Deadspin: yi jianlian

Ricky Rubio Is Already Getting The Hang Of The American Game

Tommy Craggs — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:45:00 EDT

The ping-pong balls have barely settled, and already Ricky Rubio, the mopheaded Spaniard who reminds everyone of Pistol Pete if Pistol Pete had discovered the defensive crouch, is strongarming teams in the NBA draft.

The lad is nothing if not precocious. According to DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony, Rubio's camp, led by agent Dan Fegan, has given off signs that "he's not interested in the least bit in playing in Memphis." A source tells Givony:

"Rubio doesn't want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so. Fegan [Rubio's agent] wants him in L.A., and if he can't have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City. "

Fegan, you might remember, was the guy who in 2007 tried to leverage age-fudger Yi Jianlian into a major market, a plan that went down in flames but allowed Yi the luxury of quietly disappointing people in Milwaukee instead of loudly busting elsewhere. Rubio, as Givony notes, has the option of staying in Spain. This is a perfectly acceptable alternative these days — it'll be interesting to see if the growing viability of the international game loosens up something as flagrantly labor-unfriendly as the NBA draft — but it'd be a huge disappointment to those of us tired of watching low-res YouTube clips in which Rubio appears to be playing basketball in an airport smoking lounge.

NBA Draft Roundup, May 20 [DraftExpress]

Yi Jianlian Gets Around

Leitch — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:40:20 EDT

We haven't found video of Yi Jianlian's epic interview with Stuart Scott last night, but we did find this: A completely bizarre old commercial the newest (and soon-to-be-ex, we suspect) Milwaukee Buck did in China for some sort of strange milk. We don't speak Chinese, but even if we did, we're pretty sure we'd have no idea what was going on.

China Insists That Boston And Philly Are Grand Places For The Chinese

Leitch — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:45:41 EDT

The NBA Draft is now just three days away, and since everybody knows how the first two picks are going down, the main intrigue — other than the usual sartorial speculation — involves the three Florida players and Chinese mystery Yi Jianlian. He's either Dirk Nowitzki or Wang Zhi-Zhi, and he's either gonna be amazing or become a lifelong punchline to explain why you shouldn't try to tank games at the end of the season.

And, as it turns out, he — and by "he," we mean "the Chinese government" — is exerting considerable influence on which team drafts him. Rumors persist that he's going to insist on playing for a team in a big market with a "considerable Chinese population." He refused a workout with the Bucks at No. 6, and he better hope the Celtics take him. Could Yi drop out of the draft if he's not taken by the right team? We love the idea of him pulling a big timer power move; he's ready for American athletics already!

Proceed With Caution [Winning The Turnover Battle]