Or "what if" we would have taken Drexler over McCray Or "what if" we would have taken Donald Duck over Mickey Mouse Or "what if" we would have taken Grandpa Munster over Herman Or "what if" we would have taken french fries over mashed potatoes. Get the point?
"What if" your Mom wasn't drunk the night your Dad met her... Yeah, I guess I get the point. But the dumb jokes after the Drexler/McCray point...you gotta admit it wasn't funny.
For your 1. His upside really wasn't that known in the NBA, there have been taller players here. His Chicago work out didn't wow ppl either (he was getting pushed around by a nobody physically). People liked his shots but a lot of fans were afraid he'll turn into a tall, soft, jump shooting center. There also a ton of concerns with China and his durability in the league (playing whole year and being 7'5 isn't a good combination, think ralph sampson). Those were serious concerns last summer. A lot of ppl on this board did not want Yao to be picked, a lot wanted a Jay and Stevie backcourt. Glad to see that didn't happen but that's not a no brainer. For your 2. Les and the Rockets were still all taking a huge risk by taking Yao at the time. His marketability is connected to his playing abiliity. No one seems to be knocking on Mengkee and Wang's doors now are they? If Yao performed, he'll bring the new fans like he's done. If he doesn't, well the Rox alienated a ton of fan base in here, and that's more dangerous than anything. If you were here on the boards last summer, following the NBA, reading/watching info from SI, ESPN and etc, you know it was a big risk and not a no brainer. The Rox took a chance and it paid off.
It was already understood that Yao would be better then his 2 China counterparts. Even watching what little footage of the tapes they had confirmed this. Correction...I WAS around reading this board and all the other publications, following the Yao drama as it unfolded. The closer it got to draft day, the more apparent that the Rockets wanted to draft Yao. The major question was his availability because of his commitment to play in the China national team. Make no mistake. The Rockets wanted to draft Yao from the beginning. He was option A from the start. They felt he was something too good not to pass up. With the other options in the draft, drafting Yao made the most sense anyways as they needed a center not a guard. BTW, if Yao wasn't an option, I would have picked Dunleavy over Jay, the backcourt of Jay and Steve doesn't make sense to me.
I could be wrong and am not going back in the day to search the threads but, as I recall it, most people wanted to draft Yao and the polls reflected this. I could be wrong. Maybe my memory is clouded because I was in support of draftin Yao. It, to me, was predisposed by fate that we had Yao fall into our laps like he did; ala Akeem-Sampson. Most people and management seemed to have thoses vibes if I recall correctly.
