The Milwaukee Bucks' campaign to secure the services of reluctant power forward Yi Jianlian has suffered a blow after the player's Chinese club said it would block his move to the United States.

Yi, taken by Milwaukee with the sixth selection in the NBA draft last month, would "definitely not" play for Milwaukee, Tuesday's Beijing News quoted Guangdong Tigers chief, Chen Haitao, as saying.

"This is not -- as media reports have said -- because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi's commercial development," Chen said.

"Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi's growth. That's the root of the problem," he added.