Combined and extrapolated over, say, 40 minutes, that's just 17 points and 10 rebounds. It's nice, but it's not great.
there ain't no way in hell i would do this....ever... griffin is good, but he ain't an all time great.... i'm good with scola/landry at the pf spot..... crazy idea
lol well said. I joined defended a comment with some reasoning and I get labeled as a Yao fan. I guess anybody defending him is in that category. "clearly defined fans"
Well let's put it perspective. For their collective salaries your'e talking PPG and rebounds that are comparable and at times better than "Great PF" Aldridge-18.1 ppg 7.5 rpg at a 48% clip in 37 mpg Boozer-16.2 ppg 10.4 rpg 49% shooting in 32 mpg (Milsap's #'s could be combined) Dirk-25.9 ppg 8.4 rpg at 47% clip in 37 mpg Stoudamire- 21.4 ppg 8.1 rpg 53% fg in 3 mpg Of course KG and Duncan but those guys a HOF material(Dirk maybe) but you get my point. Take into account that their combined salary is about 6 mil per year and you may not agree with me but I do think they're great.
great points, I have to agree having a great center isn't as important with new rules to allow wing players to dominate easier. However even Shaq needed a Kobe/Wade to win it, no matter how dominate he was. Yao isn't Shaq but he still needs the same help and a liitle luck with injury. Damn shame. But yep I do agree if we were offered good talent, we should trade him, but not for Rookies.
More great points. I know most people say we should upgrade when we have the Chance but Scola/Landry are dirt cheap for their production. If anything you replace them with better talent when they start to make more money.
I think the rockets have a better chance of winning now by adding a Paul Pierce caliber player whether that be by Mcgrady getting healthy or trading his expiring for a player like Vince Carter. They would then have comparable firepower to the Celts who won the championship last year. I understand your concept of trading a great center for a PF/C combo that is just as or more effective. The problem I have with this is that your example still assumes that Griffin can come out at compete at a high level (like Boozer). That seems like a huge chance to take. If this was a trade for some proven player already in the NBA i'd be agreeing with you. At this point, who knows? Griffin could end up like Michael Olowokandi and we'd be SOL for years.
I would definitely do this, even though I love Yao. There's only real logical reason in doing this: 15 seconds left, Rockets down 1.. Who gets the ball? Yao will be fronted, effectively taking a post entry pass for his move out of the picture. We're forced to give the ball to someone to create their own shot. Griffin is athletic enough to where he can be your go-to scorer. The only reason Yao is able to be fronted is because of his lack of athleticism. You don't ever see Duncan being fronted, because it's ineffective against the more athletic bigs. I do this deal for the simple fact that, for once, our "franchise player" would be able to get off his own shot with the game on the line.
This is beyond over-simplified. Just because you have an athletic PF doesn't mean that he's automatically your go-to guy at the end of a game. To be a first option in the clutch would require a player to have elite offensive abilities to either score on man coverage or pass it during double teams. And if your ONLY reason to trade Yao is for a go-to guy at the end of a game, then you're essentially throwing away a proven 20/10 guy for a raffle number. Griffin is raw offensively, and it's up in the air whether or not he develops a reliable offensive game. Like BleedRed, an OU alum, said earlier. Griffin is a much better defensive player than he is an offensive player, and his offense is nowhere near that of Michael Beasley.
Like MD said Griffin's game may not be polished enough to be a go to guy. And labeling him a franchise player before he even set's foot on a NBA court is too high of an expectation.
Your argument against Griffin is essentially, Yao is proven, Griffin is an unknown. You can make that argument with Yao vs. any draft pick. Griffin actually displayed some very good footwork down in the post when I watched him vs. UNC. The only way to stop Griffin in college was to essentially double team him, like Carolina did. Fortunately for us (UNC), OU couldn't hit **** off the passes Griffin made - but he WAS making those passes. He dominated everyone he went up against in college this past year, including Hansborough. He's been considered a lock #1 pick since the season started. As far as Yao goes, I love him. However, I also think it's pointless to have the guy who is your 'best player', making the most money on the team, not be able to get a shot off at the end of games. What's the point of having Kobe on your team if he wouldn't ever be able to get off his shots when the game mattered? And that's an argument against Yao without even factoring in the injury issues. I guess your question/debate should be more about whether you think Griffin is a bona fide stud. I do.
No, the crux of my argument isn't that Yao is proven, while Griffin isn't. My argument was simply to point out the flaw in your reasoning to trade Yao. As you said, the most important reason you would make this trade is to acquire a go-to guy at the end of games. Had you said that you would make the trade in order to become younger, and more athletic, then I wouldn't have responded, because that would actually be a valid reason. And you DO realize that the best player on a team doesn't have to be the number one option during crunch time. In fact, rarely are big men used as a go-to guy in the clutch. Hedo Turkoglu is the go-to guy at the end of a game, and not Dwight Howard. On 2000-2003 Lakers, Kobe was the closer, but Shaq wasn't. Griffin might be a bona fide stud. Or he might not be. Even if he was, and I would want to trade him, the sole reasoning wouldn't be for him to be our closer. There are many better reasons.
Yao didn't average 20 and 10 this season but ever heard of Elton Brand? He did it as a rookie. Heck, Pau Gasol averaged 18 and 9 as a rookie. It's not really been that uncommon, especially when NBA draftees were college juniors and seniors instead of high school players and college freshmen. I'm sure Griffin can do that because I hate Yao, ya got me man.
So Brand is the only one you know who can average 20/10 in the rookie year? The hate on Yao really gives you great faith on any player proposed to replace Yao. This is what a great hate! It must be very fun to have a player you hate so much in your favored team, and this guy will stay as long as he wants with the max pay. Isn't it? Enjoy!
Who was the guy suggested to trade Yao for Gregg Oden a couple fo years ago?! Look how Yao murdered Gregg in playoff.
Does Yao's contract situation give him some kind of leverage as well? He has one year left, right? And after that, he has one year of player option. Just hypothetically, what if Yao doesn't like the team Rockets wants to trade him to. Can he tell the team that he's going to walk after the contract expiration in one year, and there is no way he will re-sign? Is any team willing to trade some quality talents for a one-year loaner? And of course, after such broken trade negotiation, will Yao simply walk after next year and leave Rockets nothing in trading value? Please correct me if I am wrong. I believe that's how TMac ended up in Houston, that he picked us from several pursuers. If what I said above is true, then trading Yao is no longer a sore decision Rockets can make. Coz if the purpose rubbed him wrong, Rockets can end up losing a lot more. Just pure speculation.
I'll pass. Yao's constant injuries have shortened his season the past few years, but He has a summer off to rest, with no obligations to the CNT, I see him having a big, big year. I do believe that Griffin will be a very good pro though...
That's the best way to benefit from giving up yao. Great trade idea. My opinion: CON- Yao's the best offensive center in the league and we are so lucky to have this huge person. I wouldn't trade him for anybody. Also Yao is too cool. PRO- You get a future superstar plus a good defender in Camby. This solves the backup problem. Also, I haven't seen a rockets trade go down in months and im bored. lets do this!
