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Packers, Brewers, and More
Bucks remain big fans of Yi Jianlian
Posted by:
Scott Anderson on
July 2, 2007 at
10:44AM CST
By Gery Woelfel
The Journal Times The Bucks won’t have the luxury of checking out Yi Jianlian one more time before Thursday night’s NBA draft. But that doesn’t mean the Bucks still won’t select the highly-regarded Chinese power forward. It was reported in this space four days ago that Bucks officials were having trouble arranging a workout with Yi, who figures to be one of the top eight players chosen in the draft. Friday, Dave Babcock, the Bucks' player personnel director, confirmed the Bucks have been rebuffed in their attempts to meet with Yi in Los Angeles, apparently because Dan Fegan, Yi’s agent, and the Chinese government want to get him placed in a large market, preferably with a large Chinese population. “It’s disappointing,’’ Babcock said. “All I can say we still like him.’’ While the Bucks would have liked to have met with Yi, they nevertheless have a vault of information on him. Babcock has seen Yi play on numerous occasions as have Bucks general manager Larry Harris and scouts Scott Howard and Scott Roth. Babock estimates the Bucks have seen Yi play about 20 times over the last four years. Suffice to say, they were suitably impressed. Yi is 7-foot, has a wing span of 7-foot-4 and an amazing 38-inch vertical leap. Fegan recently told me Yi had also put on weight, which was a concern to many NBA scouts, and reportedly weighs 248 pounds. Babcock said Yi, in some ways, has the skills similar to those of former Bucks forward Toni Kukoc, although Yi is more athletic. Perhaps the big knock on Yi is that he hasn’t consistently played against top-flight competition in China. But Babcock is convinced Yi will make his mark in the NBA and make it quickly. “He’s very skilled,’’ Babcock said. “He’ll be an impact guy in the NBA next year.’’ Yi is on a short list of draft prospects for the Bucks. It’s no secret they would love to draft Al Horford, a power forward from Florida. But Horford is almost a cinch to be gone by the Bucks’ pick. The Bucks are also extremely high on North Carolina forward Brandan Wright and Ohio State point guard Michael Conley II. There seems be mixed reviews on Florida small forward Corey Brewer and forward Jeff Green of Georgetown. While Babcock made it clear the Bucks would draft Yi, if they felt he was the best player available at their pick, he also said the same holds true for Florida power forward Joakim Noah. Noah has refused to work out for the Bucks without giving any explanation. However, it’s highly unlikely the Bucks would draft Noah because they, like many teams, have grave concerns not only about his offensive skills but his maturity, or lack thereof. ALL WRIGHT: Here’s how one veteran Eastern Conference player personnel director felt the June draft will unfold leading up to the Bucks’ pick: 1) Portland — center Greg Oden of Ohio State. 2) SEATTLE — small forward Kevin Durant of Texas. 3) ATLANTA — power forward Al Horford of Florida. 4) MEMPHIS — point guard Michael Conley II of Ohio State. 5 ) BOSTON — small forward Jeff Green of Georgetown. 6) MILWAUKEE — power forward Brandan Wright of North Carolina. An Eastern Conference general manager agreed with the first three picks, but felt Memphis would take Joakim Noah. The GM felt strongly that Boston would trade its pick, and the Bucks would choose between Conley or Wright. COMING DOWN THE STRETCH: After working out Kansas forward Julian Wright — athletic, good defender but suspect shooter — and Jovan Stefanov of the University of Illinois-Chicago — the Bucks intend to work out just one more player: that being Florida State forward Al Thornton early next week. ODDS FAVOR WRIGHT: bodog.com believes the odds of the Bucks picking Wright are 2/1. Conley is 9/2 and Brewer is 5/1. Also in bodog’s mix for the Bucks are Green at 11/4 and Noah at 13/4. WILLIAMS WATCH: Bucks point guard Mo Williams, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent, could throw a wrench into Thursday night’s draft. There are some observers who believe Memphis will make a strong pitch for Williams once free agency commences on July 1 and thus will pass on Conley. Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte will also have salary cap room to pursue Williams, but officials from each of those aforementioned teams told it wasn’t likely they’d do so. VILLANUEVA UPDATE: Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva has been conscientiously working out at the Cousins Center, rehabbing his surgically-repaired right shoulder. Villanueva, however, has yet to take a right-handed shot. Villanueva said he intends to accompany the Bucks’ summer league team to Las Vegas, but won’t participate in any games. BONUS SHOTS: The Chicago Bulls covet a big-time, low-post scorer so much they might consider offering a package that consisted of star guard Ben Gordon and free-agent in-waiting forward Andres Nocioni who, of course, would have to be re-signed before being dealt. ... Phoenix forward Shawn Marion and Indiana power forward Jermaine O’Neal are still being mentioned in trade talks. ... Not one NBA official I’ve spoken with in the last three days believes the Lakers will trade disgrunted guard Kobe Bryant. .... The scuttlebutt is Boston coach Doc Rivers wants to draft Green; Celtics GM Danny Ainge wants to draft Yi and Celtics star Paul Pierce wants the team’s pick to be traded for an established veteran player. Look for Pierce to win this one. ... While Yi is the biggest wild-card in the draft, he isn’t the only one. There is also a wide-range of opinion on Washington center Spencer Hawes. Some NBA officials believe Hawes could be a top seven pick; others believe he’ll be a late lottery selection.
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Journal Times sports reporter and NBA expert Gery Woelfel and fellow sports reporter and MLB enthusiast Greg Giesen offer up the latest in Packers, Brewers, Bucks and Badgers stories and information.
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