Yi in Chi?

Yi Jianlian is projected to be somewhere from the 9th to 15th pick in the first round of the NBA Draft, which puts him around Chicago's 9th pick courtesy of the NY Knicks and the Eddy Curry trade. I would love to see him on the Bulls just because they are a largely international team and a Chinese player would just give them one more continent! It's probably not realistic though since the Bulls don't have a need for that type of player. Yi is a tall, athletic player who brings energy and violent, aerial dunks. Sound familiar? I like to compare him with Tyrus Thomas. They both have similar tools. Yi has a higher basketball IQ and better range, but Thomas wins on the freak-o-meter. It would be tough to choose between the two if I had to, but I would pick Thomas over Yi just because the "freakish" athleticism is more rare. And also, I'd like to see the Bulls build on the team that they have. I just hope Thomas becomes an all-star and not the next Tyson Chandler. Wherever Yi ends up, he'll certainly help his team. It's so rare to see a 7-footer with aerial moves like his. Maybe with some time in the gym, he can be as freaky as Tyrus Thomas!

On a side note, the Bulls international squad includes: Ben Gordon (England), Luol Deng (Sudan and England), Andres Nocioni (Argentina and Italy), Thabo Sefolosha (Switzerland), Viktor Khryapa (Russia), Martynas Andriuskevicius (Lithuania). They're one of the only teams in the Eastern conference that does a good job with international scouting.

Related Links: Bull's Draft Central 2007, Yi Jianlian Draft Profile, YouTube Clips