With The Sixth Pick, The Bucks Select ...

A player who doesn't want to play for them. Yi Jinalian.

On the one hand, I commend Larry Harris for sticking to his guns and taking who he thought was the best player available. I've long preached that's the way to go. But there's no question he's put the team's future on the line in a big way in the process by taking a player who has made it clear he wants no part of the Milwaukee Bucks.

When Yi was picked by the Bucks, he looked like a guy in a room full of super models who was just told they all left and the only girl remaining was Rosie O'Donnell. Me and my buddies couldn't stop laughing at that. Player after player was picked and they walked up onto the podium smiling and laughing and basking in the moment of their lives. Except for one.

The one the Bucks just happened to take.

I don't question Yi's skills. He is a skilled player. I do worry about the scouting reports which question his heart, his defense and his desire to be a physical player. The Bucks aren't lacking for perimeter shooters who abhor defense. And now they may have possibly added another. Harris' ability to improve the team's frontcourt defense has been undercut because unless he trades Villanueva the primary frontcourt minutes will be handled by Bogut, Villanueva and Yi (assuming he's still on the team), none of whom are or project to be a good defender.

That's a problem.

So by drafting Yi, Harris didn't appear to solve any of the glaring problems his team has but instead, potentially created a large number of other ones in the process. This is the type of thing you do for a player who, without question, has elite talent and/or potential. I'm not sure that's the case with Yi.

To be honest, I'm more bummed about what transpired at 33. That's a pick the Bucks should have had were it not for the gigantic blunder by Harris last year. The Markota trade made zero sense at the time given the talent that was expected to be available in this draft and sure enough there were a large number of players who were on the board at 33 who are much more talented than Markota has shown to be thus far. And to think such a player ends up in the hands of the World Champs is even more incredible.

But that's why the Spurs are who they are - they don't make foolish mistakes. They're smart and when a team offers them a potential value for garbage they jump at it. So now the Spurs add a possible rotation player to the mix and the Bucks still have Markota.

Wonderful.

I did like the Sessions pick. There wasn't much on the board and frankly I have extremely low expectations for the 56th pick but he has solid PG ability and is a solid defender. It'll be interesting to see if he can push Greer for a roster spot.

Back to Yi, so his handlers will demand a trade in what will be the least surprising post-draft story of the year. The main problem with trading Yi now is the Bucks have zero leverage. Everybody and their mother knows he doesn't want to play for them so why offer Milwaukee anything of value? I'm not sure Harris gets a better offer than he was getting prior to last night. I'm not sure Yi gets traded because at this point it may be impossible for the Bucks to bring back any value for him.

The Bucks really are screwed here. They are gambling that a player who insisted he didn't want to play for them before the draft and then again once the pick was made will somehow change his mind. It's a huge gamble and maybe it pays off but it also has the potential to blow up in Harris' face, end his tenure as the Bucks' GM and set the team back a decade or so in the process.

This reminds me of the line from "All the President's Men:"

"We're under a lot of pressure, you know, and you put us there. Nothing's riding on this except the, uh, first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys f' up again, I'm going to get mad. Goodnight."