[video] NBA Open Court -Vanishing Big Men (Yao mentioned) Yao (towards end of video) and Dream discussed <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/28dyxS6y7i0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
these are awesome Kenny Smith on Vernon Maxwell <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/91p_RYTUYXI#t=3m41s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I attribute the decline of big men as correlating directly with the decrease in popularity of big men. You see the NBA marketing perimeter players like Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, etc. Therefore you are going to have a lot of kids wanting to emulate perimeter players.
Shaq mentioned that Yao could go inside and out, he was mainly inside in the later years. Liked it when he was hitting the J in the Rudy T years.