The Lakers offered a high salary of 8 million yuan back then, why did Yi Jianlian choose to give up? You may not believe it if you say it

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Yi Jianlian, as the absolute core of the Chinese men's basketball team, performed extremely impressively. During his 22.7 minutes of playing time, he delivered a gorgeous report card of 20.4 points and 6.6 rebounds, shooting 43.9% from the field and 74.2% from free throws. Although UAE failed to lead the Chinese team out of the group stage, it has successfully attracted the attention of many NBA scouts and teams with its outstanding personal performance.

Not long after the Olympics, Yi Jianlian and the Lakers reached a one-year, $8 million contract, officially returning to the NBA after five years. However, just two months later, Yi Jianlian took the initiative to terminate the contract with the Lakers and chose to return to the CBA. This decision attracted the attention and discussion of many fans and the media, and many people were puzzled by his choice. You should know that he even spent millions of dollars to buy a house in Los Angeles at that time. So, what exactly caused Yi Jianlian to make such a decision? There are two main reasons why Yi Jianlian returns to the CBA. First, he did not get the expected team status with the Lakers. The Lakers were in the reconstruction stage at that time, with many young players in the team and extremely fierce competition. As a new player, Yi Jianlian finds it difficult to obtain stable playing time and important tactical position in a short period of time. He was very frustrated that he had difficulty leveraging his strength and role in limited playing opportunities.

In the preseason, Yi Jianlian played 6 times in 8 games, averaged 10.7 minutes per game, scored 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds, and shot 20 shots in total and hit 7 goals. As can be seen from the preseason, UAE cannot establish a more important team position in the Lakers, and he ended up competing for the 15th man with Thomas Robinson and Ci Shiping. In other words, Alien was just a water dispenser administrator in the Lakers at the time and could only get a chance to play in garbage time.

Secondly, the amount of guarantee in the contract is relatively small, and the various reward mechanisms are too strict. Although the $8 million contract seems generous, in fact only $250,000 of which is guaranteed, and the rest needs to be obtained by Yi Jianlian by achieving a series of stricter goals and conditions. When the number of appearances reaches 20, 40 and 59, you can get a trigger bonus of US$2.28 million, and you can get a maximum of 8 million. Considering UAE's tactical position in the Lakers, it is obviously difficult to trigger the bonus mechanism, and it is reasonable to leave.

Overall, Yi Jianlian's choice to return to the CBA in 2016 was based on a reasonable decision made after a comprehensive assessment of his development status with the Lakers. He has a higher tactical status and more salary in the CBA league, and can more fully demonstrate his basketball talent and strength, and also makes important contributions to the development of Guangdong Hongyuan team and the Chinese men's basketball team. This decision also shows us the wisdom and vision of Yi Jianlian as a professional player. When facing the complex basketball environment and career choices, he always adheres to his love for basketball and his rational thinking about his own development.