Amazing. The guy's a 20 and 10 player and somehow he's underachieving. I don't know how much basketball you watch but those numbers are kind of rare.
I could care less about Chenjy's nationality, but his criticisms are irrational. Yao may not ascend to the stature of one of the top ten centers of all time but his numbers are sound. The only legitimate concern with him are the questions about his health. As for the comparisons with T-Mac, there are none. If Yao were to retire today due to injuries most of the people on this board would wish him well. T-Mac's hated in Toronto. He's hated in Orland. He's on his way out in Houston and most of the posters here--and also apparently a lot of his teammates--consider him to be a total waste of space. Finally I'm almost certain that there's at least one team in the league, and probably a lot more, that would offer Yao max money on a contract for at least a couple of seasons. It's a gamble considering his foot problems but gambling is hardly unknown in the NBA.
Yao might be an injury prone, but to say he didn't carry the Rockets in is just a dead fault statement. To cut the story short i am gonna make a pos vs con sheet. Pos 1. Yao's a LEADER. I bet Yao's work ethic has quite a positive effect on the entire roster. Yao's a work horses and the young horses are due to follow his example to practice more than others. 2. Yao might be disastrous when it comes to pick & roll defense, but he never gives in when anyone comes near to the paint. He had altered MANY shots during his career. I don't remember a single "Use the back" center scored many pts on him. It's usually the guards who burn Rockets during Yao's era. 3. Yao's baby hook from both block is unstoppable. NUFF SAID. 4. Yao might not be the best rebounder in the entire league. SOMEHOW ROCKETS ALWAYS ENDED UP IN TOP 5 in Rebounding throughout the league for years. WHY you might ask. It's because he boxes out ALL THE TIME.! He knows he's slow so he boxes out for teammate to get the rebound. 5. The way Yao demands double or triple team just opens up the floor for everyone else. He gets it nights in and nights out because the opponent knows once he gets deep in the paint, it will be a gaurantee 2 pts for the rockets. cons 1. He's really bad in pick and roll because of lacking the quickness. 2. He's an INJURY PRONE. (although i don't fully blame him, i don't think a Giant like him should play basketball all year around) 3. He's so damn tall and big that the opponent can easily "fake" a charge from him. Ask the likes of Anderson Vagrajao. 4. Zero transition defense from him. To sum it up. You will never see another Dream in Yao, but he's still a darn good Center. If he's not injured, he would still be the 2nd best center in the entire league (Even tho Yao dominates D. Ho in games EVERYTIME, D. Ho is still a better because of his quickness which leads to better defense in many ways) Does he deserves a max contract? If i am the GM and i would DEFINITELY give him a max contract if needed to keep him here. He does so much more than being just a center on the court. His off the court presense is not something to overlook.
Another pro is that Yao is never lazy, he gives 100% every night and contests every shot he can, thats why he gets dunked on often, because most of the other players would have moved aside but Yao challenges. Too bad all the idiots who watch ESPN only care about dunking, ooo Yao sucks Dwight is da god ooo... He even got praise from crazy man Artest for his work ethics. Shame bad luck completely ruined him, first few injuries were bad luck but now it has become weight related, he iwll still be dominant when he comes back though, i don't understand why people think he won't be effective when he comes back, its not like he relies on athleticism... He will put up smaller stats due to restricted minutes (i hope), but he will still be a dominant force and shoot above 50% fromt he field and 80% from the line and clog the paint on defense. And people who say oooooooooo Yao won't fit with the offense oooo, If Yao comes back ready to play, Rick will make the gameplan fit around Yao, this is ridiculous, if Rick had Shaq and Kobe instead of Webber and Peja he wouldn't have run his offense. IMO i won't offer Yao the max if i was the GM because of the injuries and becomes A LOT of YOF in China are Rox fans now.
If anybody has questions about Yao's ability, just ask the handful of teams that actually tried to single cover him. The guy is a beast, and every other head coach in the league will tell you.
lolz, in all seriousness i think Charlotte/Larry Brown and Minnesota would be part of a three team deal. I can see Rubio and maybe Love headed to Houston and Wallace/Ariza/Brooks going to Minnesota to play around Jefferson. The only catch is how long would Rockets wait around for Rubio i think they'd go buyout his contract. And just maybe Chandler would be part of the deal, but Charlotte will need to do something, give away contracts, earn profits, do something. Love seems like an Adelman type player who can rebound and spread the floor. I can see other trades going down before this though with similar type results.
Could this team compete? Camby / Dalembert / Hollins Love / Chandler / Andersen / Hayes Butler / Gomes Igoudala / Budinger / Taylor Rubio / Sessions Yao went to Charlotte. McGrady went to Philadelphia. Battier/Landry went to Washington. Ariza/Brooks went to Minnesota. Charlotte sent Wallace to Minnesota. Scola/Lowry/Cook came off the books and was used to sign Camby. Dalembert/Chandler/Butler came off the books after next season and Butler was resigned and Rubio/Love/Budinger extended. Now talk about gutting the team.
Simply Awesome. Trade the whole durn team that is winning and then ask if the replacement guys could compete. Classic.
correction: he was 20 and 10. this season, he's not producing. don't know when he'll be back and if he can get produce the same sumbers once he comes back.
Somebody from the Dominican republic or Turks and Caicos may have a poster of Trevor Ariza in their house lol
Awsome post! Brilliant ideas. I guess if this comes true, the number of clutchfans will decrease at least 50% if not more.
Doesnt matter what people say about Yao, but Les is a business man first, no chance he'll let the biggest cash cow go, ever.... And secondly, if Yao comes back 100%, you think they'll abandon our current offensive scheme and go with the "Olajuwon" offense?
When Yao comes back, we hope he isn't subjected to more than about 27mins playing time per game and that he will no longer be a year round competitor. China needs to let him rest & train during the offseasons. There is also a fair chance that the remake of Yao's foot might give him the physical confidence he has been lacking for so many seasons. The confidence to play at 100% and demand the ball when he is open. Also the coach might instruct that the ball be passed to Yao when he calls for it! This will be the first time in his NBA Career that Yao will have the opportunity to show his best game. So much negativity is being said about Yao on this forum I hought it was about time to be positive about him!!
By whom exactly? Duncan was the undisputed number 1 pick of his class and helped make the Spurs into the sports winningest team in history. Coming in, Lopez was questioned whether he has what it takes to make it in the NBA, and the year he turned "beastly" was the year the Nets posted the worst start in NBA history. The Nets roster was exactly the same as the year prior, except they exchanged Carter and that other forward for Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee. That right there says enough IMHO.
