Walton, who was plagued by injury throughout his career, doesn't help your point crispee. Neither does Rik Smits - foot problems. Sabonis was incredibly talented, and well-proportioned, at 7'3". By the way, Ming's legs only look good when you compare them to the wussy girly-arms he's got. What I'm saying is, its tougher to find the skillset in a 7'6" guy that you find in a standard 7 footer. 6 inches in height makes a big difference. Partly because 7'6" guys are so rare, as you've said. And partly because the taller a guy is, the less coordinated and athletic he's likely to be. For example, look at Hakeem. His skill in part was combining the grace and athleticism of a small forward (usually 6'7", 6'8") with the height of a 7 footer (actually 6'11", tops). Magic Johnson combined the grace and skill of a traditional (6'3") point guard with the size of a forward (6'9"). In the same manner, I think a 7'0" center is much more likely to be coordinated, basketball-wise, than a 7'6" dude. I think the sizzle (size, publicity, and unknown quality) is selling Ming right now, the same way that sizzle sold Shawn Bradley. I'm sure that the Rockets will scout this guy and learn what skills he currently possesses before considering drafting him, should the opportunity present itself.
I'm not really trying to make a case, except to say that applying precedence to Ming is somewhat odd to me. btw: I'm pretty sure Walton played on an injury in order to win a title. I could totally be spacing here, but didn't he say that he made a conscious decision to play hurt and that is what destroyed his feet. The point is: sure he had chronic foot problems, but were they height induced. People also say he was an idiot for playing beach volleyball all the time. Smits likewise played very well for quite a while. He scored 17 ppg after his double foot surgery...which was 8 yrs into his career. He got a Player of the Week the following year. Two yrs after the surgery, he was still 15 ppg. Smits performed. He was just a chronic softy, not chronically injured.
I do not think Ming is as good as some, like crispee, tout him to be. I've seen as much of him as Sam has, and the truth of his talent lies somewhere in between, but the talent is there.... He is not Arvydas Sabonis circa the early 1980's, but he is also not Shawn Bradley, who is a goofy, uncoordinated person who only took up basketball due to the circumstances. Ming wanted to play basketball, and acted on this inclination at an early age. That is significant. No other player, through draft or trade, has the ability to alter the complexion of the Rockets' team like Ming does. He is not a good choice, he is the choice.
But Ming is not 7'6"...right? Smits only had real problems at the end of his carreer. Manute Bol didn't have problems, did he? Lol, he just sucked. Muresan had health problems because of his disease that made him that big in the first place...so he also is not a good comparison in general. What about Bill Cartwright? Wasn't he up there? Robert Parrish was tall and lankey. Remember when Bradley was putting up 11-13, 8, and 3-4 bpg for about 4 years? If he could have kept that up, he would have been an all-star by now! How sad. Muresan could have beaten him with 14.5, 9 and 2bpg, though, haha.
A 7'6" jump-shooting C. Wherever he ends up, that will certainly be a sight, watching him shoot jumpers! I will say this, of all the stories I've read on Ming, the consensus is that he does play hard and with a purpose. So I think you can infer that (health permitting) he'll at least be a force on the boards and with his shot-blocking, which is good. Does he have any resemblance of a low-post game? Turnaround, sky-hook? ( , probably shoots down into the hoop, )
What's Ming's free throw shooting like? Heaven forbid we should get stuck with another no free throw shooting player like Shaq.
I think difference between the size of his legs in comparison with his arms, is no coincidence. I honestly think that he knows about foot problems that tall people have and he's been working on it. Just a bit more upper body strength, and his size wouldn't be such an issue. One question though. Can anyone find out if he's had injury problems already in his career? Does anyone know? I really would love to get Odom, but Ming would also be great for us. Also, Ming brings us tons of fans, as well as an incredible shotblocking trio: Cato, Ming, Griffin. Imagine that frontline. Griff is the SF, hitting 3's, Cato bangs inside, and Ming can hit jumpers all day from anywhere. Amazing big line-up. I can honestly say we would be excellent if we got Odom or Ming without giving up: Cato (Limit Ming's minutes till he gets used to NBA game) Griff Cat Francis
What the hell is that??? I know that no other chinamen can jump that high so it can't be another players arm. Ming is a GOD!!!!!!!!
I have wanted the Rockets to get Ming for sometime now. Yes, there are concerns about his health (like when will he break down?) as well as how good he really is (by fattening up on Chinese competition), but dammit, I think he is worth the risk. Most of your great teams, IMO, with Jordan's Bulls being the main exception, were built around their center. Cato is a passable 5 when he is interested, but with him or this type of center on your team (a "junk" 5), then you better have an outstanding 1, 2, 3, and 4 on your team. Look at the Jazz...they have had Stockton and Malone forever, but yet never a great offensive C. Zero championships for them. Look at the teams that the Bulls beat in the NBA Finals...Lakers (Divac), Blazers (Duckworth), Suns (Mark West ), Sonics (Ervin Johnson/Sam Perkins), and the Jazz (Ostertag). With the exception of Divac, none of these guys instills fear in any NBA player. Plus the Rockets ALWAYS gave the Bulls fits when Hakeem was in his prime. Jordan was a freak..the greatest player to ever play, but he was lucky that his team never had to go up against a team with a dominant C. I'm not saying that he wouldn't have won an NBA title, but I doubt he would have won 6 of them. However, no one else is like Jordan which leads to the fact that you must have a good big man to contend. I would do whatever it took to get Ming.....the f*cking Knicks better not get him.
GUYS, This discussion is totally pointless. If China lets Ming play in the NBA, there is no way we are getting ming unless we trade Francis, Mobley or Griffin. So stop with all these scenarios. No (KT and #5), nor (KT + #5 + #14) , nor (KT + #5 + #14 + Dan Langhi + Polina Tzekova + Rudy's tupee + 2 galons of gumbo) is going to cut it. For Christ's sake, Shawn Bradley was a #2, Kwame Brown was #1, Sam Bowie was picked before MJ, Pervis Ellison was #1, etc. If Ming has a pulse he's taken and won't be given up. So you better start discussing now what can we give from EG, cat and Steve. I think Rudy will be willing to package Griffin and #5 for the #1. It's no more than a speculation, but I noticed that in midseason he refered to Eddie as "an asset". Assets you trade. The question is will there be takers? (Apart from the Nuggs). Memphis, GS, and Chicago are well stocked on forwards. I think we'll have to trade francis or Cat and Rudy won't do that. Too risky.
Man... Ming in the high post, running the offense. TWO lightning guards that can shoot the lights out and penetrate with the best of them, AND have Eddie as a safety valve for easy backdoor alleyoops, and a go to guy when he gets some more low post moves, and to avoid a double team just has to throw it in the air to Ming? Then, a 2nd wave of Cato and Taylor to back them up. Wow. I could've sworn I heard that Ming speaks decent English, too. Based on what Doc is saying, it's a very low probability we will be using our own pick-unless we get the 1 or if we have the #2 and Ming is available there. How to attract fans for a new stadium? Draft a 7'6'' 22 year old, that will become the 3rd Asian in the NBA, and instantly win over plenty of Chinese fans, and then convince the prodigal son (Rashard) to come back home. Or potentially, you could solve your SF problems by drafting Ming-and convincing Wang, a free agent, to come to Houston.
Arms are pretty muscular as well. Off the subject, but didn't Nowitzki throw Zo's **** at the world championships as well? I could be wrong.
