi isn't getting paid as long as he holds out. Like I said. TWICE now. Most players are happy going where they are picked.

If they're not, they can choose to hold out. It's an option. Nobody forces you to sign with anyone, period.

That's fine by me. I've said he can go back to China and forfeit his money. I'm completely fine with that. Never said it wasn't an option, so don't act like I haven't.

You might as well just put a sign out that says, "I am an idiot with no argument."

Sorry, I lost mine. Can I borrow yours? I'm sure you have several of them around from all the stupid arguments you choose to defend.

Whenever someone around here is talking out their ass and getting backed into a corner, they attack the other person's team.

I didn't attack your team: I provided something called "perspective". If this happened to your team, you might not be so nonchalant about the entire thing.

I don't give a damn if Cleveland drafted Lebron or not, or if he signed with us. He's here now, so you don't have a point.

Brilliant point. How could I overlook the fact that LeBron signed with your team therefore you're happy? Hm, maybe it's because if things had turned out differently you might not be singing the same tune.

Lebron could have held out if he wanted to. MOST players are happy to play for the team they are drafted for (4th time I've said it. GET IT YET?)

When have I ever said that anyone besides Yi was not happy to be drafted by the team that chose them? Please point out the number of times in this thread that I said "MOST players are" NOT "happy to play for the team they are drafted for" in this particular draft.

Frankly, I've seen you say something for the 4th time that I never disagreed with. It's getting a little bothersome.

The GM's don't _choose_ crap. If you believe that, you're naive. You go into the draft with a list of players you want, and you pick what's left. You don't choose what pick you get. It isn't solely based on record. And yes, the player can hold out if he wants to. He doesn't have to agree to your terms. The GM's really have very little control over anything until their number is up on the clock, and even then, nothing is guaranteed.

I'm naive? Last time I checked, they were the ones that made the decisions. Do certain players hold out? Yes. Wait, let me guess, the players draft themselves, sign themselves to contracts and then engineer blockbuster trades? Man, GMs got it made: just sit on their asses all day and let everything happen while they get all the credit.

And let me let you in on a little secret. If players could sign with whoever they want? They still wouldn't all flock to one team, because that would defeat the purpose. Nobody would get enough playing time, and eventually, you'd have 4 teams of all stars instead of 30 teams in the league.

Players can sign wherever they want. They cannot get drafted to the team they choose, though. If they don't like the team that drafted them? They can 1) take it like a man, play out the terms they agreed to and then sign elsewhere 2) act like a baby.

It just wouldn't work. So there's no reason to start pulling that card, because it's stupid to begin with.

I agree, it's stupid to think that free agents could sign wherever they wanted.

Have you ever lived in China? No? Then just HOW THE F DO YOU KNOW THAT?

Because I've known people that have lived in China and I'm very familiar with China's human rights records. Can you imagine living in America and not being able to research "slavery" on Google? That's China.

Let's see, what would you rather have:

An overcrowded country with the highest disparity between rich and poor, no free speech, censored media, censored Internet, human rights abuses against political dissidents..

OR..

the opportunity to make money exponentially and work for the world's best basketball league?

Tough choice. What the hell was I thinking?!

Which is exactly what this comes down to. YOU don't think what he's doing is ok, so it shouldn't be.

No, it's a violation of his agreement.

People have a choice in this league. If that wasn't the case, then anyone who entered the draft would already be under contract with the NBA and the NBA would decide where people go.

They have a choice to enter the draft. If you are drafted, you are an employee of the NBA. You have the opportunity to work at an NBA franchise. In this case, the franchise is the Milwaukee Bucks.

Is that what you really want? An NBA dictatorship? Because that's what it would be. There would be no contracts with a team, all the players would belong to the NBA. So if the NBA said they don't want Milwaukee to have a team anymore, they could pull all the players and put them somewhere else.

I have no ****ing clue where you're going with this. Are you seriously this dense? I am absolutely stunned.

The next time an NBA player gets suspended by the league office, they should tell them, "Hey! What is this, a dictatorship?! I work for the Milwaukee Bucks, not the NBA!"

Get a life, kid. Go read a book or something and learn what the hell you're talking about.

I suggest you do the same, kid.


I'm not going to argue this point any further. Everything that could be said has been said. You are free to respond to me, but I won't read it. If a new thread comes around, I'll be there.

[wally_world]

btw... what's wrong with Milwaukee?