Via Sports by Brooks, Interbasket offers alleged proof to confirm long-held rumors that Nets forward Yi Jianlian is 24 years old -- not 21. Interbasket offers a photo of a document that was recently published in a Chinese sports magazine; the doc has a photo of a young Yi and the birthdate reads "October 27, 1984." The birthdate Yi has always offered (and the NBA has officially recognized) is October 27, 1987.
While I'm not sure it matters at this point, Yi's age will always be a big deal to fans, draftniks and the media. As the 2007 NBA draft approached, major publications openly discussed rumors that Yi had been born in '84. DraftExpress vehemently insisted he was actually 22. Needless to say, 22-year-old prospects must be considered much differently than 19-year-old prospects. A slight frame and poor ball-handling skills are the norm among teenaged ballers; at 22, your fundamentals and body should be pretty well developed.
Further, should this document be verified and Chinese or NBA officials forced to admit Yi is actually 24, it'll be a dark mark on international scouting. Other than Houston, Milwaukee might have been in the best position among all NBA teams to suss out the truth regarding Yi: Larry Harris, the Bucks' GM at the time, is the son of Del Harris, who has coached and consulted for the Chinese national team for a decade. Milwaukee should have known everything about Yi before spending the sixth overall pick in a good draft on him.
It also bears pondering what New Jersey knew upon trading for him this summer. No offense to Richard Jefferson, but I'd imagine the Nets expected they were getting a youngster with lots of room for potential, not someone older than 2003 draft product LeBron James.
After dismissing Larry Harris from the role of general manager yesterday, Herb Kohlspoke to the press about Harris' limitations, or at least the implied notion that Kohl did not give Harris much leeway for making roster related transactional moves. Specifically, Kohl stated that he did veto a Zach Randolph to Milwaukee deal; but also said that he and Harris were on the same page all along.
"Larry has no difficulty or animosity with me over the right I had to say, 'Let's not do the Zach Randolph trade,' " Kohl said. "He would not bring that up to you as any point of contention. He would say, 'Yes, he had the right to do that, whether I agree or not.' "
Nothing smells finer on an early Thursday morning than a little politician double talk. Am I right? What Kohl essentially is saying, at least to me, is that he told Harris he was not going to trade for Randolph (purportedly for Charlie Bell, Dan Gadzuric and Bobby Simmons). And Harris won't contend that Kohl's veto power was outside any scope of normal behavior. Go figure.
Kohl's also discussed his reasoning for not wanting Z-Bo, which, not so shockingly, came down to character issues. Bear in mind that Randolph has a large contract and has had personal issues on/off court, but at least he's better than Gadzuric and Simmons combined.
The Bucks are on their way to the fourth straight finish in the Central Division basement, and considering GM Larry Harris entered the season as a lame duck general manager, the players weren't shocked at all when he was given his pink slip yesterday afternoon. In fact, the opposite was true: they were actually expecting it to happen sometime soon. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
"It wasn't surprising," [Bobby] Simmons said during a phone interview on Wednesday. "We pretty much figured something was going to happen the way things were going. Usually you would see him (Harris) at games, but after a while, you didn't see him at all.
It's obvious the team has been contemplating this move for a while -- owner Herb Kohl basically cut Harris off at the knees when he vetoed a proposed deal at the deadline that would have sent Simmons, Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell to the Knicks for Zach Randolph and Fred Jones. For what it's worth, though, Kohl hates the idea that he might be considered a "meddling" owner:
"You know, quote, meddling owner. Mark Cuban," Kohl said. "I'm not Mark Cuban. I honestly believe I'm not a meddling type of a manager, whether it be in basketball or whether it was in the food stores or department stores or as a senator. Most everybody who has worked for me over the years has said - while there were things about me they don't like - it wouldn't be they didn't have the latitude to do their jobs."
Most everybody, of course, but those whom he'd already decided to fire months ago.
Well, the earlierposts I made about Donnie Walsh certainly seem more relevant now, don't they? Larry Harris has been fired by the Milwaukee Bucks as general manager in a move that shouldn't shock anyone, unless you just assumed they would let him ride out the season until his contract expired.
The team said it accommodated Harris's recent request for an early decision on his status and, under a mutual agreement, he is being relieved of his responsibilities so that he can pursue other opportunities.
Harris's contract expires June 30, 2008.
'Larry Harris has served the Milwaukee Bucks since 1990 with complete dedication and loyalty,' Bucks president and owner U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl said in a statement. 'The commitment and effort he provided the organization has resulted in many good outcomes. I believe at this time it is in the best interest of the Bucks to proceed in another direction. Larry's professional approach has been valued and appreciated by our organization and we wish him the best in future endeavors.'
That's such a nice way to handle running the same guy that signed Dan Gadzuric out of town politely. However, the bigger issue is finding out his replacement. It is reasonably unlikely that anyone will be hired immediately, unless the Bucks have reached some sort of agreement with Donnie Walsh already. That in and of itself would not be shocking; Walsh is a hot commodity right now, and letting him sit out there as an available "free agent", or soon to be hirable executive is only going to cost the Bucks. It seems unlikely that they have already reached a deal with Bill Simmons, seeing as how he would have awkwardly stopped promoting himself already if that was the case. And, of course, he hasn't. I wonder if the Sports Gal likes New York? Your move, Mr. Dolan.
If we don't care about the scourge of the NBA, who will? The Bleaker Rankings will assess the grotesque each Tuesday.
1. The Knicks.Isiah Thomas still sits in the throne (despite the NY media's best rumor attempts). Therefore, the Knicks remain at the summit of the Bleakers. Zach Randolph is injured and David Lee still doesn't start! Aaah!
2. The Bucks. Things are so bad (how bad are they?) that Bill Simmons began campaigning for the upcoming GM vacancy... and Bucks fans embraced it. The guy who compared Yao Ming over Jay Williams to Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan and said the Magic were "dumb" if they picked Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafor... Bucks fans see that fellow as a massive improvement. That pretty much says it all about the Larry Harris regime, doesn't it?
3. Bulls fandom. This quote from Blog-a-Bull sums up the sentiment, I think: "Jim Boylan is a rube, a boob, a farce, a fraud, a hack, a joke, and proving himself to be completely unqualified to be an NBA head coach." A-yep.
4. The D-League in March. Instead of call-ups for The D's brightest novas, fellows like P.J. Brown, Flip Murray and Tyronn Lue are sliding into the 12th man seat. Remember Moneyball? If there's a market inefficiency in the NBA right now (there are likely two dozen), cheap as $%@* and unattached NBDL players (Justin Williams, Rod Benson) are the centerpiece. A pittance for a rebound every two minutes, people!
Perhaps Miami should count its blessings. The Heat hotly pursued Milwaukee back-up Charlie Bell this summer; Bell, angry with Milwaukee's offers, flirted with a Greek team before signing a five-year, $18 million offer sheet with Miami. Milwaukee, of course, matched, further angering Charlie. (Dwyer notes this is likely the most contract drama a back-up point guard has ever engaged in.)
What'd all the fireplay amount to for the Bucks? Possibly the worst NBA season for a player ever, as The Bratwurst tells it.
Bell is now shooting .267 this year, and has managed to play 594 minutes. He is on pace to play over 1600 minutes for the season, and should his shooting not improve dramatically it will be the worst performance in the near-60 year history of the league.
The Bratwurst lays out some players Larry Harris should've targeted instead, as well some solutions now. Charlie Villanueva has to figure into this -- Bell has played more minutes than V this season. The Bucks defense reeks anyway -- why not stick Charlie at the three? He can't possibly be worse than Bobby Simmons (who is building his case for 'Worst Free Agent Contract of the Oughts').
Charlie Bell (once again) went to MySpace to reveal his inner hatred for the Bucks, who crossed him by matching Miami's offer sheet last week. Via The Bratwurst, here's an excerpt of Bell (who is 28 years old, by the way --- err, 'btw') coming to his senses about the nature of professional athletics.
This summer has taught me a lot. It's very different here, at least from my experiences. AFTER you sign with a team, you hear things like, we love you and need you and your special to us. It's just business, don't get emotions involved. But BEFORE you sign you hear things like, this is what you're worth, take it or leave it, we'll just have to replace you tomorrow then. [...] Oh BTW I like the city of Milwaukee and I Love the fans, always have and always will, I've never had a problem with the city or the fans. But that's sentiment right? No room for that stuff around here...LOL.
The Bratwurst takes offense to Bell's posturing, considering his paycheck and profession. I'm willing to overlook the naivety -- what you have to question here is Bell's (and his agent's) execution. You don't want to go back to Milwaukee, so you sign an offer sheet for just more than what Milwaukee offered you with a longer term? The longer term wasn't scaring away Larry Harris, especially considering the low cost (roughly 1/20th of the salary cap by 2012). And as a part of negotiating, you'd assume the Bucks would pay up to about $3.5 million per year (they offered $3 million)... so you sign an offer sheet (with a playoff team in the same conference) for $3.6 million per, make some threats and expect to get away? That's just bad business thinking. Five years and $20 million might have kept Milwaukee away, but it's still iffy. Bell knew this was a possibility, which makes his seeming education on "the business" a condescending ploy for sympathy.
Milwaukee's long, international nightmare is over: Yi Jianlian ended his standoff with the Bucks and signed his rookie contract. From the team's press release:
The Bucks 6th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, Yi Jianlian signed his contract in Hong Kong following a negotiating session with Mr. Chen Haitao, owner of the Guangdong Tigers. Bucks owner and team president Senator Herb Kohl, General Manager Larry Harris and Bucks Vice President Ron Walter were able to meet with Mr. Chen, as well as Yi and his family, as part of the process.
[...] "There has been a genuine excitement throughout our city and state, as well as internationally, following our selection of Yi in the NBA Draft," said Senator Herb Kohl. "We all anticipate Yi's arrival and welcome him and his family to Milwaukee. We look forward to a successful relationship for many years to come."
"We would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge and thank Mr. Chen for his assistance and support in the negotiating process," Kohl added.
I'm curious to find out what exactly transpired to make the deal happen -- NBA rookie contracts are traditionally cookie-cutter affairs considering the salaries are almost entirely determined by the draft slot. Did the Bucks agree to make some sort of payment to Yi's former team? (Would such a tactic even be allowed under NBA rules?) Or did Yi's camp simply need personal assurances that Milwaukee was committed to making Yi's life comfortable and showcasing him in a featured role? I have no clue, but I'm guessing we'll find out the answer sometime in the near future.
Back during the 2000-05 season, Desmond Mason was the Bucks' second-leading scorer, and the high-flying swingman was considered a fan favorite. When he was traded to the Hornets, though, it seemed like he burned his bridges to ever return, singling out GM Larry Harris. But now that he's a free agent, he's singing a different tune:
In a radio interview at the time of the deal, Mason called Harris "a snake in the grass" and said he "flat out lied to my face" about the chances of being traded.
But that seems like so much ancient history to both sides now.
"That's absolutely behind us," [Mason's agent Roger] Montgomery said. "If we do return, we're looking forward to finishing what he (Mason) started. He was a fan favorite.
"We barely remember that even happened."
For what it's worth, it seems to be "forgive and forget" in Milwaukee's front office, as well -- in the same article, Harris says, "We've had good discussions and are optimistic it's heading in the right direction." For a personnel standpoint, bringing Mason in makes sense -- the team could use some insurance at the small forward spot considering Bobby Simmons missed all of last year. Plus, he's Michael Redd's good friend, which isn't a surprise since Redd knows Mason will never steal a shot from him.
As with all Yi Jianlian news, this should be taken with a pound of salt. Nonetheless: The Beijing Times reports that Yi's Chinese club team -- the Guangdong Tigers -- will block the forward from joining the Bucks.
"This is not -- as media reports have said -- because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi's commercial development," [Guangdong boss] Chen [Haitao] said. "Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi's growth. That's the root of the problem."
I fail to see how Milwaukee isn't a great opportunity in terms of Yi's basketball growth. Places like Los Angeles and San Francisco might be better for Yi's financial growth or social growth, but I can't think of another roster where he'd get more playing time than Milwaukee's.
Unfortunately, Larry Harris will eventually be forced to blink. Yi holds all the cards here.
Via Sports by Brooks, Interbasket offers alleged proof to confirm long-held rumors that Nets forward Yi Jianlian is 24 years old -- not 21. Interbasket offers a photo of a document that was recently published in a Chinese sports magazine; the doc has a photo of a young Yi and the birthdate reads "October 27, 1984." The birthdate Yi has always offered (and the NBA has officially recognized) is October 27, 1987.
After dismissing 
The Bucks are on their way to the fourth straight finish in the Central Division basement, and considering GM 
Well, the 
Perhaps Miami should count its blessings. The Heat hotly pursued Milwaukee back-up 
Milwaukee's long, international nightmare is over: 
Back during the 2000-05 season, 
As with all 
