I’m pretty much at the same point SJ is at right now; there just isn’t a whole lot to write about at the moment. But today something irked me, so here I am.
The entire situation with the Chinese Government trying to control where Yi Jianlin makes his entrance into the NBA has become a perverted example of the improper use of power. For the last couple weeks I have reserved judgment, hoping that Yi’s camp would come around and just let him get started with the Bucks. Instead, Yi’s team, the Guangdong Tigers, who are in some way the mediator between the Chinese Government and the NBA (this is my opinion, based on multiple stories I have read), have said it would block Yi’s move to the NBA unless his draft rights are traded to another team.
Here are the two most prominent from Guangdong that are circulating the net:
“This is not – as media reports have said – because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi’s commercial development,” Chen said. “Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi’s growth. That’s the root of the problem.”
“The national team and the Olympic Games are now our key considerations,” Chen said. “If Yi goes to a team where he can’t compete, that would be being irresponsible to the national team.”
Horse pucky. This is about more than basketball for China, its about doing what is best for their country. Call me a misguided patriot or what have you, but I do not care. If you want so desperately to create more Chinese icons in America, sends us some damn imported ballers that are ready to kick arse and chew bubblegum, not some workout wonder who you refused to allow to play against anything beyond a chair.
A few years ago, I found myself annoyed at the influx of foreigners in the L because most of them hadn’t displayed anything special and were taking roster spots away from talented players. But the reality is, every decently successful (all it takes is a couple good playoff games, Sasha Pavlovic) Euro from a new country opened up a brand new market for David Stern to milk financially. That’s fine. We all know it’s a business. That’s why David Stern isn’t saying much because he doesn’t want to interrupt relations with the growing Chinese power. But when foreign born players start trying to dictate which market they play in, that’s more than a bridge too far. It was bad enough when Steve Francis put an embargo on the Vancouver Grizzlies, but ironically, he was at least trying to stay in his own native country.
Playing in the NBA is a privilege. Being an icon in the NBA is an even higher privilege. Both require hard work, motivation, determination etc. to earn those privileges. So to have a country expect to ship us one player who has done next to nothing except impress Chad Ford and immediately make him one of the most profitable players in the L is a disgrace to the name Naismith. It’s bad enough that Yao is basically guaranteed to be the Western Conference starting All-Star center for another 10 years because of online voting. At least Yao is earning it, for now.
Let the kid go to Milwaukee and earn the status like almost all the other Euro’s have had to do. Otherwise, send him back to one of your ‘Sports Schools’ and let a guy like Chris Ellis have a chance to earn a spot in the 15 chosen. Let’s protect our homegrown products, and if the rest of the world would like to get into our party, I think it is more than fair for them to come dressed like a decent product and to play by the same rules as everybody else.