Yi Jianlian, of China, waiting for the start of the 2007 NBA Draft. He signed a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Bucks Sign Top Pick -- China's Yi Jianlian

Yi Jianlian, of China, waiting for the start of the 2007 NBA Draft. He signed a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Yi Jianlian is a Milwaukee Buck. It just took a while.

Yi's name is pronounced "e tee-en-lee-ahn." He is a star with the Chinese national basketball team. The Bucks drafted him with the number six pick in June's National Basketball Association (NBA) draft.

Many criticized the choice. Prior to the draft, Yi and his agents said they did not want to play in Milwaukee. Yi wanted to play in a city with a large Chinese population. Milwaukee does not have one. Yi also wanted the chance to play a lot for his new team.

Yi signed a contract with Milwaukee in late August. The negotiations took place in China. Team owner Herb Kohl and others traveled to China to meet with Yi.

Kohl said Yi was impressed with the Bucks' willingness to go overseas and meet with him face to face.

"It was a not a question of our city or the composition of our city in terms of its diversity," Kohl told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was a question almost entirely of whether he is going to have a full chance to play and grow and develop in Milwaukee.

"Over the course of the past month, we made it clear this would happen," Kohl added.

Kohl said Yi signed a standard rookie contract. The Bucks will pay him about $2.3 million his rookie season and $2.5 million in his second season.

Yi will likely play a major role with the Bucks. He is a talented player. Yi is 7-foot-1 but also can shoot. However, he will have to improve his defense to succeed in the NBA.

"We felt he was a big piece to what we are going to become," Harris said. "I give the Senator (Kohl) a lot of credit in sticking behind the pick and making sure this took place."

Helping in other ways
Yi will have an impact off the basketball court, too. The Chinese market is enormous for the NBA and the Bucks.

China has the world's largest population. Yi has many fans in China. The NBA and the Bucks hope those fans will follow Yi in the United States. The NBA also hopes Yi's signing will create new fans in China.

Yi's signing is already leading to increased ticket sales for the Bucks. The team also expects to sell a lot of Yi apparel in China. Many Bucks games will be televised in China.

The Bucks have already translated their Web site into Chinese.

Wisconsin businesses are trying to increase ties with China and its booming economy. Signing Yi only will help.

"This is huge for the Milwaukee Bucks," said Bob Kraft, co-chair of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce's China Council. "It puts Milwaukee on the map."

Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bucks.com