Funny you should say that. This has been on my mind for awhile... Now what was the reason that he refused to sign an extension... twice? Could it be that he really wanted to go somewhere else or was it that he wanted to see if the Rockets could come up with better players (i.e. championship contending players) before he decides?
The only thing griffin better than beasley is his size. He is 6-8.5 W/O shoes, while beasley is 6-7. Bealey is a much more polished offensive player than griffin. He has much more offensive weapons than griffin. He also have longer range than griffin. Griffin scores a lot of points in the paint because he played with a lot of 6-6 center in college like Dorsey. Oops, Dorsey is better than most of centers griffin played in college, defensively.
I wouldn't do this. There is no sure-thing with draft picks. Every year, people over-hype the players in the draft. "Also, I think Blake Griffin is going to be an all time player...." If you "think" he is, I guess it must be true.
Camby, EJordan, Thorton, and Griffin? That's basically EVERYTHING the Clippers have. Shoot, from a basketball point of view, you take this for ANYONE not named Kobe, Lebron, or Wade.
Never trade a great big man unless you get another PROVEN young star in return. If Griffin didn't work out then it would be devastating to our franchise. Seriously, how many guys come into the league averaging 20/10? Duncan? Dream? Shaq? Pretty high expectations...
No. Every deep position shot Yao takes is automatic. His offensive game is at its best, plus shooting over 7,6 is not easy. Who would command double teams without him?
In a NEW YORK MINUTE!! Imo, Yao's decline as a player is about to begin. He definitely won't get any better than he already is, if for no other reason than injuries. Griffin is HOF talent and, imo, the most complete post player I've seen come out of college since Duncan.
i haven't dug through this thread yet, so i may be off base here, but it's weird how all the old-time posters seem to be united in their cynicism regarding yao. pretty sure there's more than just a correlation there... for the record, count me in in the "hell yes" group.
Wait, you have GOT to be joking me about that last statement. Griffin's a nice player, but you do realize that if he came out two years ago, or even last year, he wouldn't go higher the third pick, and would receive about 1/10th of the hype he's getting now. As for the "most complete post player since Duncan," I honestly don't think you've seen him play much. He's a physical specimen, but he's far from being polished on the offensive end. I've said this once, and I'll say it again. He's Michael Beasley with better defensive and worse offense. And for me to want to trade Yao, I agree with what Leebigez proposed. Camby, Gordon, Thorton, and Griffin for Yao and fillers.
Does Yao want to stay in Houston? Maybe the Rockets should trade Yao - otherwise Yao is likely to just walk out of Houston after his current contract expires in 2010.
That's because the old timers want what's best for the rockets, that's it. The old timers have seen teams hold on a year too long and watch a player bring down a franchise. The old timers have also seen this team trade away the best player in the league and come back 3 yrs later and get to the nba finals. The old timers have also seen Orlando, Portland, and Lakers trade their best player and in less than 4 yrs become a force again. I wouldn't want to trade Yao, but I can put together a package that makes sense for both teams. I mentioned Yao for Camby, Jordan,Thronton and Griffin. Why would I do that? Having Camby,Scola,Tracy,Barry,and hayes ,gives the rox 41m worth of expiring contracts. They get a legit sf in thornton, a pf in griffin, and a young center in Jordan. The team would still have Brooks, Lowry,wafer, and Landry as other young up and comers. Another idea I thought about would be something from portland. Oden,Pryzbilla, and Outlaw or Rudy for Yao. I know the frowns going from 1 injured big to another, but Oden is a guy that will rebound,blk shots, run the court and offensive rebound. Pryzbilla is insurance and a quality backup in case of the injuries and outlaw is the multi tool swing player. Of course people will view the danger of playing against Yao with a Roy and Aldridge as good, but what's the difference if Oden starts to be Howard like in terms of rebounding and blocking shots? At least this way we get younger and quicker with some versitility. I'm not advocating trading Yao, but everyone has a value. I know if the lakers had to make this choice, I'm guessing they would trade him before he has no basketball court value.
Right, but that doesn't mean they all think Griffin for Yao is a good trade. In fact, old timers should be the ones trashing this trade if it was for the good of the Rockets.
The Rockets MUST consider the economic impact they could probably lose if they trade Yao. Griffin might be an all-star someday but at this time, its just the right thing to do to just keep Yao.
That depends.....a lot of us look at Yao and love his work ethic, but also see his faults...like poor rebounding, still makes the same silly reach in fouls that he made as a rookie, doesn't seal his man, is hard to pass the ball to in the post, turnover prone, and the worst of all, injury prone. That doesn't mean we don't love him...I absolutely do.....but it bugs the crap out of me when people blame our other players for their inability to get Yao the ball, when Yao is at least half of that problem. If you look at his history it has always been someone elses fault for not getting him the ball...maybe, just maybe, Yao needs to shoulder some of that blame. I am not saying we make this trade, but I would seriously consider it, if you think Yao is leaving next year...or going to opt out. DD
