Effort to steer Yi from Milwaukee could cost his career

	Should Yi Jianlian's Chinese team follow through with its plan to block Yi from playing in Milwaukee, there is no telling how far back that decision might set Yi's career. AP

Irresponsible. That was the word chosen by Guangdong Tigers chief Chen Haitao when describing how the Chinese Basketball Association would feel if they allowed 19-year-old Yi Jianlian to play next season for the Milwaukee Bucks. Seems Milwaukee, with all their young talent in the frontcourt, would pose too much of a challenge for Yi to play significant minutes next season.

Forgive me while I try to contain my laughter.

You want irresponsible? How about forcing a developing player to sit out an entire season just so the Chinese hoops association feels better about the market that he lands in? That's what Yi would have to do if the Tigers carry through with their plan to block Yi from playing with the Bucks.

According to an NBA spokesman, if Yi decides he wants to re-enter the NBA draft next season he would have to sit out the entire 2007-08 season. I'm not just talking about the NBA season. Yi couldn't play anywhere, not in the States, not in Europe and certainly not in the CBA. If he does, Yi would continue to remain the property of the Bucks.

And how exactly would sitting out a season help Yi? How would that help the Chinese national team, which is hoping to make a big splash in the '08 Beijing Olympics, improve? Instead of a getting a bigger, stronger, more skilled Yi next summer, the team would have a rusty player whose growth has been stunted by his own government's short-sightedness.

Truth be told, the idea that Yi is ready to step in and contribute right away is ludicrous. For every LeBron James (20.9 points in 39.5 minutes as a rookie) there is a Jermaine O'Neal (4.1 in 10.2) to match. The learning curve for some rookies is practically a 90 degree angle, and the fact that Yi has faced very little American competition means his will be enormous.