Yi to skip NBA season opener for nationals

Yi Jianlian, the power forward for the New Jersey Nets, will miss the NBA team's season-opener on Oct 28 to play for his native Guangdong in China's National Games, as reported by Yahoo.

The Nets will have three preseason games and their season-opener during China's National Games, held from Oct 16-28. Yi is likely to miss more games because of the time needed to fly to the US and get prepared. Yi averaged 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 61 games in his second NBA season with the Nets last season.

Club officials said they are ready to allow their forward to play for his local team.