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China basketball chief to intervene in Yi standoff
2007-07-31
China's top basketball official is to travel to the U.S. to try and end the standoff between the Milwaukee Bucks and their top draft pick Yi Jianliang, state media reported on Tuesday. The seven-foot power forward is reported to have snubbed a move to Milwaukee despite being the overall sixth choice in last month's draft and faces a year away from the NBA if he cannot resolve the dispute or secure a trade. Yi is currently playing for China in the Stankovic Cup in his home province of Guangdong but an expected visit by Bucks' officials to discuss the stalemate has not materialized, the China Daily reported. "I will go to the United States in the coming days to help Yi solve the problem," China Basketball Association (CBA) chief Li Yuanwei was quoted as saying. "I will have a talk with Yi at the Stankovic Cup to see what he thinks. "The Bucks side didn't send their officials to China this time as they promised, so I will take some time to get this resolved." Yi, listed as 19 despite many in China believing him to be up to four years older, has not signed a contract with the Bucks and his agent Dan Fegan has been seeking a trade over the last month. Chen Haitao, boss of Yi's current club Guangdong Hongyuan, told media earlier this month that Yi would "definitely not" play for Milwaukee because it was not "a team suitable for Yi's growth."
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