Bucks Sign Yi Jianlian To Multi-Year Contract
August 29, 2007 - The Milwaukee Bucks announced today that 2007 first round draft pick Yi Jianlian (EE jee-AHN-lee-AHN) has signed a multi-year contract. 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.
Yi Jianlian is expected to join the team for training camp that begins on Monday, October 1 at the Bucks Training Center in St. Francis, WI.
“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.
“We were thrilled to be able to draft Yi Jianlian in June and are equally excited to sign him to a NBA contract as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks,” said Harris. “We drafted Yi with the expectation that he would be a part of our franchise for a very long time and this is the first step in that process. Yi is a skilled and versatile young man who we have seen play numerous times over the last few years including this summer in the NBA Summer League. Our players and coaches look forward to working with Yi and I know our fans will enjoy watching him compete with the many talented, young players on our roster.”
NBA Commissioner David J. Stern commented, “We are happy that Yi will be playing with the Bucks to further develop his skill and his contribution to both the Chinese National Team and the NBA. This is another great example of cooperation between the CBA and the NBA and I want to congratulate the CBA, Mr. Chen, the Guangdong Tigers and the Milwaukee Bucks.”
A 6-11, 238-lbs. forward, Yi Jianlian has played professionally for the Guangdong Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) since 2002-03, when he was awarded Rookie of the Year honors. He has competed in the last five CBA Finals and won titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006, earning the Finals Most Valuable Player honors in 2006. In 2003-04, he averaged 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 28 games, including his first CBA title. The following season in 53 contests, Yi improved his numbers to 16.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots on his way to a second consecutive CBA title. Yi led Guangdong to a third straight CBA title in 2005-06, averaging 20.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 52 games. Last season, Yi posted career-high averages with 24.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 30.7 minutes. He led Guangdong to a fifth straight appearance in the CBA Finals, but bowed to Bayi in five games (4-1).
This summer, Yi Jianlian and Team China Basketball played five games in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Yi averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 28.0 minutes per game. He tallied a team-high 23 points vs. Memphis, and 20 points, including the game-winner, in Team China Basketball’s win over Cleveland.
Most recently in the Efes Pilsen World Cup in Izmir, Turkey, Yi averaged 23 points and 8 rebounds over three games against Poland (28 points, 10 rebounds), Serbia (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Latvia (24 points, 5 rebounds).
Yi competed for the Chinese National Team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.
About the Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are entering their 40th season of competition in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During the 2007-08 season, General Manager Larry Harris and Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak look to lead the Central Division squad into the playoffs for the 26th time in team history. The Bucks won the NBA Championship in 1971 and became the only professional sports expansion team to win a league championship in the third season of play, a mark that still stands. The team has captured two Conference Titles (1971 and 1974) and thirteen division titles. The Bucks own the seventh best winning percentage among active NBA franchises (53 percent) and the ninth best home winning percentage (65 percent). Since 1968, the Bucks have played before 90% capacity crowds. The Bucks are owned by U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, who is in his 23rd season of ownership. The team opens its 2007-08 season on October 31 at Orlando and plays its first home game in the Bradley Center on Saturday, November 3 vs. Chicago.
中国球员易建联正式签约雄鹿 合同3年薪金700万美元
倍可亲(backchina.com) 北京时间8月29日下午，易建联在香港正式与密尔沃基雄鹿队签下3年合同，10月1日将赴美参加雄鹿季前训练营，下赛季将身披雄鹿球衣征战NBA。
易建联、雄鹿老板科尔、宏远老板陈海涛在半岛酒店联合召开了一个新闻发布会，宣布易建联加盟雄鹿。雄鹿官方网站随后也发布了这一消息，称与易建联签订了一份多年合同。而根据易建联经纪人费根透露，雄鹿和易建联签的一份2＋2合同（从2005年开始，第一轮新秀和约从3＋1变为2＋1＋1（两次球队选项，分别在第一赛季和第二赛季末），完成4年合同的新秀成为受限制自由球），根据NBA的薪金规定，易建联前两年的工资将得到保障，而从第三年开始，他的薪金将再次通过双方洽谈后得出结果。
从目前易建联的2+2合同来看，一旦易建联在两年之后继续在雄鹿队效力，那么易建联也将得到1000万美元以上的薪金。官网透露，10月1日，易建联有望参加雄鹿在威斯康星州举行的季前训练营。在新闻发布会之后，易建联和雄鹿老总科尔以及一件11号球衣合影，很明显，新赛季易建联将身穿11号球衣征战 NBA，此前在广东以及中国男篮国家队，易建联都身穿11号球衣。
据悉，在谈判中，雄鹿老板科尔亲口保証给予易建联足够上场时间，这也是双方最终能达成协议的最关键因素。
今年6月28日，在NBA选秀大会上，易建联被雄鹿在第一轮第六顺位选中，但随后易建联经纪人与雄鹿方面陷入了长达2个月的冷战，经纪人费根以密尔沃基不适合阿联发展为由，要求雄鹿将其交易。
但随后雄鹿老板亲自给宏远俱乐部与阿联本人写了一封信，身为参议员的科尔亲自来到香港，与宏远、易之队和易建联本人进行了商谈，最终在今天下午与阿联签订了一份多年合同。易建联在发布会上再次戴上了有雄鹿标志的棒球帽。
“在选秀大会之后，整个密尔沃基市再次欢欣鼓舞。”科尔表示，“我们都张开双臂欢迎阿联和他家人的到来。我们希望能有合作多年。如果没有陈海涛先生的帮助，我们的会谈不会如此顺利。”
雄鹿总经理哈里斯暗示将重点培养易建联：“我们在摘下易建联时，就希望他能够为雄鹿长期效力。易建联才华出众，过去几年他发挥出色，尤其是在今年夏季联赛中的表现更是有目共睹。”当初正是哈里斯一口回绝了易之队的交易申请。
NBA总裁大卫-斯特恩也对于易建联签约相当关注：“易建联能去雄鹿发展令人相当高兴，他球技的提高对于中国男篮和NBA来说都是好事。”
签约的完成也意味着，易建联将成为继王治郅、巴特尔和姚明之后第四位登陆NBA的球员。
