ItsTheBlog™

OK, I thought this story was over, but I guess it's not. As I wrote about last week, poor Yi Jianlian sacrificed his entire life and signed a multi-million dollar deal to play in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks next season. That poor guy. He'll be alongside All-star and Team USA alum Michael Redd, and be, along with Yao Ming, China's face in the NBA. But he was pissed about it, and only apprently surrendered to the Bucks. See article below "Yi Who?"

However, there's more to the story. Yi was apparently so fed up with the proposition of playing for Milwaukee that the only reason he finally agreed to sign that multi-million dollar deal was when Bucks owner Herb Kohl decided to guarantee the big man with no NBA experience at least 20-25 minutes per game in his rookie season.

That's pathetic. I don't care who you are, where your from, but you have to earn your keep in anything--especially in pro sports. You roll with the punches, play as the little man on the totem pole for a while and earn some respect before you go out and act like you deserve it all. Shame on Kohl for agreeing to this. That can't help the chemistry in Milwaukee. Sure, Yi may play great, but I personally would love to see the shooting big man struggle to average 5 points and 5 rebounds a game, and when asked why he's not on the bench, coach Larry Krystkowiak will only have to point the finger at Mr. Kohl.

Labels: bend over, Bucks, herb kohl, Kevdog, Milwaukee, NBA, Yi Jianlian

Yi Jianlian finally surrendered to the Milwaukee Bucks this week by signing a multi-year, likely multi-million dollar contract this week with the team that drafted him 6th overall in June's NBA draft. Surrendered. Yeah, you poor thing. That word was actually used in a headline referring to the situation.

How sad is it that this guy feels that way? I'm sorry you are going to be playing in the NBA next year, Yi. I'm sorry that you moved from China to play with some of the greatest players in the world, making millions of dollars, but you aren't in a market that is "Asian enough" for you. Are you kidding me? If you wanted an Asian market, you should have stayed in China. You can't just come to the NBA, and say, I will only play for the Lakers, Celtics, or Knicks. Who are you anyway?

So you averaged good numbers in China. So did Wang Zhizhi. Remember him? I didn't think so. Why don't you earn your keep first, play a couple seasons in Milwaukee and show the world (and by world, I mean USA) what you can do, and then sign a free agent contract wherever you wanna go? I don't see what there is to complain about.

Labels: Bucks, Kevdog, Milwaukee, NBA, Yi Jianlian