Noah vs. Yi?

[Diesel]

We then have our first public entry in the word wars of the 2007 draft. You could've guess who it came from, right? Yep, Joakim Noah.

"If you're ducking, teams see that," Noah said. "You don't want to be somebody who is ducking players. I think that's kind of corny, kind of lame. Eventually in the game of basketball, there's no lying when you step between those lines. Bring your game and not your name. I'm from New York. That's how we do it."

Noah then beat on his chest and pointed to the sky.* Joakim might have been talking about Chinese prospect Yi Jianlian, who is showing off his game by posting up loveseats in Los Angeles instead of, you know, working out against, you know, basketball players. The Chicago Tribune, where the above quote ran, stipulates the words came in response to a general question and not one about Yi, and the Chicago Sun-Times puts the commments in even softer light.

But still: Yi and Joakim are directly competing for dollars right now. Either could go as high as #3 or drop lower than even Philadelphia at #11. That's a big gap -- the difference between a starting salary of $3 million and one of $1.5 million. And pride, well Noah obviously has plenty of it (however misplaced it may be).

[Diesel]

If Noah is 6'11, 232... Yi is 7'1, 240 atleast...

Let's get General Yi!!!

[oiatlhawksfan]

he's 7'0, his measurement were already released.

[Nicholasp27]

he's talking about wright, not yi

[jerrywest]

Check Ford's report. Even Noah doesn't think he is better than Yi.

[jerrywest]

Quote:

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If Noah is 6'11, 232... Yi is 7'1, 240 atleast...

Let's get General Yi!!!

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I think Noah has gained a lot of weight since he played in the finals of CBA. I don't think he gained hight unless his American agents persuaded him to wear higher shoes.

[VDiLetto]

Sorry, but I gave up on the report when they said Philly at 11. I don't think Noah is calling out Yi, he already mentioned he was in awe of his workout.

[oiatlhawksfan]

Noah seems to open his mouth alot, I wouldn't be suprised if he get his *** handed to him, one of theses days.

[DavidSomerset]

Gosh what a flamer.

[Diesel]

Well you know, Sam Smith will run with it until they play.

I think Noah would hang in there with Yi but if Yi plays at the speed I have seen, he will crush Noah.

[jerrywest]

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Well you know, Sam Smith will run with it until they play.

I think Noah would hang in there with Yi but if Yi plays at the speed I have seen, he will crush Noah.

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People who have seen Noah and Yi workout already know that.

[TheDude]

i do think noah's game is more of what we NEED in the post right now although of course he doesnt have the upside or allaround game of Yi....i would love for Noah to fall to us at #11 but if anything i expect his stock to rise not fall.

[thesheedera]

Noah ahs nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. His senior season destroyed his draft status and the guys rated higher than him are being over protected. He knows that Yi won't be allowed to go one on one with him, so he talks trash because he knows they won't face each other.

It's like a lesser boxer knowing that the title holder won't fight him. He can talk all he wants, but it won't make him the better fighter, and since the title holder isn't going to fight him, he won't have a chance to be proven wrong.

Nothing to lose, just yap yap yapping away.

[jerrywest]

Noah is getting desperate because he has hit rock bottom. He can't fall any further.

[Nicholasp27]

again, yi has ALREADY worked out with noah

he was talking about wright, who had just stood him up in boston, NOT yi

[TheDude]

Quote:

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again, yi has ALREADY worked out with noah

he was talking about wright, who had just stood him up in boston, NOT yi

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exactly.

[thesheedera]

Wright still worked out in Boston, right? They just didn't do one on one drills.

Noah and Yi ahve never done one on one drills to my knowledge. I could be wrong for sure, but I don't think Yi's doing one on one with any players, right?

[NJHAWK]

If Yi was a man he would work out vs nba players not chairs. I dont know much about him except he may have no heart and he is afraid to show he is better. That could mean he knows he isnt.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Quote:

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If Yi was a man he would work out vs nba players not chairs. I dont know much about him except he may have no heart and he is afraid to show he is better. That could mean he knows he isnt.

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Once again people don't understand how this draft process works.

When your stock is high like Yi or Wright, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO GAIN and EVERYTHING TO LOSE.

Tell me, would you make a huge one-sided bet?

For instance, if you lost a bet, someone forced you to do the most humiliating thing possible. Would you accept that bet if there was nothing on the other end of the bet?

It would be stupid.

No logical person accepts a one-sided bet.

[kingnoah]

ok i've decided to come out of lurk mode...i'm a big noah fan but i'm a hawks fan first.

noah is outspoken, no one is arguing that, he also has an attitude, which could be good or bad. but i think it is good he is calling out the guys who are wimps

WALTHAM - Joakim Noah and Brandan Wright were both in Waltham Monday morning for another round of draft workouts, but they didn't actually take the court against each other.

Wright told reporters that it was his decision to work out alone, saying that he'd rather have the team's staff focus on what he can do on the floor.

"I've been working out by myself throughout this whole process, and I'm in pretty good shape, so it's not a big thing. It has advantages and disadvantages, but I think I do a good job by myself," Wright said. "I think there's more focus on you and the coaching staff can actually see what you can do and not compare you to anybody."

Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge isn't too worried about it, as he stressed that the workouts are more designed for his coaching staff to get to see the players in person and also to get a chance to talk to them about life on and off the court. But as far as evaluating basketball abilities, Ainge reiterated that the workouts aren't incredibly valuable for him.

"It's tough to determine how workouts go when you don't play against people," Ainge said of today's session. "I'm not going to comment on that, that's Brandan's decision and his agent's. That's their strategy. It's worked before and it hasn't worked, so we'll see."

Noah, who is coming off back-to-back NCAA titles at Florida, went up against Michigan product Courtney Sims during Monday's workout and afterward told reporter "I feel you" when a it was suggested that it was strange to want to work out without competition.

Noah also mentioned that after having seen Yi Jianlian workout in one-man drills recently, he looked like the "#1 pick in the draft."

"In terms of shooting the ball, having someone pass him the ball, rip through and dunk, [he was] very impressive. There's no contest," Noah said. "But I don't know how he's going to react when someone trash talks him on the court...or when someone throws an elbow at him or something like that. I can't judge that, but from what I saw, the way he handles the drills, he's pretty impressive."

The most comfortable interview subject to date since workouts started in Waltham, Noah was very direct and engaging with the media, and he stuck around to talk about the New England prep school basketball teams he competed against back in the day. He also offered that he "had a blast in college at Florida" and joked that he would share some college stories after the cameras were shut off.

Noah also noted that he had a big mouth that occasionally got him into trouble, but seemed at peace with giving the media a piece of his mind, which is pretty rare for a collegiate player.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/draft/notes0611...oah-wright.html