When media reported basketball star Yi Jianlian would "definitely not" sign with Milwaukee and could be headed back to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), Chen Haitao came out into the media spotlight, adjusted his attitude, but still avoided answering sensitive questions.

Chen is the manager of Guangdong Hongyuan, the CBA team Yi played with before being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks this summer.

Beijing News Tuesday quoted Chen as saying "If the Bucks insist, Yi will go back to the CBA." The newspaper also reported Chen said the the Bucks have several big guys and their strategy would restrict Yi's playing time next season.

Probably having sensed the intense media scrutiny over his statement, Chen did another interview with Guangzhou Daily on Tuesday and changed his tone to a milder one.

When asked "What choice should Yi make if the Bucks insist on no trading?" Chen thought for a moment before answering, "the only way out is negotiation. As for final decision, I really have no answer."

However, Chen suggested the media should not oppose Yi's agent team against the Bucks and denied he's in bad relationship with the Bucks.

"The National Basketball Association is a sort of business where people negotiate on set platform with set rules," Chen said. "There's no opposition between us and we respect each other.
"Now it's the phase in which everybody express opinions, not like what some people think."