CHINA TOPIX

03/29/2024 03:28:06 am

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Basketball News: China’s Yi Jianlian Ready to Play Different Positions With the Lakers in the Upcoming 2017-18 NBA Season

yi jianlian

(Photo : gettyimages.com) Yi Jianlian would play for the Los Angeles Lakers next season.

Chinese basketball superstar Yi Jianlian has said that he is willing to play multiple positions for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The four-time Chinese Basketball Association Domestic MVP was recently acquired by the Jerry Buss-owned basketball club after a sterling performance at the recently concluded 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games.

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Upon the entry of the former Guangdong Southern Tigers hotshot, the Lakers have also brought in other big men into their roster. The team selected the 7-foot-1 tall rookie Ivica Zubac of Croatia in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft in June and also hired the services of the former Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov as well as the two-year Lakers big man Tarik Black.

According to SB Nation, the 30-year-old Mozgov is expected to be the Lakers' starting center in their opening game.

Yi could find himself a contender for a roster spot, as well as for the playing time in Luke Walton's game rotation.

Although the former lead assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors has not told the two-time FIBA Asia Championship MVP the specific plan for him on the court, Yi is preparing to play both the four and the five.

"I don't know yet, because tomorrow is the first practice," Yi said. "I'm just getting ready for both."

Yi, who stands 7-foot-0 tall and weighs 250 pounds, has mobility and a decent perimeter shooting.

Yi reportedly signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on August 22, 2016. He was the 2007 NBA Draft sixth overall pick and has played for five seasons in the league before returning to China in 2012. 

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