Once and for all, I'd love someone to start quantifying these "benefits" from China. What are they exactly? Even if Rox games are the highest rated in China, I don't think the NBA shares revenue based on that. So that really only leaves merch sales... And it is already established that Yao is not even in the top of merch sales for NBA players. I'm really tired of this reason being brought up to "explain" why we keep unworthy Yao. Morey and Les will keep him if he is effective.
Not Yao for Gasol, But if we could lose Landry and add Gasol while keeping Scola. I'd go for something like that.
Offensive skills are measured more easily by stats. I'd love to see the stats that support your view that Gasol is better than Yao in that regard.
Hell yes. LOL @ the homers in here. You guys are great. Yao is far and away the single most dominant big man in basketball today - he can destroy you inside moreso than any other big. But that only means his "peak" dominance is the greatest. At the same time, he's probably the most inconsistent "star" in the league, and definitely has the lowest lows. You're literally kidding yourselves if you would take Yao over Pau. Forget about the fact that Yao can't stay healthy, the more glaring issue is that he can easily, EASILY be rendered completely ineffective. Give me the guy who I know I will get 18 and 9 from every night rather than the guy who splits between 35/15 - 7/5- IR. This is even more greatly magnified if you consider the best teams (ie: the playoffs) are the most likely to totally take Yao out of the game.
There are stats to support my view, though I didn't have any particularly in mind when I made that comment. Gasol gets more assists, less turnovers. His offensive efficiency (as per ORTG -- a efficiency measure based on box score numbers from Basketball On Paper) has been 126-128 since he joined the Lakers. Yao has been 112-114 the last couple years. On/Off +/-. Beyond the numbers, Gasol is a more versatile offensive player. He can score effectively with his back to the basket, or face up. He's comfortable pulling up off the dribble and shooting a midrange J, within about 15 feet or so. He has very good hands, and is less likely to have the ball stripped from him in traffic. He's better at catching and finishing lobs, because of those hands and because he keeps the ball high. I think Gasol's versatilty allows him to fit into an offense more easily, which I think is very important if you want to maximize the abilities of everyone on the floor. Those are some of the reasons. In this case, my opinion is mostly based on the non-stats stuff. And it's just an opinion, probably a minority one. I understand the arguments in favor of Yao and why people would think differently.
Haven't felt any shame when you talked about"SOFT"? There is no soft in this team, of coz yao included.
Sorry the thread. Maybe the timing is not quite right, but I just wanted to hear other's opinion at this moment. For me I do believe Pau Gasol is better fitted to RA's sytem. He might not be a better player playing with NBA style comparing to Yao Ming but he might be for the Princeton offense RA is known for. By the way I am a Chinese and I have been a Rocket fan since the championship years, and I hate Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
Dude, try comming back to play with your swollen knee and killing the opponents in the end, try insisting on running and jumping on the court with your fractured bone for 20mins, the you are certificated to say any soft.
for the record, i don't think yao is soft at all and have stated my argument for this many times, since i know this strawman will get thrown at me in response to my post.
Tar and feather this man. Extra hot tar. Dude we're about to play the biggest game this team has played in like 12 years! OMG, ugh.
Pau: Better passer More versatile, more range Better ball handler Can't be taken out as easily as Yao I.E fronting. Less injury prone Yao Commands more attention More of a defensive presence Both are finesse type players. That's all I can think of for now.
Partly agree. Paul may better suit to AD's system. But he can't carry a team. In regular season, I don't think rocket will do better with paul other than yao
You are a very bold man saying things like that in the GARM.. but I agree. I wouldn't make the trade, but I agree with the sentiment.
Actually, no team will front Gasol, not because he is more versatileļ¼but he isn't a player who can destroy opponent's basket. But yao is, that's why he made 9/9 in game 1 VS Portland and killed them.That pushed them to front yao in the following games.
No sense of trying to be objective on this topic. The only fans will come out in droves. They're the same player to me. For those that think kobe wouldn't get into yao's grill after a guy of percieved lesser talent was killing him, thin again. Kobe will get in your ass just as jordan, dream, magic and others. Yao on La would basically take Gasol's place and that's 2nd fiddle to kobe.
Hell yes I like the trade. Yao needs a Kobe like player so he doesn't have to play for 40mins a game. Gasol may suit better in RA's system. It's a win-win. SO just TRADE.
