ESPN’s Chad Ford is reporting that the Golden State Warriors are still after Yi Jianlian.
During last year’s draft, the Warriors agreed to trade Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats for the No. 8 pick, with the hope that Yi would fall to the Bobcats at that spot.
The team was shocked that the Bucks, for whom Yi refused to work out, took him at No. 6. The Bobcats took Brandan Wright and traded him to Golden State. While Wright played well for the Warriors toward the end of the season, they still covet Yi, according to sources.
If the Warriors were to offer Wright and the No. 14 pick for Yi, that might be too much for the Bucks to pass on. The team is in rebuilding mode and might be ready to accept a two-for-one deal.
This would be an interesting deal for the Bucks and new GM John Hammond, who did not draft Yi Jianlian and isn’t beholden to him. I watched a number of Bucks games early in the year and liked what I saw of Yi. He has a sweet jumper, can handle the ball and drive a bit, and can run the floor. He made a few eye-popping athletic dunks, but at times he just disappeared. That might have had more to do with the coaching staff and strategy, as he didn’t get many minutes in crunch time. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 27 minutes of action before the All-Star break, but was slowed with a wrist injury during the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, Brandan Wright really came on for the Warriors at the end of the season. His Efficiency Per Minute (.561) was much better than Yi’s (.391 for the season, .410 before the All-Star break), so from a pure numbers standpoint, getting Wright and a late lottery pick would be a good deal for the Bucks. However, Wright’s minutes were very limited, so they could be inflated.
The question is upside. Yi is a skilled offensive player and could turn into a 17-20 point scorer. Wright is more of a energy guy, though he showed some solid low post moves late in the year. I think if the Bucks are going to build around Andrew Bogut, they might want to add some speed and athleticism to the front line, and Wright would give them that. Yi is no slouch in those areas, but few would argue that Wright is not the superior athlete.
The other question is age. Yi is supposedly 20, but there are those who believe that he is as old as 23. We know for sure that Wright is 20, so he definitely has a lot of room to grow.
If I’m John Hammond and were offered this deal, I’d be tempted. With the #8 and #14 picks in the draft, the Bucks could really make some noise this summer.
