Milwaukee finds itself in the middle of an international incident in this battle over the basketball services of a 19-year-old Chinese man named Yi Jianliang.
And we are responding with courtesy, some carefully worded letters, some attempts to be funny ("Let's just take him to Kopp's and the Domes.")
What we ought to be is angry. Pissed off.
What the hell do they mean that Yi doesn't want to play in Milwaukee? He wants to go somewhere bigger, like New York or San Francisco or Chicago or Los Angeles or anywhere but Milwaukee?
And we aren't even sure that's what Yi himself wants. All we know for sure is that it's what his agent, Dan Fagan, wants.
It's no coincidence that Fagan has the same name as the character in "Oliver Twist" who teaches a bunch of orphans to make his living by becoming pickpockets and common thieves. That Fagin is the one this one resembles.
This Fagan is kind of a shady agent (is that redundant?) who has been involved in some questionable activities over the years, like not paying for a workout for a client, like he said he did.
Anyhow, Fagan is in this to make money for himself and his client. He thinks, proving that he doesn't know a lot, that Yi can only make endorsement money if he lives in a big media center.
The fact is that endorsements have less to do with where you play than they do with how you play. Ask Brett Favre or LeBron James.
Fagan is playing a very dangerous game on behalf of his client. He's betting that some other team will want Yi so badly they will initiate trade talks with the Bucks and make a proposal so attractive that Milwaukee can't refuse.
I'm sure the fact that it's against league laws for Fagan to be talking to any other teams hasn't stopped him from doing just that. If you think Dan Fagan hasn't talked to Don Nelson in awhile, you've got your head in the clouds.
Nellie would love Yi, and he's got that huge Chinese population in San Francisco to sell. Chicago also wants him, as does Philadelphia.
But, he belongs to Milwaukee. That's the way it works. When Fagan put his client into the draft, he knew damn well what might happen. Hell, if the Bucks had passed on him, either Minnesota or Charlotte (both of whom followed the Bucks and have those huge Chinese populations) would haven taken the talented youngster.
There's been a lot of talk about the Chinese way of doing things. I talked with a friend who lives in China, in the same province where Yi played. Dan Makowski is a former UWM student who now lives in China.
He said that the normal Chinese way is totally non-confrontational. He said people even invite those they hate to dinner in order to preserve a business relationship.
But in Yi's case, it's been apparent for four years or so that he is the next great hope for Chinese athletic recognition. Makowski said that Yi's handlers made it clear that Yi's status as the nation's premiere athlete would only be served playing in New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco. Makowski said that Yi's handlers think him playing for the Bucks would be like getting admitted to Alverno College instead of Harvard.
There's a lot riding on this for China, much like the hopes the country has for a booming success at the Beijing Olympics next year. For some people, Yi's emergence is a big part of the emergence of China as a full-fledged player on the world stage.
The thing to remember in all of this is that it's not Yi we ought to be blaming. He just wants to play ball and make a name for himself.
It's Fagan, and the Chinese minions who have sold this young man's soul to the big, empty promises of an agent who wants to play hardball.
Hardball? If that's what you want, Fagin (er, Fagan), bring it on. Your client is ours. He's going to be a great player. And a great player for us. Put that into your egg roll.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
