UT baller. Now that we've both admitted we've both just seen a few clips of Ming, why don't you address my point that Rudy, Dawson and the Rocket scouts have seen him in person and coached against him and seen the Chicago workout and have probalby dozens of full game of Ming to watch You persist in your opinion, when people like the Rockets coaches who have the exertise and actually the firsthand personal knowledge of Ming consider him a "no brainer". It is ok for you to to have an opinion and there is no need to put your faith in the expertise of professionals, but just admit that while the pro Ming side can at least cite the opinions of professionals as support ,all you have is your own opinion based on virtually no facts or observation of Ming. This doesn't mean that your opinion might not turn out to be right, and the majority of the experts with personal knowledge might not be wrong, but betting person would go with those who are professionals in an area with actual firsthand knowledge over the the person with just a belief or an opinion.
The Spurs I'm sure got tons of calls about Tim Duncan when he was in the draft. They could have settled on some of those trades, to play it safe. I mean, no one knew that Tim Duncan was going to be THAT good THAT soon. It's easy to say it in hindsight, but at the time, it was unknown how he would do in the NBA. Everyone knew he was going to be that good that soon. Tim Duncan would have been the first player chosen in the 1995 draft and 1996 draft. After his legendary performance in the 1995 NCAA tournament, he was always considered the premier low post prospect in the world. The fact that he kept going back to school for another year and refined his game with each successive year made him that much more of a sure thing.
yeah once you think about it, the centers in the nba are not a big and strong as they used to be. So yao might be good after all. If he is as weak as people say, shaq would cave his chest in when they played against la.
UT, why would you ask us to convince you if you have already made up your mind and are unwilling to reconsider? Even when your stated rationale has been shown to be faulty and there are umpteen threads dislaying why Ming is the real deal.
UT Baller - Here is a point you may want to consider. Currently, Dunleavy Jr is seriously considering returning to school. There have also been reliable reports that Borchardt wants to return for another year at Stanford (his girlfriend is on the Cardinal womens BB team). If these come to pass and Hilario continues to have good workouts the Knicks will surely take him at #7. A trade for Odom and the number #8 pick not only strengthens a conference rival with serious young talent (Clipps) but it means the Rockets will be looking to address their biggest deficiencies (low post presence and D) with whomever is available at #8. Remember that the Kandi-man (Cato with better hands), Taylor and Odom were 15-67 a few seasons ago. We will have to agree to disagree, but IMHO Ming helps the Rockets more than Odom and a High Schooler.
Gater... you have a good point... UTBaller... You think Lamar Odom is going to accept being the 3rd or 4rth offensive player on the team??? I don't think so... I only want one project instead of 3 like you have in Ely, Woods and Hilario... The #1 pick in the first round needs to go to the best player available in the draft... Sorry if you don't like it but its YAO MINGH... I can live with Yao in the middle...
Well, I'm getting crucified here so I'll ost one last time and wait for some backup....... I am fully aware that the draft is a crapshoot based on how good someone might be. However, Ming has many, many more questions than any other player in draft history (especially draft lottery history). 1-He hasn't played against stiff competition consistently 2-His people will not let our doctors look at his already surgically repaired ankles 3-It is more likely that he leaves after his rookie contract is up then your average pick since the GOV wants him in a big market 4-He detests lifting weights to the point that he won't 5-How does he react to being 4th/5th option Most of these questions could be answered if the Chinese government would allow Ming to work out for us. Since they have declined to grant us that small request I wonder what their rationale is. They bring the guy over and show everyone a glimpse of him doing drills they teach eighth graders and then NY and Chitown get private workouts. The fact that after the private workouts Chi doesn't want him worries me. Above all what I don't like about the Ming situation is the role that the Chinese government is playing. These guys HATE us. We have been political enemies for a long time and now we are talking about hooking an enemy up with millions of dollars yearly while Yao does all the work for them? That is complete mierda. Look at the Wang situation, do you all want something similar next year when Ming doesn't want to follow the direction of the people who are stealing half his salary and forcing him to do things that he doesn't neccesarily want? I just think that there are so many potential problems that we are not ready for that involve the Chinese government moreso than Yao himself.
What makes you think that this guy will be around to be the Rockets franchise center. You are dealing with a communist country who said that they don't want ming to become to Americanize. The only reason why they are letting ming play in the NBA is to improve his skills so the Sharks can win more championships.
UT baller.... why don't you just shut up since the only reason you seem to not like ming is obviously because hes chinese.. you racist idiot "(a bunch of young black americans and a 7'5'' Chinaman?)" so just shut up because we can't convince you he's better even though you know he is, and you hate him just because hes a "Chinaman".
I agree there are risks in every player taken in the draft. Ming poses a much higher risk than the other players in the draft. He doesn't have human rights.
1-He hasn't played against stiff competition consistently uh, okay, what about high-schoolers, other non-american players, or guys who played for weak colleges like Davis Robinson and Smits? I guess none of those guys should be considered worth top picks eh? 2-His people will not let our doctors look at his already surgically repaired ankles surgically repaired? okaaay... I think if there was a serious injury people would have heard about it by now. As windandsea already pointed out, he went through EXTENSIVE medical examination when he came over here. The rockets and other teams apparently are satisfied with his health. 3-It is more likely that he leaves after his rookie contract is up then your average pick since the GOV wants him in a big market speculation. I guess Orlando shouldn't have picked Shaq because he wanted to be in LA. suuuure. 4-He detests lifting weights to the point that he won't I've only seen one article mentioning that. I've seen others saying that his parents wanted him around people who could train him the right way so that he doesn't injure himself. And again, more speculation that he "wont". 5-How does he react to being 4th/5th option He is supposed to be a real down to earth guy committed to winning. Most likely after a few years he would end up being the 1st or 2nd option anyway. Most of these questions could be answered if the Chinese government would allow Ming to work out for us. Since they have declined to grant us that small request I wonder what their rationale is. They bring the guy over and show everyone a glimpse of him doing drills they teach eighth graders and then NY and Chitown get private workouts. The front office ALREADY has their questions answered. Who says China declined us a workout? Houston aren't even that concerned with working him out. They said they might when they get there, but it isn't a priority. And an exaggeration, Carlesimo ran those drills so if they were not good enough that's his fault. The fact that after the private workouts Chi doesn't want him worries me. Above all what I don't like about the Ming situation is the role that the Chinese government is playing. These guys HATE us. We have been political enemies for a long time and now we are talking about hooking an enemy up with millions of dollars yearly while Yao does all the work for them? That is complete mierda. Look at the Wang situation, do you all want something similar next year when Ming doesn't want to follow the direction of the people who are stealing half his salary and forcing him to do things that he doesn't neccesarily want? I just think that there are so many potential problems that we are not ready for that involve the Chinese government moreso than Yao himself. This has nothing to do with drafting Ming. There is no Wang situation, that was blown out of proportion by someone *cough*Dallas*cough*. America and China public enemies? And I guess America shouldn't do business there like the city of Houston is doing? And I guess China shouldn't have let Wang come over when it was since his signing was around the time that spyplane incident? Pfft. You are blowing things way out of proportion. How about you come up with a list of good things that Yao brings too? Or how about you come up with a bogus list of concerns for everyone else the Rockets think about aquiring this offseason. Shouldn't be too hard.
2-- I wouldn't be sure on that...considering they said they're not sure they'll even SEE Ming, let alone have our doctors (who I haven't heard are even going on the trip) check him out. 4-- I've heard he has a good work ethic as far as basketball, but doesn't like weight lifting.
