Bucks Sign Top Pick
The Milwaukee Bucks finally signed their #6 pick in the draft, China’s Yi Jianlian to a standard, multi-year rookie contract. Details and money were not released, but the signing is a coup for the Bucks, as the 6′11′ forward had stated that he would only play for a team located in a bigger market with a large Chinese population. Milwaukee has less than 30,000 Chinese living in it, and is certainly not considered a large market.
What kind of impact Yi will have on the Bucks and the league still remains to be seen. Playing for his Chinese team, the Guangdong Tigers, Yi averaged just under 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, and almost two blocks per game. But as Yao Ming’s, the other big name Chinese player in the NBA, first couple of years proved, the move is not a seamless one. Yi is tall and lanky, and his past few months playing in the NBA’s summer league has shown that he can be pushed around, even by second rate NBA players. Going against other, more powerful power forwards that are thicker, more experienced, and stronger will be the experience that the Chinese are looking forward to from one of their premier players, and one of the keys to their hopes in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
All in all, the Bucks had a good offseason in the market. They re-signed starting point guard Mo Williams to a long-term contract, re-acquired small forward Desmond Mason, and made it through the offseason without any injuries, while getting some hurt players, such as Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva, and Micheal Redd back into shape and injury-free.
The team is still young, and likely won’t contend with the Bulls and Pistons for the division, but the mix of experienced guard play, with the youth of their big players, should be a core group that could make the playoffs and be a division contender in a few years.
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