removed from the team's starting lineup. His final averages for the season were 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, as well as a 38% shooting percentage from the field and 34% on three-point field goals. After New Jersey finished the season outside of the playoffs, Yi's agent Dan Fegan suggested New Jersey played better when Yi played more minutes and took more shots, and asks "who's accountable?" New Jersey's head coach Lawrence Frank said that "you have to be patient. He's only 21", and Yi assessed his season by saying he was "still too much up and down." In the 2009–10 season, Yi returned to the starting lineup for New Jersey. Starting in every game he played but one, Yi suffered several injuries during the season which made him miss 30 games. He sprained his medial collateral ligament on 4 November 2009, had a laceration on his upper lip on 8 December 2009, and sprained his left ankle on 8 March 2010. His final averages for the season were 12 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, as well as a 40% shooting percentage from the field and 37% on three-point field goals. Washington Wizards (2010–2011) On 29 June 2010, Yi was traded to the Washington Wizards along with $3 million in cash considerations for Quinton Ross. Yi ended the 2010–11 season averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Washington had until 30 June 2011 to extend Yi's contract but decided not to do so. Return to the Tigers (2011) During the 2011 NBA lockout, Yi signed a one-year contract to return to the Guangdong Southern Tigers. Unlike most NBA players who went to the Chinese Basketball Association during that time, he received an option to return to the NBA once the lockout had been resolved. Dallas Mavericks (2012) On 6 January 2012, Yi signed with the Dallas Mavericks to a one-year contract after starting the season with the Guangdong Southern Tigers. He was immediately assigned to Dallas' D-League affiliate team, the Texas Legends. Yi benefited from the new collective bargaining agreement rules which allowed players with more than two years of NBA experience to be assigned to the D-League with the players' consent. On 9 January 2012, after playing two games for the Texas Legends, averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds per game, he was recalled by Dallas. The team faced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs