In Chad Ford's chat this morning on ESPN.com he provided some info on where The Movement might go in this year's loaded NBA Draft:
James (OH): Where does Yi Jianlian go in the draft?
Chad Ford: He's the wildcard in the first half of the lottery. He may be a little under rated at the moment. The scouts that have seen him a lot LOVE him. I think he could go somewhere in the 3 to 8 range if Oden and Durant come out. If they both decided to stay in school, I actually think he'd get some consideration for the No. 1 pick. He reminds me a little of Bargnani.
To throw a little more gasoline on the fire, it's important to note that Warrior head front office man Chris Mullin was personally in China earlier this month to scout Yi at the CBA Finals between the Bayi Rockets and Guangdong Tigers. If it looks like Yi could be gone from the draft board way before the fresh off an amazing playoff run Golden State Warriors (fingers crossed!) get to make their pick, maybe Mullie will make a promise a la Andris Biedrins in the 2004 draft and Yi won't try out with any other teams. There's no better fit for Yi in the NBA than Nellie's Warriors and the Bay Area.
Regardless of whether or not the Warriors wind up in the lottery or not, the 2007 NBA Draft is going to be exciting. To Yi or not to Yi? To trade or not to trade? I'm predicting Mullie, Higgy, and Nellie will do something bold on June 28th 2007.
Air Yi's getting some love!
Even though the picking order hasn't been set, just for fun what's your 2007 NBA Mock Draft for the top 10 picks look like?
Here's mine:
- Greg Oden (Ohio State)
- Kevin Durant (Texas)
- Brandon Wright (UNC)
- Julian Wright (Kansas)
- Al Horford (Florida)
- Jeff Green (Georgetown)
- Yi Jianlian (China)
- Joakim Noah (Florida)
- Corey Brewer (Florida)
- Roy Hibbert (Georgetown)
Post yours in the comments.