The tryout lasted nearly two hours.
After seeing Yi Jianlian off, Chen Yu and the rest of the staff headed to the conference room to discuss the results.
"His physical gifts are solid," Jim Boylan said, breaking the ice.
With 28-centimeter hands, a weight of 110 kilograms, a 282-centimeter standing reach, a 76-centimeter standing vertical, and a maximum running vertical approaching 90 centimeters, his measurements were above average for any draft class. In fact, they were outstanding.
Of course, the United States never lacked players with this kind of talent. They appeared in droves every single year.
Physical measurements were merely the baseline; many other factors had to be evaluated comprehensively.
After tossing in a few more compliments about Yi’s flexibility and quick spin moves, Boylan pivoted straight to the flaws. "His movement speed is a bit slow, and the transitions between his technical moves aren’t smooth enough. He looks a bit stiff."
He paused, searching for the exact words to describe it.
"It’s like watching a videotape and seeing it drop frames. Yeah, that’s exactly what it feels like."
He played the tryout tape, pointing out specific moments during Yi’s matchups against Robinson as evidence.
Skiles nodded in agreement. "I got the same impression. Chen, did he start basketball training too late?"
In Skiles’s experience, these issues typically plagued players who had picked up the sport late and failed to build a solid foundation.
Professional sports, after all, relied heavily on fundamentals ingrained since childhood.
Things like flexibility and coordination truly needed to be developed from a young age.
Chen Yu nodded. "Going by his actual age, he didn’t start receiving basketball training until he was 15."
Although Yi had been unusually tall as a child, his parents were not professional athletes and originally hadn’t wanted him to pursue a career in basketball.
"That is quite late." Realization dawned on Skiles. "If he had started training earlier, his abilities would be much better. But then again, you have your ways."
The fact that they could use the gaps between games in a single season to help Nowitzki develop a highly difficult, one-legged fadeaway—a shot that severely tested coordination—was a testament to the immense capability of Chen’s training staff.
Therefore, starting late didn’t rule out the possibility of improvement.
After a bit more discussion, Brian raised a pointed question. "What about his positioning?"
Yi Jianlian suffered from the same problem that plagued Liu Yudong and numerous other interior players from China.
His primary scoring methods right now were low-post turnaround jumpers and mid-to-long-range perimeter shots. Occasionally, he could use his physical athleticism to attack the rim.
In the CBA, these were all advantages.
But in the NBA, those advantages wouldn’t necessarily hold up.
The flaws in this playstyle were already beginning to show.
His upper body lacked strength, preventing him from backing down defenders, muscling his way into the paint, and scoring over the top near the rim like a traditional big man.
If they developed him as a perimeter player to serve as a pure spot-up shooter, his shooting wasn’t quite good enough.
And if they tried to fix the issue by having him bulk up and build strength, he would lose his speed advantage.
If he shifted toward the small forward spot, his lack of a three-point shot meant he could never become a tall sniper like Peggy. Plus, without the requisite lateral quickness, he would turn into a defensive sieve.
Ultimately, he would become a tweener, stuck in an awkward position.
"So, what kind of expectations are we placing on him?" Brian asked.
Were they hoping he’d become a three or a four?
Skiles and the others fell silent. No one could say for sure.
Brian looked toward Chen and Nelson.
Chen and Nelson had already exchanged thoughts on the matter and had simply been waiting for someone to bring it up.
Thus, Chen said directly, "We develop him like Milicic. Or, to put it another way, a Bai Duncan who can shoot threes."
By the end of his sentence, Chen couldn’t help but chuckle.
He had no idea which unscrupulous media outlet had slapped that label on Milicic.
But thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t wrong.
Milicic’s current performance was basically a poor man’s Duncan equipped with an outside three-point shot.
Since Yi Jianlian’s situation was somewhat similar to Milicic’s, they could just use that as a blueprint and develop him in that direction.
As for the exact training methods, that would depend on how much effort they were willing to invest.
All the issues Boylan and the others had mentioned—poor coordination, weak core strength, fear of contact, and inconsistent shooting—were things that could be fixed in the gym.
Chen was fully confident in his ability to help Yi train them out.
But the fundamental question remained: Was it worth the investment? They had to weigh the costs against the benefits, as well as the price they would have to pay to acquire him in the first place.
"That could work." Brian pondered for a moment before nodding.
Pioneer’s run-and-gun offense had dazzled the entire league, and Milicic’s presence was absolutely crucial to it. Because an anomaly like Milicic had emerged and succeeded, no team considered that kind of player problematic anymore.
After all, Nowitzki was also considered an anomaly.
Even Brian himself had consulted Chen several times, wanting to replicate Pioneer’s run-and-gun system.
"My only fear is that he becomes the next Tom," Brian added.
He was referring to Gugliotta.
Back then, Brian had truly misjudged the situation; he had never expected a tall, white stretch shooter like Gugliotta to decline so rapidly.
"Of course, I’m not talking about injuries," Brian quickly clarified.
Throughout this meeting, they hadn’t even discussed the risk of Yi Jianlian suffering injuries—despite the kid being rather fragile.
With Chen around, injuries were always the absolute last thing to worry about, if they even needed to be considered at all.
"I doubt that will happen."
Chen shook his head.
Gugliotta was a decent player. Had they crossed paths a few years earlier, Gugliotta’s career would have never turned out the way it did.
"Besides, Tom was an All-Star in his own right. If you’re using him as a benchmark, does that mean you think Yi could crack the lottery?" Chen asked. "Because if he can, I think we should just give up right now."
Lottery picks weren’t easy for the Phoenix Suns to acquire.
Even if they managed it, the price would be exorbitant.
The chips they currently held were strictly reserved for going all-in next year; there was zero chance they would burn them this year.
"He is good and has potential. If we can get him in the first round between the 15th and 20th pick, I’d say he’s worth a gamble. No problem there.
"But any higher than that? It’s not worth it, nor does it align with our strategy."
The Phoenix Suns’ short-term goal was strictly the 2007 draft.
Whether or not they signed Yi Jianlian had little impact on the big picture.
Even if they did draft him, as long as Nowitzki was around, Yi would forever be relegated to a bench role.
Brian and Skiles exchanged a glance and agreed with Chen’s assessment.
"Then let’s leave it at that. We’ll see what he decides and keep an eye on his draft stock. Either way, we won’t be making any promises on our end."
Under the current circumstances, they certainly couldn’t afford to make any promises.
Furthermore, the Phoenix Suns simply weren’t in a position to give any—they didn’t even have a first-round pick and would have to trade for one when the time came.
As for Yi Jianlian, his stance was still subject to change.
He had declared for the draft, but the withdrawal deadline hadn’t passed yet. If his draft stock didn’t look promising, it was entirely possible he would pull out at the last minute.
"Let’s wrap it up then. I need to get back to the clinic, so I’ll take off first."
Chen stood up, then turned to Skiles. "Good luck. Make sure we win tomorrow’s game."
If they took a 3-0 lead over the Lakers, the Lakers could essentially start packing for their offseason vacations early.

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