Word broke late last night that the Lakers were on the verge of signing Yi Jianlian, who was the sixth overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2007 NBA Draft but has been out of the league since 2012. He never caught on in the NBA, bouncing between four different teams before ultimately returning to China.
Reports now say the Lakers and Yi have agreed on an $8 million one-year deal, so there is no long-term risk with this deal. With that being the case, let’s focus on breaking down the basketball merits of the deal.