General manager Larry Harris insisted that he gave fair warning to the Yi Jianlian camp before the Milwaukee Bucks made the Chinese power forward the sixth overall pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.

And Harris expects the 7-foot Yi to be in a Bucks uniform next season, although no confirmation came from Yi's representatives Friday. Yi's agent, Dan Fegan, did not return calls seeking comment.

"There were teams that didn't get in there, for whatever reason," Harris said of being denied the chance to conduct a private workout for the Chinese star in Los Angeles. "But his people knew that we could take him. We've been telling him (Fegan) we were going to take the best player.

"They knew that. It's not a shock to them. It may be a shock to Yi himself."

During predraft workouts, the 76ers never hid their affection for 6-foot-11 Chinese power forward Yi Jianlian. And on draft night, the team apparently made an all-out effort to acquire him.

Billy King, the Sixers' president and general manager, said after Thursday's draft that he was close to a deal with a team in the top seven. A source yesterday revealed that the team was Milwaukee. The player the Sixers were looking to move up to draft was Yi, who was taken at No. 6 by the Bucks.

King preferred not to address the issue yesterday, but on draft night, Bucks general manager Larry Harris acknowledged having talked with the Sixers.

"We had a lot of discussions with Philadelphia as well as other discussions," Harris said. "At the end of the day, we really felt like instead of moving back and doing some other things that this was the best decision for us."

The Sixers, according to a person familiar with the dealings, offered different scenarios - some with just draft picks, the 12th and 21st in the first round, and some with current players.

Earl Boykins will become a free agent, forgoing the $3 million player option on his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to the Associate Press.  

Last week, RealGM reported Boykins would be opting out of his contract, citing sources close to agent Mark Termini.

Bucks general manager Larry Harris confirmed the 5-foot-5 Boykins, the second smallest player in NBA history, has given him no indication he intends to fulfill the option year. Boykins has until Saturday to notify the team if he plans to return.

"Earl is going to be a free agent," Harris said.

Boykins' agent, Mark Termini, did not immediately return calls or messages to the AP seeking comment Tuesday.

The Bucks won?t have the luxury of checking out Yi Jianlian one more time before Thursday night?s NBA draft.

But that doesn?t mean the Bucks still won?t select the highly-regarded Chinese power forward.

It was reported in four days ago that Bucks officials were having trouble arranging a workout with Yi, who figures to be one of the top eight players chosen in the draft.

Friday, Dave Babcock, the Bucks' player personnel director, confirmed the Bucks have been rebuffed in their attempts to meet with Yi in Los Angeles, apparently because Dan Fegan, Yi?s agent, and the Chinese government want to get him placed in a large market, preferably with a large Chinese population.

Julian Wright grimaced in pain as he tried to get through a grueling workout with the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

He was sweating right through his gray Bucks T-shirt, and he was being pushed hard by workout partner Jovan Stefanov, a physical 6-foot-9 forward from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

"I was hoping I was able to get back in the swing of things much faster from the conditioning standpoint," said Wright, who delayed his workout two days after spraining an ankle in a session with the Boston Celtics on Monday.

"That was a hell of a start: jump rope, basketball handling; it was really good. You have to be ready from the beginning, and you better come hydrated and well-rested."

"He's a 3 man (small forward), and you could play him at some 4 (power forward)," said Dave Babcock, the Bucks' director of player personnel. "Maybe you could play him at some 2 (shooting guard)."

General Manager Larry Harris announced today that the Milwaukee Bucks have extended the contracts of Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva by exercising the fourth-year options of their rookie scale contracts. Bogut and Villanueva are now signed with the Bucks through the 2008-09 season. As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, rookie contracts are two years in length, with team options for the player?s third and fourth seasons.

In 66 games last season, Bogut averaged 12.3 points, a team-high 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists (all career-highs), while shooting 55.3 percent from the field, good for 8th best in the NBA. He led the Bucks in rebounds in 33 games and tallied a team-high 19 point/rebound double-doubles.

Villanueva, 22, appeared in 39 games for Milwaukee last season, including 17 starts. He averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game, while shooting a career-best 47.0 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from the three-point arc.

Harris also announced that qualifying offers have been made to restricted free agents Charlie Bell and Ersan Ilyasova, giving the Bucks the right to match any contract offers made to both players by other NBA teams.

Sources close to agent Mark Termini have confirmed to RealGM?s Christopher Reina that Earl Boykins will not exercise his $3 million player option with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2007-2008 season.  Boykins will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

The Bucks acquired Boykins and Julius Hodge on January 11th from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for point guard Steve Blake.

Before the trade, Boykins averaged 23.2 points per game during an 11-game stretch for a Nuggets team that was dealing with the loss of suspended players Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith.

During the 2006-2007 season, Boykins averaged 14.6 points and 4.4 assists during 30.8 minutes per game.  He was one of 32 players to average at least 14 points and 4 assists per game.  Boykins shot 42% from the field and 39.7% from 3-point territory, while maintaining an 89.8% on the line, which was 6th best in the NBA.

Recent reports have suggested that the Cavaliers, Lakers and Nuggets would be interested in signing the Ohio native should he become available.

Boykins had a breakout season as a member of the Warriors in 2002-2003, which led to a five-year deal with the Nuggets that summer.

Grouped with Florida's Corey Brewer, a possible lottery pick, and Hawaii's Matt Lojeski, a Racine St. Catherine's graduate, it was easy to argue that Carl Landry had the best workout thanks to a combination of good shooting, aggression and competitiveness.

He won five of the eight games the Bucks coaches put the players through as they ran different drills. During that time, Landry, known primarily for his ability to score in the paint in college, showed he could put the ball on the floor and get to the basket or pull up and hit mid-range jump shots.

Brewer, who played against Landry in the NCAA tournament, reportedly was impressed.

"He said 'Man, when did you get a jumper?' " Landry said with a smile. "I was knocking down a few outside jump shots and I showed them a little inside game as well, so I mixed it up today."

Landry even showed three-point range. He made 11 of 27 three-pointers (40.7%), a pretty good percentage considering it was at the end of a demanding workout and really isn't part of his game.

"I was surprised," admitted Dave Babcock, the Bucks' director of player personnel. "I thought he'd really struggle with our three-point drill. He wasn't great at it, but he did OK for a power forward."

Brandan Wright impressed the Bucks during his workout with the club on Friday.

"For a young kid, he just came in with a presence," said Dave Babcock, the Bucks' director of player personnel. "He's only had one workout (with Boston), and he was right into it."

Wright has been compared to the second overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, Marvin Williams, who also went to North Carolina.

"We're two different players," Wright said. "He's more a small-forward type of guy. When I was first recruited to North Carolina, I studied what he did as a freshman. My role on the team was different than his. He played with all those great players (on an NCAA championship team).

"We've definitely talked about it. Wherever I go, I will bring a different aspect."

Jim Todd had been an assistant to head coach Sam Mitchell the last three seasons, and the two worked together as assistants in Milwaukee for two seasons before they were hired by Toronto.

"I'm happy for Jim," Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo told The Canadian Press on Wednesday. "I think it's a good opportunity, and sometimes it's time to move on, and I think Jim probably felt this was as good a time as any."

While there's no official word on Todd's replacement, Colangelo is expected to promote Raptors scout Mike Evans to assistant coach, according to sources. He is also expected to announce the re-signing of Mitchell's other two assistants Alex English and Canadian Jay Triano.