Rumor: Yi Could Pull a Fran Vazquez

by Atma Brother ONE on Jun 8, 2007 2:31 PM PDT in Rumors Comment 14 comments

Back in 2005 the Orlando Magic drafted Spanish big man Fran Vazquez thinking he and Yi Movement endorser Dwight Howard would be an imposing tandem for years to come. Unfortunately things went Orlando Tragic once again and the Vazquez didn't come to Orlando after the draft electing to continue playing in Barcelona. To date Vazquez has yet to play for the Magic.

Another great move in Orlando Tragic history.

Today Andy Katz of ESPN.com notes that Yi's story could parellel Vazquez's if the team that selects him isn't a good fit:

Yi Jianlian will be an interesting side story during the lottery. The Chinese forward could end up pulling a Fran Vazquez, who was picked No. 11 by Orlando in 2005 and decided to stay in Europe. If Atlanta and Boston were to pass on Yi at No. 3 and No. 5, then the question will be where does he go? If he doesn't go Chicago with No. 9, then someone may take him hoping he'll play. But Yi's representation has made it clear they want him in the right situation or there is a chance he would just stay in China.

Given Vazquez's situation and Yi's rumored stance there's several good topics for discussion here:

Is the NBA losing it's luster as the biggest stage for professional hoops? I find it interesting that players like Vazquez and Yi don't see NBA or bust. The days of every single international player dying to make the jump to the NBA and USA (if those days ever did in fact exist) seem to be long gone. Does this say something about the league or does it signify a larger global shift in attitudes about immigrating to USA and living the mythical American dream?
Is it good for the league when players tell certain teams to not draft them? (i.e. the Steve Francis and Vancouver Grizzlies situation) Let's say Francis actually lived up to his nickname as Stevie Franchise. Imagine how screwed the Grizzlies and their two fans would have been. The NBA Lottery is a very important tool for improving a bad team and not being able to select a particular player when you are in a position to could set a franchise back serveral years.
Will Yi's strategy work? His people have been very strategic throughout the draft process so far about getting him on approved team (the Warriors are Yi approved). Are NBA teams not deemed a good fit by his crew and in a position to draft him, seriously going to pass him up if they see him as the answer for their squad?

The Movement past, present, and future:

99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!

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Comments

Heh

Or pull a Billy Donovan, I mean does anyone like Orlando?

"The Dunk"

by orangino on Jun 8, 2007 2:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

One of my friends likes them

It's cause he was a bandwagon Penny Hardaway and Shaq fan. He just never let go of the bandwagon.

He's also a closet Warriors fan.

God, I hate them. They get all these #1 picks in the draft, they play in the pitiful East, they get big-name free agents due to the area, and they STILL MESS IT UP.

We have so many more factors working against us and we still refuse to tank. Meanwhile, losers like the Magic play the crapshoot every year and land uber-talents like Dwight Howard.

They almost kinda deserve their Orlando Tragic luck.

by sadleavy on Jun 8, 2007 5:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

FYI

So he's still a bandwagon Orlando fan long after Penny and Shaq left???

Newsflash: that's not a bandwagon fan.

Anyways, other than just recently making a little noise in the playoffs after barely becoming the 8th seed after a 13 year drought, many would argue that the Warriors are a more pathetic franchise.

by ssmokinjoe on Jun 8, 2007 7:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

you think the

bay area laker fans aren't bandwagon fans even though shaq left and they won't even be a contender unless something drastic happens.

by travisl212 on Jun 8, 2007 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Okay.

"Bandwagoner"-
A person who joins the team just because it has been doing well recently.

"Real Fan"-
A person who still watches the team when they're bad.

So, his friend was a bandwagoner for a while, but he stayed, so he became a true fan.

I mean, Travis, how many people are attracted to teams because they are losing (besides me)?Almost everyone starts off as a bandwagoner.

As for the Lakers, it's a whole different story. Everyone will always be fans of them. No matter what the case. Everyone likes LA and it's such a big city. So, even if the fans are diehard, they're considered "Fairweather" because there's so damn many of them.

Tony aka Drawlz600 is AWESOME!!!!

by Zorgon on Jun 9, 2007 2:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

i was kind of using the term bandwagon fan and fairwheather fan kind of the same. the lakers fans are definitely fairweather fans, but... not everybody starts off as a bandwagon fan, theres people like me who just root for the home team. i mean i know your not from around here, but you didn't have a home team i beleive and you picked the warriors... im not sure what that would make you, "reverse fairweather" fan??? no im just playin your a real fan!!

by travisl212 on Jun 10, 2007 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Use it to our advantage

This happens in the NFL too - remember the Chargers' draft of QB's a couple seasons ago? And there's nothing to prevent someone from declining millions of dollars to play for a team. Additionally, the People's Republic of China has an inordinate amount of say over their citizens' movement, and with the Olympics coming up my guess is they're very sensitive about what situation Yi gets drafted in to. Since this seems to be helping us (for once), if Nelson likes Yi, he should consider making a play to get him at the right price. That doesn't remove our other needs, but like others have said before the matchup problems for Nelson to exploit could be worth watching! And who knows, maybe POB will pull a Andris and become a servicable player next year ...

by hardcore on Jun 8, 2007 2:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

i think this is hella stupid

for one, eli manning told the chargers not to draft him and now the chargers are better then the giants.

chinas government seems hella stupid for this and Yi should be able to do whatever he wants. They should consider it an honor to have one of their players representing china in the nba, but instead they might get picky on where he plays.

no one is too good for a team. i could understand if Utah drafted you and you think that that city is lame and don't want to go there, but i think its hella stupid how anyone would get to pick where they want to go in the draft.

I think there should be a rule in all sports that if you tell a team not to draft you, there should be a penalty. maybe a year's suspension idk. its just not fair. its already not fair that the worst teams don't get the top picks, even if they did do a little bit of tanking.

by travisl212 on Jun 8, 2007 4:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

another article

in the san francisco chronicle

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/08/SPGMPQBLSI1.DTL

The Chinese Connection: Expect to hear more about the Warriors and draft prospect Yi Jianlian of China. Vice president Chris Mullin flew overseas this year to scout the 7-footer during the Chinese Basketball Association finals, and the interest is mutual as the Bay Area's large Asian population would be attractive to Yi.

Golden State, though, would have to engineer a trade up to select Yi, who is projected to be a lottery pick. Atlanta and Boston, who own the third and fifth overall picks in the draft, have reportedly already seen Yi work out privately in L.A.

thats the part about Yi, basically stuff we already know. The rest of the article is pretty interesting though, with info about who's coming in for predraft workouts

by llamalimbo1 on Jun 8, 2007 5:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Fair or not? Who cares?

Personally after 13 years of misery, I hope like heck he whines his way to our roster. Cause he would be sick with our 5. We should have had YAO and ended up with Dunleavy cause of this stupid lottery. I say we are due something good. Yi or bust! Go warriors!

by Grandma on Jun 8, 2007 5:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

true...

by travisl212 on Jun 8, 2007 9:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We should have had YAO ~

Yeah, Yao rocks! but Yi is not Yao, he's more a taller chinese dunleavey. We don't wanna overpay for a skinny forward. Might as well get Noah for less cost, Noah seems to have better court vision and body control as well as great intensity.
If we trade away guys to get a high enough pick to take Yi, we'll end up weaker over all. Trying to get Noah and Sean Williams makes more sense. If we did secure a high enough pick then Horford or maybe Conley for a future point guard makes more sense than Yi. Buy the skills but don't pay for the hype.