The Monkey King Arrives in L.A., Gets Mono

What kind of welcome is this, America? Sun Yue, who prefers to be known as the Monkey King and not the Chinese Magic, signed a small two-year deal with the Lakers Wednesday, and gladhanded the local press. Hours later, reports the Orange County Register's Janis Carr, Sun visited a local hospital due to illness. He was diagnosed with mononucleosis. He won't be playing for a while.

Carr glibly notes mono is referred to as the "kissing disease"; as someone who suffered the brutal affliction in high school, I can verify that wives' tale. (Small joke.) It can be debilitating, depending on the severity. Exhaustion is a major symptom, and exhausation is typically bad in conjunction with professional athletics. (Except bowling.) No word on how long this will keep Sun in street clothes, but a month or two seems right.

All told, I imagine Phil Jackson hadn't planned on riding Sun hard in November: Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic are capable of starting for this team. Simply finding minutes for Sun at the NBA level would have a challenge, and I imagine the Monkey King had a date with the NBDL anyway. The real impact will be in Sun's social life. Even L.A. girls won't touch a dude with mono. Poor guy.