Update: Yi Jianlian On The Way Out
by Devin Kharpertian
Jun 29, 2010 2010 Offseason, Al Iannazzone, Devin Kharpertian, Trade Rumors, Yi Jianlian
Update: Sure enough, NJ.com is reporting that Yi Jianlian will be traded to the Wizards for Quinton Ross. While the other player in this deal would normally be irrelevant, Ross is a great defensive player who fits the Avery Johnson mold of “guys who work their butt off on the defensive end.” This is both a good salary move and a good basketball move. Today is a great day in Nets history.
Now John Wall can have his soul slowly sucked out of him as he throws beautiful alley-oop passes to Yi that he can’t finish.
See ya, Yi!
Today, Al Iannazzone is reporting that the Nets may finally be close to ending their professional relationship with Yi Jianlian:
They are working on a deal with the Wizards that would send Yi and cash to Washington for a player who makes “significantly less” than what the Nets’ power forward earns. Three sources confirmed this could happen.
The player could be Quinton Ross ($1.14 million) or one of their draft picks. Yi makes $4.05 million this season. Either way, the Nets are close to getting Yi’s salary off their books.
The Nets would do this to get as far under the cap as possible so they potentially could sign two max players. Yi for Ross would save the Nets close to $3 million and put them around $30 million.
Obviously, this would be a fantastic move. The failed Yi experiment can finally be over and the Nets are able to clear up even more cap space. While they would still be a little short for two max contracts, every dollar counts in this year’s free agency and they still have the potential of moving Kris Humphries’s $3.2 million contract (he picked up his option yesterday). I was originally a supporter of the Yi experiment, but after watching Yi stumble over his own two feet for the past two years, it’s safe to say that any value we can get for him is certainly good. His hopefully imminent departure represents more than just a poor power forward leaving: it’s a mark of both erasing an idea from the Kiki era and a statement that the Nets, while attempting to become a global brand, are looking for talent over global marketability.
June 29th, 2010 at 1:25 PM
“Today is a great day in Nets history.”
LOL
Any day you trade with Grunfeld is a good day.
June 29th, 2010 at 1:41 PM
@CAT Yup. Just too bad we couldn’t do it a week ago and involve their first rounder, ha!
June 29th, 2010 at 2:08 PM
All these changes… Mind boggling. Reminds me of Bruce’s lyrics.
—————————–
“Well Papa go to bed now it’s getting late
Nothing we can say can change anything now
Because there’s just different people coming down here now
and they see things in different ways
And soon everything we’ve known will just be swept away”
June 29th, 2010 at 2:09 PM
I don’t really understand what Washington is thinking, letting us dump Yi on them like that. Honestly, what are they planning?
June 29th, 2010 at 2:14 PM
your a bum, yi was a great prospect and has lots of room to approve. the move was still good just for salary cap, but yi was still a great player
June 29th, 2010 at 2:18 PM
@Richard S.– Grunfeld is sticking it to Dolan, first with the Hinrich deal, now this.
June 29th, 2010 at 2:29 PM
As much as I hated the Yi experiment, I have to wonder – do you think he could have been used to lure Lebron. James wants a championship, but he also wants a global empire, and what better way to win over China than playing alongside one of their best (most popular) players? Jersey sales in China would really help make up for the 30 million $ hit he’d take by leaving Cleveland.
John Wall may hate playing with Yi, but the more he can get the ball to him, the more money he’s going to make.
June 29th, 2010 at 3:18 PM
Yi had flashes, but sadly they were only after every of the many injuries he suffered. He doesn’t seem to be able to handle a 82 game season.
June 29th, 2010 at 3:39 PM
This is a great day in Nets history
June 29th, 2010 at 3:53 PM
I think the Wizards are being one of the smartest teams this offseason. They are getting talent for basically nothing, just because other teams want to get more cap space. Yi was not working out with the nets, but you can still say he is better than Quinton Ross. The OKC thunder did the same thing during the draft. They got cole aldrich and mo peterson for some later draft picks from the hornets, who did not want to pay the salary of a lottery draft pick. For teams like OKC and Washington, who are not major players in free agency, it is very smart to continue to get talent in exchange for cap relief for other teams.
June 29th, 2010 at 4:37 PM
@Tucker – this trade is a win-win. This move gives Washington talent – inconsistent talent, but talent nevertheless. But Yi, from a basketball perspective, had no role on this team with Favors being drafted, and a PF a prime target in FA. So the Nets get the cap space the way to go head-to-head in the “who’s core id better” contest with the Bulls. While the Knicks sit and sign Joe Johnson.
June 29th, 2010 at 5:27 PM
I am not denying that the nets made a good move by clearing more space, I was just explaining what I think are smart offseason moves by the Wizards and Thunder. I agree though, I expected Yi to get traded on draft night, because of Favors and free agency.
June 29th, 2010 at 6:31 PM
Yi flashed but was like a fish out of water. He needs a lot of work to become a successful NBA player. He just has this weird attitude, like he’s a rock star. I don’t think he gets it and understands how much work must be done to become an all star quality player. Like Lopez does and the Knicks David Lee who worked as hard as anybody in the league.
Glad he’s gone and don’t let the door hit you in the butt!!!!!!! We now can sign a max and someone who can be another outstanding player. You cannot have 5 starters scoring 20 points a game. It’s impossible and can never work, there’s only one ball. So to sign a big name scorer and surround him with hard working quality players is the way to go.
We already have a great core and big man in Lopez. It’s a young team that can only get better and grow. The window for this team is 8 years.
That’s 8 years of being competitive before there needs a complete rebuild. I would think a free agent sees the growth potential as a competitive team and the longevity of being competitive because of the youthful core.
Joe Johnson and David Lee would be my choices for this team.
June 29th, 2010 at 7:21 PM
See Yi later.
June 29th, 2010 at 7:26 PM
Yi was awful the Nets got the better part of the deal. Yi has been in the league what 3 or 4 years. by now he is what you get. plus he is a lot older than 22.
June 29th, 2010 at 7:27 PM
he is more 24 or 25.
June 29th, 2010 at 9:04 PM
Some player, especially big men take longer to mature. But how old is Yi? I say 22-23.
How about Dirk and Johnson? Dirk is older and would give us time to develop favors.
Any 2 good free agents puts the Nets into a competitive situation and will bring us to the 50 win level.
We need a backup PG or 2, that can run the team. Especially with Devin Harris’ history of injury.
Avery will have this team playing defense and playing together.
50 wins, playoffs and beyond, the future is awesome!!!!!!!!
Honesty we don’t need LeBron we want Lebron.
June 29th, 2010 at 10:26 PM
This is truly the saddest day in Nets history. He was the only rebounding force we had, he spread the floor beautifully, and hit big shots throughout. He had the best hands, and never ever missed an oppurtunity to finish a play HARD!!!
On a seriois note, I hope the Muscle Devil does atleast okay, and finds a niche in the league.
June 30th, 2010 at 9:43 AM
Devin Khanpertian, what is your IQ? What is your problem with Yi? You think Ross is better than Yi?
June 30th, 2010 at 3:34 PM
Patel- The move wasnt about getting better, it was about 1.) moving on from a failed experiment from the previous management and 2.) Getting closer to being able to sign 2 max contract free agents.
June 30th, 2010 at 3:46 PM
You think? I believe someone said Yi suck. And this is no chemistry class, no experiment. If it is money, you need to get rid of Harris, etc. Why don’t you look at the last box score? Where is Harris and Lopez and others? Yi had 24 pts and 17 rebounds!!!! Monster game!
June 30th, 2010 at 5:09 PM
That is exactly the problem, he had 1 great game. Harris and Lopez are both much better players than Yi ever will be. The nets did not trade Harris because he is one of the main selling points to free agents. Also, the nets don’t have to trade Harris to have enough cap room to sign 2 max contract free agents.
June 30th, 2010 at 5:11 PM
Also, Yi was an experiment. He was still very unproven when the Nets traded Richard Jefferson to get Yi. The Nets wanted to try and see if Yi would ever put in enough effort to become a great player. He has great potential, but it did not work out in New Jersey.
June 30th, 2010 at 5:14 PM
If that is the case, the Harris experiment is over. He is selfish and done nothing and injury prone. This african american must go too.
June 30th, 2010 at 5:23 PM
No, the Harris experiment has been a resounding success. He is the best possible value the Nets could have gotten for Jason Kidd. 1 Season with injuries does not make you injury prone. What would you do if you were the Nets? Pre- Yi trade?