Aug 29, 2007, 11:42 GMT
Milwaukee, WI - The Milwaukee Bucks signed 2007 first- round draft pick Yi Jianlian on Wednesday to a multi-year contract despite reports that his agent wanted him to play in another city.
Yi, who was selected sixth overall in the draft by Milwaukee this past June, was not planning on signing with the franchise after his agent Dan Fegan stated he wanted his client to play in a city with a more prominent Asian community.
All of that changed after the Bucks front office recently met with Yi, his family and Mr. Chen Haitao, owner of Yi's team in the Chinese Basketball Association, in Hong Kong.
'We were thrilled to be able to draft Yi Jianlian in June and are equally excited to sign him to a NBA contract as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks,' said Milwaukee general manager Larry Harris. 'We drafted Yi with the expectation that he would be a part of our franchise for a very long time and this is the first step in that process. Yi is a skilled and versatile young man who we have seen play numerous times over the last few years including this summer in the NBA Summer League. Our players and coaches look forward to working with Yi and I know our fans will enjoy watching him compete with the many talented, young players on our roster.'
The 6-foot-11, 238-pound forward has played for the Guangdong Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association since 2002-03. Last season, Yi had a career year, posting averages of 24.9 points and 11.5 rebounds.
'We are happy that Yi will be playing with the Bucks to further develop his skill and his contribution to both the Chinese National Team and the NBA,' commented NBA commissioner David J. Stern. 'This is another great example of cooperation between the CBA and the NBA and I want to congratulate the CBA, Mr. Chen, the Guangdong Tigers and the Milwaukee Bucks.'
Yi played for Team China Basketball this summer in the NBA Summer League and averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in five games.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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