We still don't know what LeBron is capable of. He's only gotten better and shows no sign of leveling off. He's had no injuries. He's over 4 years younger than Yao. That you feel he can't get much better is a testament to how good he is right now. I can see him scoring more, getting more rebounds, getting more assists, etc. All that while drawing even more attention from the defense. To each his own. I like watching both guys, so let's sit back and watch NBA history being made. I think it was tigermission1 who said we are in another golden era of NBA basketball.
Statistically speaking, it is highly improbable that James will get significantly better than he is right now. Also only ONE guard in NBA history has carried a team by himself. Statistically speaking, it is highly probable that Yao will be significantly better than he is right now. There are many examples of big men carrying teams by themselves and/or many examples of teams building around big men. True James is younger but big men normally take longer to reach their peak. Yao is ripe. Also often big men stay more productive later into their career. Don't give me this "new NBA" garbage and that big men are becomming obsolete. See if Pat Riley agrees. In an era of so few true centers, now is the PERFECT time to have a dominant big ...nobody can matchup. On the otherhand, we can put TMac on LeBron. If I were picking a team to play right now, I'd take James. But if I own a team and Yao is on it, I'd be a freaking nut job to trade Yao right now...for ANYBODY. That is what this thread is about.
If Simmons wants to take into account marketing and things like that, I would put Yao and LeBron at a tie at #1. The power Yao holds internationally is huge, same with LeBron, those guys are money and attention machines. Not to mention they are probably the 2 most talented players in the game. LeBron is doing things at 20, that the Magics Jordans and Birds didn't dream of that early. And I still think we've only seen a piece of Yao's game so far. And there is no way I'd take Kobe over a healthy T-Mac. Tracy's bigger, better defender, better passer, can defend 4s, less selfish and he can go on streaks just as hot as Kobe (13 in 35).
I like the Labron James vs Yao Ming debates here. Playing one-on-one, no doubt LBJ will kill Yao but I think you can find some other guy on the street who could kill LBJ in a one-on-one game as well. And basketball is not a one-on-one game either. I think if you were going to value a player, you think of what that player would bring to your team. Clearly Yao brought Rockets TMac but so far we haven't witnessed any player of TMac caliber joined Cavaliers because of LBJ. I would not ignore "Loyalty" when considering a player is untouchable to my team or not. IMHO, I don't care if he is the best player in the league or not, if he has no interest to stay in my team, he would better be traded before the contract expires. And I wonder why Cavaliers is still unable to settle LBJ's max contract at this point of time. On the other hand, anyone here questions Yao's loyalty to Rockets?
There's a guy named Shaq... Edit: Allow me to add a bit more here, I do not believe Wade was not a factor at all when Shaq chose to land in Miami.
Is LeBron better than Yao. Unqaulified yes. Would you trade Yao for LeBron. I think you'd be nuts. Another consideration, don't forget James is putting mileage on his legs at a faster clip than TMac. James averaged 39mpg as a rookie and went up from there. It took Tmac until his 4th season to avg more than 31mpg and he is damaged goods by 27. Centers often can stay productive longer than guards since athleticm becomes decreased over time. Very little of Yao's game relies on quickness so it stands to reason Yao can sustain his play much longer than James if you start counting from today.
That's what I have been saying. A 33 years old Yao might not be able to jump anymore. But when was the last time you saw both of Yao's feet leave the floor at the same time anyway? Barring catastrophic injury, I don't see Yao's game drop off that much in his 30's.
krosfyah: What is your proof that Lebron can't get any better? His outside shooting still isn't great nor is his defense. Why can't he get better? He scored 31ppg on nearly 50% from the field, effortlessly. He could easily crack 35 with near triple double figures. How is Yao having help relevant? If anything, it hurts your argument. Lebron has already won a playoff series and took the Pistons to game 7 by himself. Yao, with Tracy, has never even won a playoff series. How many guys of Tracy's caliber get traded? There's a reason it's considered one of the steals of the century. Do the Cavs have the trade bait that we did (offering our starting backcourt)? You honestly are telling me that if the Cavs had anything halfway decent to offer, superstars wouldn't want to go play with Lebron? Why? What's your proof? If anything, Yao has more question marks surrounding him. He has yet to sustain a high level of play for an entire season. Will the continuous China obligations throughout his career hinder him in the long term? Lebron on the other hand has been on a gradually incline and is only getting better. Not to mention he's 5 years younger. And statistically speaking, NOONE in NBA history has put up the numbers James has put up at this age. What makes you think he won't get any better? I'm not really sure what you're argument is here. If you're saying Lebron has no supporting cast, then I fully agree. You can't use it against Lebron that Yao has Tracy. Again, has there ever been a player like Lebron in NBA history? A guy shooting 50% from the field with Magic's court vision, and Michael's scoring, the body of a power forward, the ball handling and passing of a point guard, and the speed of a track star? You can't use past history because there's never been a player like this before. Even at this young age, he's silencing his doubters. He vastly improved his shooting last year and became absolute money in crunch time down the stretch when that was the biggest knock on him. Dwayne Wade just won the finals single-handedly. Again, I'm not sure what your argument is here. I thought we were debating on who you would rather have, Yao or Lebron?
Honestly I dont think either team would trade for the other's superstar. I think Cleveland is very happy with Lebron and wouldnt let him go for anyone in the league. Same with Houston, I dont see them trading Yao no matter who else is offered in a straight up trade. Probably same goes for Miami and D-wade.
I seriously think Cleveland may be forced to trade Lebron. If Lebron has no loyalty to his team and wants to go somewhere else, he is tradable. Don't you think Cleveland is too small of a stage for him?
LeBron signed an extension http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...YcB?slug=ap-cavaliers-james&prov=ap&type=lgns
I think it's a toss-up between Yao and Lebron at this point. Neither team will consider trading them for any player in the NBA. And I think Cleveland is too small of a market for Lebron. He already agreed to a max extension, which I think is a mistake.
It could be a mistake for LeBron personally but it's good for the NBA when non-traditional teams do well. One of the problems with baseball is smaller market teams end up being farms for the major market teams. It's good that LeBron, Wade and Bosh all re-signed.
Wade, and 3 NBA referees just won the finals. I hate the Mavs as much as anybody, but you'd be blind not to see that.
Doesn't matter how he did it. If anything, that further helps my argument. The refs will send a perimeter guy to the line just for getting breathed on, but a big guy like Yao can get mauled without a call. Advantage Lebron.
I'd take lebron over Yao anyday. I mean even when yao was putting up 28 and 11 the rockets were still sucking. I can't believe people are saying Lebron has no ceiling to grow since he avg 31 pts. 31 pts is a lot of points. Some of you guys are too much of a homer.
HAHA Lebron has one injury.... and it was caused by a rockets player...MUTUMBO he knocked the **** out of LeBron once when he was driving and broke his nose or something. Remeber he had to wear a mask like Rip Hamilton?
I definitely remember but that really doesn't count to me. Injuries from direct blows that are inflicted by elbows from another player aren't indicative of how durable a player is. I'm concerned about the feet, ankles, knees, back and the chronic stuff that just comes with playing NBA basketball. In his first 3 seasons, LeBron has missed 7 games. Not bad.
