Evidence Suggests Yi Jianlian is 24, Not 21

Via Sports by Brooks, Interbasket offers alleged proof to confirm long-held rumors that Nets forward Yi Jianlian is 24 years old -- not 21. Interbasket offers a photo of a document that was recently published in a Chinese sports magazine; the doc has a photo of a young Yi and the birthdate reads "October 27, 1984." The birthdate Yi has always offered (and the NBA has officially recognized) is October 27, 1987.

While I'm not sure it matters at this point, Yi's age will always be a big deal to fans, draftniks and the media. As the 2007 NBA draft approached, major publications openly discussed rumors that Yi had been born in '84. DraftExpress vehemently insisted he was actually 22. Needless to say, 22-year-old prospects must be considered much differently than 19-year-old prospects. A slight frame and poor ball-handling skills are the norm among teenaged ballers; at 22, your fundamentals and body should be pretty well developed.

Further, should this document be verified and Chinese or NBA officials forced to admit Yi is actually 24, it'll be a dark mark on international scouting. Other than Houston, Milwaukee might have been in the best position among all NBA teams to suss out the truth regarding Yi: Larry Harris, the Bucks' GM at the time, is the son of Del Harris, who has coached and consulted for the Chinese national team for a decade. Milwaukee should have known everything about Yi before spending the sixth overall pick in a good draft on him.

It also bears pondering what New Jersey knew upon trading for him this summer. No offense to Richard Jefferson, but I'd imagine the Nets expected they were getting a youngster with lots of room for potential, not someone older than 2003 draft product LeBron James.