The NBA became a marketing business ever since David Stern started to send players all over the world to popularize his league (after the 1992 Dream Team). We live in an age of endorsements and advertising--the Chinese government see it as another opportunity for them to "showcase" their home grown talents which would be done best in a big market. Honestly, if Yi was drafted by a big market that didn't have a large Asian population (ie Miami), I personally believe he would have joined the team with no problems. However, when you are talking about Milwaukee, it is a very small market with a very small Asian population not only in the city but in the entire region. How many Asians do you think live in the Midwest compared to the Northeast or West Coast?
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