He had gone through shooting and running and five-on-zero work, but when we were let in the gym, Yi was out there, banging bodies and scrimmaging with his team, not thinking about or being hampered by the sprained left ankle that has made him mostly a spectator during this training camp.
Naturally, there was rust, but the impressive thing about this 7-footer is the way he moves. We’ll let some of the Nets describe it.
“He’s very graceful,” Vince Carter said. “He has a nice stroke, runs the floor well, has very good leaping ability.”
Coach Lawrence Frank’s list of positive Yi attributes were:
“A guy who’s at that size, his ability to run the floor, his ability to stretch the defense and make shots, his ability to put it on the floor and get to the rim in one dribble, his quick feet allow him to be a very good pick-and-roll defender, his length allows him to be a very good perimeter defender against shooting fours. So I think he obviously has a huge upside.”
