2007 NBA Draft: We want Yi Jian Lian!

by Atma Brother ONE on Jul 5, 2006 8:57 AM PDT in Hype

Brendan McGovern from About.com recently dropped his forecast for the 2007 NBA Draft.

You're probably thinking: "So? Who cares? It's a year away!"

Well, I'll tell you why. Our Golden State Warriors are predicted to take Yi Jian Lian in the lottery.

"Who?"

Yi Jian Lian is a 7 foot (and still growing) 230 pound big man tearing up the Chinese Basketball Association for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. This lefty once went 16 for 16 from the field and has a sweet trifecta.

Yi's Got GAME.

"So?"

Think Yao Ming in the NBA Street video game. 100% nasty. A shot blocking force. A ferocious dunker. A game changer. It's everything Yao isn't in real life, but it's everything Yi could be.

Look at Yao flex. Hahaha, Yao's a softie compared to Yi!

"Really?

Check out this scouting report by Gregg Doyel for CBS Sportsline.com:

The super-talented 16-year-old's name is Yi Jian Lian, and the part about "super-talented" is no lie. Yi is a 7-footer with amazing athletic ability, the closest thing China has ever come to producing a Kevin Garnett-type player.

Forget the next Yao Ming. Warriors Nation wants the next KG!

Yi already has a better shooting stroke than the One Minute Man!

"No way! Really?

Want further proof? Check out this Nike commercial:

Yi Jian Lian + Baron Davis aka Boom Dizzle + Jason Richardson aka JRich = Golden State Warriors NBA Champs in 2k8

"You got me. I want Yi!"

That's what I thought. It's time to start a new campaign in the Bay Area. Yi in 2k7... Yi in 2k7... Yi in 2k7... Yi in 2k7... Yi in 2k7...

Let's make this 100% clear for the historically inept (see Unofficial Warriors LIST of worst NBA moves ever and Worst Warrior moves ever) Warriors (mis)management:

We want Yi

Like Nike...
JUST DO IT.

Yi has more ups than Team Thunder!

As the each free agent signing passes, as each trade goes down without the Warriors, as every Warrior rumor goes down the tube like Draino, as every Warrior scores poorly on their report card, as every Western Conference squad aside from the Warriors gets stronger, and as the Warriors screw up every NBA Draft, there's only one thing Warriors Nation can look forward to... Air Yi in 2k7.

Air Yi started this dunk from the 3 point line!

The Bay Area is home to two Chinatowns, tons of Ranch 99's, and millions of Asians (East, South, and Southeast- the Bay's got you covered!). Even if Yi averaged a quadruple single for his career he would be a local superstar. For an organization that thought drafting Adonal Foyle and Todd Fuller was safer than teaming up Jordan + Pippen 2.0, Yi Jian Lian is a safer draft pick than driving a Volvo. Nothing can go wrong!

As a Brown man I'm still mad I never got my Coliseum Curry Nights, but I have to admit a Yi The City jersey would be even hotter than those South Asian festivities. The 2002 NBA Draft wasn't just painful because the Warriors drafted bust Mike Dunleavy Jr., who later inked an absurd 44 million dollar contract (see 44 Reasons why giving Mike Dunleavy 44 million wasn't the brightest idea Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV), but because the Dubs got screwed by the ping pong balls and missed out on Yao Ming. We've got Nuttin' but Love for the man. We're all praying in Warriors Nation for history not to repeat itself. We want Yi and 2007 is going to be our (makeup) year.

Look at Yi help out Yao. Yi's a great teammate too!

Show Yi some luv!

Bring your Yi Jian Lian signs to the Arena in Oakland this season. If you're a season ticket holder make sure to let the Warriors know you want Yi.

Don't sleep on Air Yi!

The Yi Movement starts here...

Coming soon: Grey's Anatomy and the Golden State Warriors... Keep it locked on Golden State of Mind!

** Feel free to link to The Yi Movement, but please do not freely distribute it across the web. Doing so is copyright infringement. Here's the link: http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/story/2006/7/5/115754/7048

More GSoM Yi Hype:

Comments

Let's not get too excited...

"Highlights" from his 2005 CBA season.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5733820517329789196&q=Yi+Jianlian&pl=true

Wow, nice layups! Seriously, if he's not 7-6, he's probably not worth taking. Look at the competition he's been playing against! He's athletic compared to other Chinese players. Putting him in the same sentence as KG is a joke.

by LancerEvoV on Jul 5, 2006 9:47 AM PDT 0 recs

This guy got game =)

I've been talking about this guy for over a year. there are a lot of people skeptical on him but i'm telling you ... the bay area would go CRAZY for a chinese player in the bay!!
DO IT!

by YaoButtaMing on Jul 5, 2006 12:34 PM PDT 0 recs

Better Stroke than One Minute Man, but...

Can he stay on the court longer than 'One Minute Man' to show off his stroke?

In the recent Chinese national team games (I am talking about last couple of weeks) and against generally inferior lineups (essentially the second-teams of France and Italy and others). Yi got himself into, you guess it, foul-troubles in at least half the games. He did however do relatively well stat-wise in the limited minutes.

But he sure can sell jerseys. :)

by MightyReds2020 on Jul 5, 2006 5:03 PM PDT 0 recs

Sell Jerseys and

Be the Warriors first All Star starter in years with a little help from international voting no doubt.

I'm a little at odds with the Chinese National team not disclosing his real birthdate. What is he 16, 18, 20?

Yao is 6 inches taller and 60+ lbs heavier, and for whatever reason does spend a lot of time literally on the hardwood floor like our former Warrior, Brian 'Big Money' Cardinal.

So I hope his true age is revealed soon enough and he bulks up to be able to finish at the rim strong and take the punishment from the bigs in the league.

by back2back51s on Jul 6, 2006 1:19 AM PDT up 0 recs

I've watched a couple of his highlights...

It was okay but nothing eyepoppin other than he's an agile big man. Comparing him to KG is crazy!!! He looks more like a Nikoloz Tskiviilliaisdli however u spell it. I smell BUST all over this player. The fact that he can dunk isn't even amazing. This guy is well over 7 foot but yet has only 1 dunk. I prefer a player who dunks it with authority to show his ferociousness.

by ON THE RUN on Jul 5, 2006 5:31 PM PDT 0 recs

Where's Barkley and the Donkey when you need him

look, how many people proclaimed Yao a bust when he came over? huh? now look how good the Warriors would be with him. Yi can ball, its gonna take some time, but the rate we are going, we got all the time in the world. If we bring in Yi, we gain more popularity, and could possibly bring in a sold offensive force ... ok i choked a little when i typed that ...
but come on ... THE YI FACTOR BABY!

by YaoButtaMing on Jul 5, 2006 5:38 PM PDT 0 recs

Re: Yi Factor

Don't get me wrong I know how the Bay Area will erupt if we were to obtain him givin our huge asian population. But with out current projects right now, I just can't see any playing time being available other then maybe the last 29.5 seconds of a game? He might be a better fit for a team like the Kings.

by ON THE RUN on Jul 5, 2006 5:51 PM PDT 0 recs

The Mighty Yi as a Warrior....

Hey all good peoples; you know if Yi did make it to the Warriors in the draft, he would then end up with some strange affliction, maybe the moment he stepped onto our practice court, a horrific accident at the water cooler, where Biedrins, Monta, Ike and Yi, all sumultaneously ruptured their achilles' tendons while drinking the Gatorade.
Possibly this is the guy we trade for KG, who then gets injured at the Oakland airport carrying his luggage to the Limo. The undisclosed injury leads to poor play and then in fighting between KG and J-Rich, the later of whom then gets traded for a bag of old socks! Baron Davis then demands a trade to MInnesota. Yi and B-Ditty will then turn the T-wolves into World Champs, sounds too familiar, does it not? If you are Warrior fan dreaming about picks, why not the real deal Greg Oden? Maybe you all can tell I've been a GSW fan since 1979. Keep the fun times rollin' and enjoy the sun.

by lesro89 on Jul 8, 2006 12:29 PM PDT 0 recs

is he eligible

you said he's sixeent. yoou have to be ninteen to be draft eligible.so he wouldn't be available until 09

by mydedgerbil555 on Jul 21, 2006 2:13 AM PDT 0 recs

oops

sry you said 16 for sixteen my bad i was skimming

by mydedgerbil555 on Jul 21, 2006 2:14 AM PDT 0 recs

Yi's Old Enough

His age isn't certain though.

93 'til Infinity: The Warriors' playoff drought?

by Atma Brother ONE on Jul 21, 2006 11:00 AM PDT up 0 recs

no more projects at center

i think this guy would be another project at center. we already have kosta coast, biedrins, taft, and pob. i think you shouldtake oden if he falls to us, or otherwise take kevin durant or splitter. besides this guy wgo wrote the forecast doesn't know what he's talking about. the warriors are supposed to take a center in the second round too. that would crank it up to 6 youg centers plus foyle that's crazy. anybody know why we moved down in that draft anyway in the second round?

by mydedgerbil555 on Jul 27, 2006 5:32 AM PDT 0 recs