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The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent forward Yi Jianlian. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, it’s just a one-year contract.
Yi (7-0, 250) was the first round draft pick (sixth overall) in the 2007 NBA Draft of the Milwaukee Bucks. The 24-year old has played for three teams (Milwaukee, New Jersey and Washington) in his four-year career. He holds career averages of 8.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 24.1 minutes in 242 career games with 163 starts.
Yi played in 66 games (starting 49) as a rookie for the Bucks and averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. That year he was selected to participate in the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge at the 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend.
In June of 2008, Yi, along with Bobby Simmons, was traded to New Jersey in exchange for Richard Jefferson. Yi enjoyed the two best years of his career while with the Nets including a 2009-10 campaign where he averaged 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds in 52 games (51 starts). In June of 2010, Yi was traded to Washington where he played out the remainder of his contract and became a free agent.
A native of Shenzhen, China, Yi was a member of the Chinese National Olympic Team that competed in both the 2004 Athens games and 2008 Beijing games. His name is pronounced “EE jee-ENN-lee-ENN.”
