According to David Pick, the Los Angeles Lakers reached out to the former sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft Yi Jianlian per his twitter page.
Source: Los Angeles Lakers tried to lure Chinese power-forward Yi Jianlian back to the NBA.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) August 18, 2015
The chances of Yi coming back to the NBA seem to be very slim, however, as the power forward recently signed a five-year contract extension with his current team, Guangdong Hongyuan of the CBA. His current deal keeps him in China until he’s 33.
Yi played five years in the NBA for four different teams: The Bucks, Nets, Wizards, and Mavericks. After being drafted by the Bucks 6th overall in 2007, Yi never lived up to the hype as many pegged him to be, averaging 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 22 minutes per game.
I guess considering the LoLakers, you read that correctly, missed out on Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Monroe in free agency, the team figured Yi could be a solid consolation prize.
