Hooped Up

The New Jersey Nets decided to part ways with the second-leading scorer in franchise history, dealing Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee hours before last night’s draft for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

“We certainly gave up a good player, but to get a good player you have to give up a good player. With Yi, we feel his upside is very up,” Nets president Rod Thorn said. “We feel strongly he’s going to be a real good player for us.”

No draft picks were swapped in the trade.

Boston Herald

The Bucks have decided they have to much young talent and they might win games in the future.  To remedy this they are looking to rebuild a loser to please the people of Milwaukee.  Already, looking to get rid of Michael Redd the Bucks might part with Yi Jianlian for the right offer and the Warriors are looking to cash in.

The team was shocked that the Bucks, for whom Yi refused to work out, took him at No. 6. The Bobcats took Brandan Wright and traded him to Golden State. While Wright played well for the Warriors toward the end of the season, they still covet Yi, according to sources. If the Warriors were to offer Wright and the No. 14 pick for Yi, that might be too much for the Bucks to pass on. The team is in rebuilding mode and might be ready to accept a two-for-one deal. 

ESPN.com 

More than 20 credentials have been issued by the Bucks to 16 Chinese media outlets, and four stations will televise the game, including the government-run network CCTV, Shanghai TV-China, ESPN Hong Kong and Videoland - Taiwan. All will televise the game live except Shanghai TV. The television audience in China is estimated to be at least 200 million and possibly even higher, with many people at home to celebrate the Chinese New Year. “It’s really unique,” said Bucks owner Herb Kohl, who attended the team’s shootaround. “It’s a manifestation of how sports does transcend international barriers and boundaries. When I bought the team it was a small business, comparatively. Now it’s a huge business and a worldwide business.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A group of NBA executives and scouts has descended on southern China to watch top Chinese players Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi battle it out in the China Basketball Association finals.

Top officials from the Chicago Bulls , Philadelphia 76ers , Golden State Warriors , Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Nets watched Wang’s Bayi Rockets dispatch Yi’s Guangdong Tigers 94-89 in Sunday night’s opening game.

Their presence dominated Chinese press reports.

Yahoo