Maybe we are all being faked into the popcorn machine.....rolling around in all the butter....waiting for the jello to start jiggling. One thing for sure, there have been so many surprises in the NBA, could the Lakers be faking left but going right. Could it be that whether or not they trade Kobe, or LO, Kwame, or Bynum, that the intended target is not one of the players that is being presented to us in the press. Could they have their sites on the next Yao. A player that some corporate sponsors are salivating to sign to a marketing deal, taking the NBA around in world, and particularly to China and the orient, in a way that has never been done before.
Does this marketing scheme need to play on the biggest sport scene in the world, a stage that is a gateway to the audience across the Pacific. Is it only a coincidense that the star of the show is only conducting workouts in LA? Why is it this yet undrafted budding star can get away with individual workouts, against nobody, and make every team come to him? Is it possible that it is because this player never intends to leave LA? And the Lakers intend to never let him leave?
Is the Lakers #1 target this summer really Yi Jianlian. The Lakers, along with several other NBA teams have recently been scouting him in China after watching his progress over the last couple of years. At 6'11" he is quick, he can shoot the mid range jumper, drive to the hole, and fill the lane on the fast break. Is he the next Chinese Dirk Nowitski? Is he the next Laker star?
Ok, the evidence so far is just coincidental. But if it is true, how do the Lakers get their hands on Yi. Certainly not with the 19th pick. There are over a dozen Mock Drafts out there who have him being drafted anywhere from #4 to #12.
One way is to trade those players who are most often mentioned in trade scenarios, like Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown, or Andrew Bynum, to a team who has a pick at least in the middle of the lottery, and make switching picks a part of the deal. Likely trade partners might be Milwaukee At #6, Minnesota, who just traded for a power forward at #7, or Charlotte who has been rumored to possibly be looking for a trade that might involve their #8 pick. This is tricky business. There are no guarantees here unless you actually make the trade on draft night with Yi still on the board.
The other trade scenario involves Kobe, who reportedly has told the Lakers that Chicago would be a city that he would approve being traded to. He reportedly has also nodded in approval of New York, Phoenix, and in at least one report, Orlando. Of those teams, only Chicago with the 9th pick, is anywhere close to being able to snag Yi.
Draft Express who is pretty good at predicting the draft has Yi going at #10. But the NBA consensus draft has him gone at #5.
Yi put up impressive numbers last season for his Chinese Team. Even though he only played 30 minutes per game, he average 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks while hitting a modest 59% from the field. He does not have great 3 point range, but he can hit the jumper and had a season high of 42.
What is the Lakers best chance of acquiring Yi, if indeed it is their dream. There are to many teams now interested in Yi to gamble on him dropping very far in the draft. You have to have a potential trading partner on draft night who is sitting pretty with a pretty high pick, as high as 5, but no lower that 8. Trading Odom or Brown will not get you there. Odom and Bynum could get you in the neighborhood. If you trade Kobe, you can probably write your own ticket, but the trade would obviously involve a lot of players, not just a high draft pick.
For the time being we can only speculate about how serious the Lakers are about Yi. The chances are we will never know for sure until draft night. If the Lakers do not announce a trade before Stern starts to announce "with the 1st pick the Portland Trailblazers select......" we will be holding our breath through the end of the lottery picks to see if the Lakers move up, and move up to select whom. Is it Yi?
JamFan
