Anytime you are able to acquire a high pick for basically nothing, you do it. Even if it meant paying a little more than the usual. Imagine how teams would salivate at the thought of getting Yi and Bynum. 2 19-yr old nukes of potential. Or we could choose to afford the wait ourselves.

This is the contention that has been circling my mind – Yi Jianlian is a really good player from what I hear and these are not the rumor-mongerers talking. Meaning, if given the chance, he could very well make a bid for the ROY to some extent. In terms of trade asset value, Yi has a 4-yr window to prove his worth and in the meantime, we can already reap the soaring TV ratings from Asia and the World for this. Not to mention I am half-Chinese, half-Filipino by blood and I am already excited.

By getting Yi for ONLY Kwame, Evans and Farmar (Crittenton really makes more sense for them and us), the Lakers are armed with 2 potential 7’0 nukes. Odom can still start at 4 as Yi will take the time to come off the bench and provide some firepower – at least for the 1st half of the season depending on how NBA ready he is.

I believe that everything is originating from Eric Pincus, as we have noted. I have not found any independent confirmations. I even checked some English language Chinese Newspapers. We have no authoritative evidence that a serious discussion is taking place at all right now

Except for two Laker “rumor” sites and one Bucks “rumor” site that I posted, there is stony silence.

What made me warm up to the idea is that it made so much sense for both sides–for Milwaukee, it made basketball and business sense. For the Lakers, it made more strategic sense than anything else.

It still may happen.

I was educated by the Bucks bloggers. What the Bucks lack is someone big and strong who can play down low–both offense and defense. Ta da! Enter Kwame Brown. Brown’s power forward play would really be low post. He might even give the Bucks the illusion of defense.

Evans might do as much as Simmons in a back up role at a fraction of the cost. Farmar is the question mark. Maybe a trading chip? If so, wouldn’t Crit be more attractive?

If nothing works, they have $10 million, a tradeable asset, and and a draft pick.

Simmons can be a true 6th man, has heart, and plays good defense. Just ask the Clippers.

Yi could well be the future of the Laker franchise–if not from a basketball point of view, a marketing point of view. He would have to be a huge bust in the NBA to slow down the flow of international cash.

The Lakers already tap into the Asian market with Kobe. Adding Yi couldn’t hurt. If Kobe leaves, Yi
could be the player to build the team around–and they’d still draw crowds and make money with a losing record. Yi may well keep the Lakers alive financially.

Please note: I’m saying this even if he does very poorly as a basketball player. He also could be the best player in the draft this year. He certainly would keep the Lakers competitive against other Western Division teams in the future.

Yi could be mentored by Odom–perhaps even freeing Odom to play his natural position from time to time w/Simmons backing up Kobe. He could be brought on slowly rather than rushed in the way Milwaukee would do it.

Rather than paying $20 mil for a superstar, we could grow our own!

In light of this rumor, it remains a rumor till some kind of news breaks out. I’m not sure if there is a sign-and-trade provision for rookies w/o contracts but I think Yi can be traded with zero value. As far as the merits of that rumor are concerned, I hope its not Farmar.

And, for the most part, my rule for talking trades applies only to what I write in the post, I just try to tone down what happens in the comments because speculation is not the topic I’m aiming for. To get mentioned in a post the not-so-hard-and-fast rule is getting mention of serious talks in a very reputable publication.

This is clearly beyond the rumor stage. We now have confirmation of teams talking. Doesn’t that fit your rule about trades?

Bobby Simmons was injured last year. He wasn’t missed that much.

They wanted CV shifted to SF. They figure Kwame fills the bill at PF.

They wanted alternative backup for Williams. They have Farmar.

They wanted backup for Redd. They have Evans.

We’ve got a true sixth man.

See below.

I’ll give you the paste, then 3 links:

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:07 pm Post subject: believe it or not

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we are gonna get Yi jianlian.
i just heard it from people. Like most stupid people who come up with rumors say, “IM NOT AN INSIDER BUT……” F THAT!!!!!

I would like to say,,,, IM an insider on this one!!!!!! haha.
i heard bucks aren’t reupping with bell and they finally gave up on YI and they want a good backup pg (to replace bell), backup sg, and starting pf to move cv to starting sf, b/c most importantly they cant get Yi to come to the city of Milwakee.

i hear farmar, kwame, evans and a next year’s 1st round pick s locked up for simmons and Yi.

I guess bucks line up is

Mo wiliams / Farmar
Redd / evans
CV / Mason
Kwame
Bogut / Gadzuric

i heard we’ve been offering that same combo of players (kwame, evans, farmar) for numerous players but have been rejected.

IMO, i think those players we tried to get w/ that combo were artest and camby. But we couldn’t land them.
Who Knows??? But all i know is is that that combo landed us Yi and Simmons.
My friend told me that Kupchack tried desperately to get a starter w/ that combo all summer long without giving up our core starters. When that couldn’t happen, he and Phil decided to make our bench more solid then ever.

I think it has more to do with a politic push from the international side of Yi, but still, i am excited as heck with this one. Not b/c of Yi, but I’ve always wanted Simmons. Im telling you rite now, that guy is a poor man tmac.

http://www.clublakers.com/forums/believe-it-or-not-t79926.html

This guy apprently had a source back when the Kidd deal was brewing so he seems credible.

Emplay or Eric Pincus of Hoopworld and a mod/admin on Lakersground and Clublakers has confirmed there have been talks between teams.

http://lakers.topbuzz.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-4516.html

Yi To Lakers?

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After anxious waiting, we know that Yi will not be suiting up in a Bucks uniform. They’ve agreed to send Yi and Simmons to the Lakers for Brown, Farmar, Evans and a 1st Round Pick in the 2008 Draft. IMO, we got jipped in this deal. It’s not official yet, but it’s a locked up deal yet to be announced.

http://www.prosportsdaily.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137876

The Bucks are not powerless. The Bucks only lose the rights to Yi if he is not under contract and he sits out all professional basketball this coming season, including any and all teams in China. He is currently under contract to a team in China, a team that by all accounts was heavily involved in picking his agent (based on what I have read). Why does the Chinese team care? Because they want a big, big buyout. And they (rightfully) don’t see the Bucks as a franchise likely to fork over the big dough.

But, unless his Chinese team releases him and then he sits out a year, the Bucks retain yi’s rights. And the team is not about to release him, they want the buyout (plus if they release Yi they would lose face, a big no-no in Chinese culture). And, just for fun, let’s say Yi’s agent convinces said team to release him, and he sits out a year, how do you think David Stern sits with a player manipulating the draft like that?

The Bucks have no motivation to make a deal unless they can save face in it, and what the Lakers are offering really doesn’t do that. So, the Bucks can afford to wait until they do get a decent offer or until Yi caves. The Bucks hold a lot of cards here, they are not feeling as much pressure as everyone seems to imply.