Teams that had no hope of getting James to join began to make moves, and transactions continued. During this period, the Warriors also made a small deal.
That's when the deal came for Yi Jianlian.
Deng Fang has been paying attention to Yi Jianlian's development.
Since becoming the head coach of the Warriors last year, Deng Fang has wanted to bring over Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming.
We are all Chinese, and we are all strangers in a foreign land. Deng Fang still wanted to help his own people.
But things were not as simple as Deng Fang thought.
First of all, it is very difficult to introduce Yao Ming.
Yao Ming has been with the Rockets since he entered the league and has never left.
In the third game of the second round playoffs of the 2008-09 season, Yao Ming was injured for the season. Without Yao Mai, the Rockets still fought the Lakers for 7 games, and ultimately lost.
This past season, Yao Ming has been recuperating from illness and did not participate in a single game.
After a season of rest, Yao Ming is now fully recovered and is waiting for the start of the new season.
A few days ago, Yao Ming announced that he would not opt out of his contract and exercised his player option.
In this case, Yao Ming will stay with the Rockets for another year.
Given Yao Ming's character, if Deng Fang invited him to join the Warriors, Yao Ming would not agree.
Of course, the Rockets would not agree.
Yao Ming is the only star of the Rockets now, and they will not let Yao Ming go.
In this case, Deng Fang would no longer force himself.
A twisted melon is not sweet.
It doesn't matter if you wait another year.
Yao Ming couldn't do it, but Yi Jianlian can.
Deng Fang wanted to trade Yi Jianlian last year, but it failed.
Compared with Yao Ming's NBA career, Yi Jianlian's was not very smooth.
Of course, Yi Jianlian's start in the NBA was full of drama.
In the 2007 draft, Yi Jianlian was selected with the 6th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks, becoming the fourth Chinese player to officially enter the NBA after China's three major mobile players. He is also the second player in the lottery after Yao Ming.
The selected Chinese players.
Being selected with the 6th pick fully demonstrates the NBA team's high opinion of Yi Jianlian.
Including Noah, Thaddeus Young, Belinelli, Dudley, and Marc Gasol were all ranked behind Yi Jianlian.
But Milwaukee is not the place where Yi Jianlian most wants to go, and Yi Jianlian's agent doesn't want him to play in the Bucks.
Milwaukee is a small city with little market influence and a cold climate.
Ah Lian once said that when he was in Guangzhou, he could not see snowflakes all year round, but when he arrived at the Milwaukee Bucks, he could see snowflakes flying and white snow almost all the time.
The ball market is small and the climate is not used to it, so Yi Jianlian does not want to go to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Finally, the Bucks boss met with Yi Jianlian in Hong Kong and finally convinced him to sign, but the condition was that the team made Yi Jianlian the starter.
As a result, Villanueva, the original team's starting power forward, was pushed to the bench by the United Arab Emirates.
But as Yi Jianlian hit the rookie wall, his performance began to become unstable, and he returned to the bench.
In his rookie season, Yi Jianlian started 49 games.
A strange environment, a strange cultural atmosphere, teammates with different skin colors, and language barriers are quite difficult for Yi Jianlian.
Ah Lian has a low-key and introverted personality. He cannot be as humorous and straightforward as Yao Ming, and he can seamlessly join the NBA as soon as he comes to the NBA.
Not long after Yao Ming came to the Rockets, he was chatting and laughing with his teammates, coaches, and the media. This is also a talent.
Yi Jianlian said in an interview: "It was a difficult time for me. I couldn't speak much English during that time, and it was my first time to play overseas. I didn't know much about American culture at that time, and there were many
There are things to learn. It was indeed difficult for me, but it was also a good experience."
On March 3, 2008, in a regular season game, the Bucks lost to the Pacers 106-128, suffering a four-game losing streak on the road.
Yi Jianlian was forced to leave the game shortly after the start of the fourth quarter due to a sprained left ankle.
This injury became a turning point in the career of the Arab Bucks. Although his data did not change too badly, his status fluctuated due to the injury, and his introverted personality also made it difficult for him to get along with his teammates in the locker room.
Gradually, Yi Jianlian no longer gained the trust of the coaching staff.
After the rookie season ended, the fate between the UAE and the Bucks came to an end.
On June 27, 2008, Yi Jianlian and teammate Bobby Simmons were traded to the New Jersey Nets and became teammates with "Canadian Flyer" Carter.
The Bucks did this not only because they lost confidence in Yi Jianlian, but also because they wanted to get rid of Simmons' huge junk contract worth a total of US$20.5 million.
In addition, the Bucks also received All-Star Jefferson.
As for the Nets, they have already begun reorganization, so what they need to consider more is the potential of the players and the salary structure.
Yi Jianlian is recognized as a power forward with great potential and outstanding athletic ability.
In addition, Yi Jianlian's market value cannot be underestimated.
The Nets have long planned to move to New York, where there are many Chinese.
In addition, although the Nets are saddled with Simmons' huge junk contract, the latter's contract expires this summer.
The contracts of James, Wade and Bosh will expire this summer, and the Nets are likely to recruit one of the three stars to the team.
The New Jersey Nets are the second team that Yi Jianlian has played for since entering the NBA, and it is also the most prosperous period of his NBA career.
In the two seasons he lived in New Jersey, all of UAE's statistics reached the peak of his career.
Since the Nets had entered the rebuilding stage at that time, Kidd, Jefferson and Martin had all left the team, and Carter, who was already 32 years old, was aging, and young Harris and Lopez were still in their infancy. At this time, the Nets
The network urgently needs young people like Yi Jianlian to add fresh blood.
At the end of the season, Yi Jianlian played in a total of 61 regular season games, including 52 starts, averaging 23.3 minutes per game, averaging 8.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1 assist per game.
In the 2008-2009 season, Yi Jianlian scored a total of 3 double-doubles, averaging 8.6 points per game, ranking sixth in the Nets. As a rookie who has only been in the league for one year, Yi Jianlian's performance has been recognized by the Nets.
It is for this reason that after Deng Fang became the head coach of the Warriors, he tried to trade Yi Jianlian but failed.
At that time, Yi Jianlian was a potential star in the eyes of the Nets.
At the beginning of the season, Deng Fang used a bunch of draft picks to acquire Lopez, who is also a potential rising star, from the Nets.
Having already given away a potential insider, the Nets will not give away Yi Jianlian again.
Besides, the Warriors have no draft picks.
It's not worth giving away all the first-round picks next year and the year after Yi just for Yi Jianlian.
Deng Fang had just taken office and his position was not yet stable, so there was no need to spend a lot of money to trade Yi Jianlian.
Without enough chips, the Nets will not trade Yi Jianlian.
In addition, even Deng Fang was not in a hurry.
Like Yao Ming, it's just a matter of waiting one more year.
