ENOUGH with the Yao Hating: It's time to take names

sure, I think it was orgininally on msnbc but I pulled this off NBA.com:

Danny Ainge's Mock Draft


Every player dreams of hearing his name called on draft night. NBA veteran and TNT broadcaster Danny Ainge got to experience it twice. One of the few athletes who have been drafted by two professional sports teams, he was selected by the NBA’s Boston Celtics in 1981 and MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays in 1977.
Ainge went on to enjoy a 14-year career as an All-Star in the NBA, winning two championships with the Celtics. Then he got to experience the draft from the other end of the bench, as the Suns' head coach for three seasons. Now Ainge is involved in his third different draft role, from an analyst's perspective as he presents his predictions for the first round of the 2002 NBA Draft.

"This is one of the strangest drafts," Ainge says. "The middle of the draft is pretty strong. (Jiri) Welsch, (Kareem) Rush, (Melvin) Ely, (Jared) Jeffries, (Dan) Dickau and (Juan) Dixon could all be good impact players right away.

Danny Ainge's 2002 Mock Draft
1. Houston Yao Ming, China - "It is a little troubling that he is 7-5 and not a shot blocker, though he has great presence and a great touch."
2. Chicago Jay Williams, Duke
3. Golden State Mike Dunleavy, Duke
4. Memphis Drew Gooden, Kansas
5. Denver Caron Butler, Connecticut
6. Cleveland Chris Wilcox, Maryland
7. New York Curtis Borchardt, Stanford
8. LA Clippers Amare Stoudemire, Cypress Creek HS
9. Phoenix Maybyner "Nene" Hilario, Brazil
10. Miami Dajuan Wagner, Memphis
11. Washington Qyntel Woods, Northeastern Mississippi CC
12. LA Clippers Jared Jeffries, Indiana
13. Milwaukee Nicoloz Tskitshivili, Georgia
14. Indiana Kareem Rush, Missouri
15. Houston Jiri Welsch, Czechoslovakia
16. Philly Melvin Ely, Fresno State
17. New Orleans Dan Dickau, Gonzaga
18. Orlando Marcus Haslip, Tennessee
19. Utah Carlos Boozer, Duke
20. Toronto Juan Dixon, Maryland
21. Portland Dan Gadzuric, UCLA
22. Phoenix Fred Jones, Oregon
23. Detroit Bostjan Nachbar, Slovenia
24. New Jersey Casey Jacobsen, Stanford
25. Denver Rod Grizzard, Alabama
26. San Antonio Ron Murray, Shaw University (Div. II)
27. LA Lakers Sam Clancy, USC
28. Sacramento Nenad Krstic, Yugoslavia

http://www.nba.com/draft2002/ainge_mock_draft.html

 

I was bored and looked through the OLD posts about yao...before we even won the 1st pick. Interesting...lots of people will be eatin crow!

Obi-Wan Kenobi

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12-20-1999 12:24 AM

Wang Zhizhi is superior to Mao...

the only reason Mao is even being considered is because of his height...

the guy has no basketball skills.



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CaucasionSensation

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12-20-1999 01:07 AM

Hey this guy sucks, flat out.

Do you think we'll ever here him say, "I honed my basketball skills on the mean streets of Beijing."

1rst round pick by Nellie maybe, will certainly be drafted though, if he is made elligible.

Ohh wait I here there is a 7-4 guy in Bangladesh. Maybe we should give him a look.

[This message has been edited by CaucasionSensation (edited December 20, 1999).]



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CaucasionSensation

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12-20-1999 01:11 AM

Ohh yeah, I forgot you could snap this guy like a pair of chop sticks. They will be able to fit him in a handbag after one game with Shaq.



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DaneB

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12-31-1999 02:58 AM

1.Chicago- Chris Mihm
2.Vancouver- Chris Porter
3.Golden State-Mateen Cleaves
4.Dallas- 7-6 scrub Yao Ming
5.Houston-Terence Morris
6.L.A. Clippers- Quentin Richardson
7.Washington- Kenyon Martin

Da Man

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01-18-2000 02:35 PM

Don't even worry about Yao Ming. He's never going to get out of China. He's a 7'6" big man that's 19 years old and played in some AAU tournaments in 1998. He held his own. Was a dominant shot blocker(But that was against high schoolers). His offense was rather mediocre. I don't know where all of this talk about him being the next great big man because he is a project at best.

Francis3

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10-22-2000 10:26 PM

Yao Ming is a good player but whoever picks him first should feel really dumb. I would put him around 15 or 16. He is not a top 10 pick , especially in next years draft. Eddy Curry has a big body that can bang around with the big boys. Yao Ming might be big but he is not quick.

MING WILL NOT GO #1.

JayZ750

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11-19-2000 07:26 PM

Of course-
A similar description of a player named Shawn Bradley led to the 76ers taking him with their first roudn pick a few years back (i forget which pick, no less than 3 though). Anyway, youve seen what happened there.


oeilpere

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11-21-2000 12:08 AM

If I remember correctly his rights are owned by Dallas.

Personally other than an obscure facinating curiousity, IMHO, his entry will likely be a media hype, then a disappointing first year bust when he doesn't live up to the expectaions. Eventually he will settle in to a comfort role player. Albeit a very tall one.

Raven Lunatic

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03-16-2001 01:49 PM

Yeah, I predict some severe disappointment on both sides when these guys come over... the game is just played differently. Hopefully these Chinese officials aren't expecting these players to become the greatest players in the NBA anytime soon.


HOOP-T

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03-26-2001 09:42 AM

In a word, no.

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triplebogey

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04-01-2001 12:43 AM

I've seen Yao Ming play six times this past year (China league games are televised where I'm currently living). Let me summarize my impressions of him by saying that I wouldn't take him with the first pick. Even if Jason Williams doesn't come out, I still wouldn't take him. I'd definitely trade the pick.

Yao is, in fact, skinny. An ESPN article recently talked about how he was just now starting to lift weights. That infers that he'll be able to bulk up in time, but that was also what we heard about Shawn Bradley. With guys that tall, it's much harder to gain weight (esp. the appropriate kind...muscle for example) than somebody whose six feet tall. But his weight isn't why I wouldn't pick him.

No, the biggest problem that I've seen with Yao is that he is not aggressive. His "soft" game really reflects his personality in general. He gets pushed around by guys *much* smaller than him (the championship game against Wang ZhiZhi's team, Yao was guarded by a guy who's about 6' 7". Wang never guarded him.) I could go into greater detail if there's interest, but my opinion is that more seasoning or coaching will not make him less soft. The last thing you want to end up with from the first pick is a player that wears the "potential" label but always plays SOFT!

Much of the issue can be found in his home culture, which values the group rather than the individual. The culture tends to produce compliance in its citizens and that translates somewhat to sports. So to assert oneself on the basketball court and dominate, you're going against cultural norms. Of course, the people recognize that in sports, it's good to play well, but it's difficult for players to flip a switch during the games and all of a sudden become aggressive. For example, even though Hakeem was very raw when he first arrived in the states, his basic personality was a fiery and aggressive one (he was known for a quick fuse in his early years, as you will recall). So when he learned to play the game, his natural personality coupled with his skills produced the wonder that we all have had a chance to behold. I'm afraid that Yao may not possess that basic, yet vital, ingredient. I'd trade the pick.

Cat5

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04-05-2001 04:12 PM

Rudy will not take Yao with any of his pick, not even with the last pick of the draft. He knows it all hype.

Swami

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04-05-2001 05:59 PM

In a word, "NO"!

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Hoopin in Hawaii

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04-06-2001 02:25 AM

i gotz to agree with Swami. while yao ming is 7'6", i don't see him as a #1 pick. guys that tall have inherent problems with their knees (let us not forget ralph sampson). he's raw, thin and not ready for the nba.


enbehay

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05-29-2001 07:46 PM

During the Olympics a cameraman caught Yao without his makeup -- it was Serge Zwikker!


Greg#3

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05-29-2001 08:55 PM

The Chinese version of Shawn Bradley!!

He didn't declare for the draft this year and will come out next year.


Sane

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12-17-2001 01:05 PM

Too many problems with Ming.

1) Chronic injuries VERY possible.

2) Needs to put on weight that he never will.

3) Language barrier.


How long are we willing to wait for him to develop?

It will take 3 years for him to be able to be consistently good.


At this point, I'd love nothing more than to trade the high pick to Cleveland for Diop, Mihm, or Illgauskas (providing he plays the whole season).


They would be really excellent with Wagner wouldn't they?

I mean, I'm not a Wagner fan, he'd be awful for our team. But next to the 6'6 Andre Miller? That's an excellent match.

----------------------------------------

Thats it for now...getting tired...

 

is it time to collect yet?

umm... bump!

 

Let call it an even if the hatas kiss a donkey's ass.

 

I'm glad someone yanked this back up. Where's that column from the Arizona Republic where Yao was called a bust???

 

some others that should eat their words:

u851662

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11-06-2002 01:44 PM

Oh my goodness, after reading almost every post in this thread, I am dissapointed with half of you here. I was the biggest person against drafting Yao #1 when we got the pick, however I got blasted when I came here and post my thoughts. Now that we have what most of you wanted you are getting mad because he is not producing up to your expectations. Although I would have likes to see us use the pick on someone else or traded down to obtain more future pic's, you guys havent even given this kid time to develope into something. Although I did not want the Rox's to pick this kid, I do understand that it will take time for him to be where we want him to be. Look at Kwame Brown he was a lame duck last year but this year so far he is BALLING! Ming will not be able to contribute very much until 2 maybe 3 years from now. He wont even get the playing time needed to learn the NBA type game. Instead of being disappointed in Ming you need to be supportive. I re-iterate I did not want the Rox's to pick him! But I do know that given tim he will be a half descent player and alot of you are not giving him time. You guys put unrealistic pressure on this kid. I remember during the off-season half of you hear saying Ming will put up 15 pt 10 reb. a game you were kidding yourselfs. Its unrealstic given the amount our other players shoot the ball. Give the kid some time. Look for him to be a good contributer at the end of next season. And eve when he does contribute, he will never dominate like a SHAQ! All you folks who said he would kill SHAQ! You kidded yourselfs! He will take time and even me being a Ming-Hater, I think it is unfair to put all that pressure on this kid. If you steal his confidence he will never be anything. And that is whats being done in these types of threads. God forbid someone reads these threads to him. I did not want Ming, but he is a Rocket now and whoever is a Rocket I try to be optimistic and Realstic for them. Supportive and all. He is what you all wanted to dont let 4 games past and call him a fluke. Give him time... He will be okay... But remember he IS what most of you wanted, dont re-nig now......

UT Baller

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11-06-2002 02:21 PM

u851662-Damn bro, that is exactly what I am saying! I was totally against drafting this kid for a variety of reasons that are all coming true much earlier than expected. First, Yao will not help us this year. He will have his good games I am sure, but he'll probably end up with stats pretty similar to or a little less than EG from last year. When the guy fouls every time his man makes a move he cant be on the court. I thought that he would be able to atleast board and block a shot here and there but he cant do that even. Secondly, the rox now have two groups of fans those of the team adn those of Ming; this does not work well unless Ming is doing well and that isn't happening and probably wont this season.
I just cant get past the fact that we could have had a rookie project like Skita, Hialrio, or Dunleavy and Lamar Odom on this team this year. Ming will be good in a season or two, but this team had a chance to be a contender starting this year and we blew it.

UT Baller

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11-06-2002 02:53 PM

If things continue like this I am going to go find all those "Ming-haters eat your words" threads. A lot of us here got berated for saying that things might go down just as they have. A lot of people might have to eat THEIR words when all is said and done.

 

Happy New Year everybody! I was just looking at some posts of the last decade, from 2000 to 2009, as we enter into the 2010 to 2019 decade, and this one is at the top.

Good memories :grin:

 

WTF is wrong with you?

 

WOW

 

Chill dude. I'm not bringing up an old post to make a mockery of Clutch fan posters if that's what your thinking (look at the content inside the quote from CB4ever). It was a great thread because CB4ever took the time to put together some memorable media quotes - and it brings back some fun memories from last decade.

 

This IS actually pretty nostalgic. I know many posters then probably disagreed with the draft pick of Yao too.

And lol @ Yao is to Jay Williams as Bowie is to Jordan.

I know Williams was involved in an accident, but SUCK IT HATERS!!

 

I am one of the few Rockets fans who thinks Yao should not be on the Rockets due to his playing style, idiotic tendencies, and injury history. Throw me on whatever list you want.

 

How about the troll list?

 

LOL sure if that floats your boat YOF.

 

Not a street thing! Most street people, these days respect very little.
Being a street person, these days is a state of mind not an indication of ones financial status.

 

Why do you hate Yao so much, as he is a humble player?

 

I am pretty sure that the only people that dislikes Yao's media persona (I say this because none of us probably knows how this guy is in real life) are somewhat xenophobic. He is humble, polite, hard working, skilled, and successful. This encompasses everything that we value as a "good" person. Now whether or not he is a good player for our team, that is an entirely different story and justifiably debatable.

 

I don't hate on Yao as a person, but as a player on the Rockets. My main beef with him is his paycheck. A guy that is that injury prone and misses that many games, does not deserve his $17 million paycheck that he will be getting next year. He also has the tendency to do the same dumb things over and over, like trying to take charges, holding the ball too low, not positioning well for boards when being fronted, ect. I said this many times, I have no problem with Yao as a human being, which is why I don't criticiz him nearly as much as T-Mac. I do think though, that he is a horrible fit for us though and unless he signs for around $12 million, his cap space could be better utilized on other players.

 

Haha awesome thread, enjoyed reading it. I still remember clearly when Charles kissed that donkey's ass hahaha

 

Here is Ben Wallace.

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