CHINESE forward-center Yi Jianlian has been waived by the Los Angeles Lakers after requesting to be released, the NBA club announced Monday.

    Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Yi had sought to be waived over concerns he would not get enough minutes on court.

    “Yi was productive in practices and games with us, and was a consummate professional both on and off the court,” Kupchak said in a statement.

    “However, he felt that the minutes and opportunities he’d be afforded here were not in line with his goals and ambitions, and that he’d be better off in a different situation.

    “We appreciate his efforts and wish him great success as he goes forward with his career.”

    Yi had averaged three points and 2.5 rebounds per game for the Lakers during six pre-season contests.

    The Lakers made one of the offseason’s more interesting fringe moves in August when they agreed to a one-year deal with Yi, a player once considered China’s next great star when the Milwaukee Bucks made him the sixth-overall pick of the 2007 draft. Yi’s first five NBA seasons were quite disappointing — he showed little interest in anything other than taking mid-range jumpers and went back to China in 2012 to pursue stardom for the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

    (SD-Agencies)