This has been lingering in my head ever since we made the trade for Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill and some first rounders from the Knicks. I agree that this is a very good trade even though we gave up Carl Landry, it was a smart move by Morey. Keven Martin can provide us the scoring we definitely need and can be a go to guy. Landry is a good low post player but Kevin is more valuable to the Rockets. When I think about the trade, I know Morey intended to make the trade to surround Yao with more pieces. But it makes me wonder, is Yao really worth it? I mean after all the seasons of disappointment, can we still continue to rely on him to be our franchise player? If you ask me, I don't think he's good enough to be our franchise player nor reliable enough. His big frame helps us by protecting the paint and much needed low post scoring but it also comes with a price. Though Yao can protect the paint well and when he is in position, you can almost guarantee that he will score or get to the charity line. But again, teams scouted him carefully and learn to exploit his weakness. Which is putting a long athletic big man to front him, which limits him on the offensive end. When that occurs, the Rockets offense becomes stagnant because the Rockets would spend most of the shot clock just trying to feed him the ball. On the defensive end, they can either put a speedy low post scorer on him (Boozer) which creates problem for Yao. But again, he helps us more than he hurts us. But his injuries is a big problem for us. The Rockets still doesn't know whether he can continue to be a big contributor after his injury. He can either come back and play well or be limited due to his injury. The Rockets always talked about limiting his minutes once he comes back but we all know that's not going to happen. If the Rockets manage to land Chris Bosh, then Yao would no longer be a big liability. The Rockets acquire Martin who is a borderline all star, but isn't a superstar. Brooks is a good PG but not an all star player. If the Rockets want to become an elite team, Yao should not be the best player on the team. If he is the best player on the Rockets along with a group of great role players, the Rockets would be nothing more of an above average team. Look at the elite teams in the NBA. Lakers for example, Pau Gasol is a better all around player than Yao but he have Kobe (best player in the NBA). Back when he was with the Grizzlies, he was their best player so the Grizzlies was never considered an elite team. The Magic has Dwight who is a better player than Yao Ming. But he also has a team full of all star talents in Vince Carter, Lewis, and Nelson. The Celtics, KG is no longer the player he is but he is still a very good big man. But the Celtics is an elite team because they have Pierce and Rondo along with Allen and the rest of the deep crew. The Cavs don't really have an premier big man but Lebron is an hell of a player. But the Cavs surround Lebron with so many weapons plus, they just acquire Jamison. So overall, if the Rockets want to be an elite team and have a chance for the title, Yao Ming should not be the Rockets focal point. They would need a superstar player to push them over the hill. Very few big men can lead their team over the hill while being the best player on their team (Tim Duncan, Shaq in his prime, Kareem, Hakeem etc), Yao is no where near the level of those guys even when he's healthy. Dwight Howard is at this moment, the best center in the NBA, and his team wouldn't be where they are at right now if it wasn't for his deep team. The Rockets have a really good overall team when Yao comes back healthy next season. They are good enough to fight for the top seed for the playoffs next season but they are not good enough to advance deep with Yao. In order to become an elite team like Lakers, the Rockets need a guy that can put this team on his shoulders and lead them. Yao Ming isn't capable of carrying this team on his shoulders even if he have a good cast of players supporting him. Kevin Martin is a good player but not enough to help this team win big. If the Rockets acquire Bosh, Yao Ming and Kevin Martin would thrive more by being the 2nd and third option, which takes lots of pressure off of them. By having Bosh, the Rockets can afford losing Yao due to injuries, so its much better than losing Yao while he's the best player on the team. I know Morey sees this also so that's why they are trying to pursue in Bosh. Elite teams have elite players. Yao Ming is indeed a very good center but he is not an elite player. Can the Rockets rely on him to stay healthy for the entire season? Can the Rockets rely on Yao to carry the team on his shoulders? Should the Rockets roll the dice with Yao given all the history of his injuries? If the Rockets decided to roll with Yao as the main player, it would be a major risk.
The series against the Jazz with both Yao and Tmac when the Rockets were in game 7... If both Yao and Tmac were bonified superstars we would win but sadly, Boozer and Williams were better than they were.
This topic has been beaten to death over and over again. No, we will never win a championship building around Yao. Yes, Yao will be a Rocket as long as he plays in the NBA.
Why couldnt we if we trade Battier, he'd be the oldest on the team and then tone of the best defensive attributes we have. ...and the saying goes defense wins championships
Because teams know how to stop Yao on the offensive end....front him with an athletic big. Teams also know how to beat him defensively, by using his man in a high pick & roll (think LA, Utah, Portland, etc.) Whoever Yao is guarding will set a screen at the top of the key...then Yao is one-on-one trying to stop Kobe, Williams, Roy, etc. It's not going to happen because Yao will either back off (pull up for 3) OR Yao will guard to close (get blown by). Yao can be dominant, I def agree with that. But come playoff time, we're done as long as he's on the floor
Yao is a piece. Kevin Martin is a piece. Both are very big pieces, but not centerpieces. We're still looking for that. It might just be Chris Bosh.
I've said this so much I don't really feel like repeating myself. But... I'll try this again. A team can only play the cards it's dealt with. Would I rather have Lebron over Yao? Yes. Would I rather have Dwight Howard over Yao? Yes. Would I rather win the lottery and sleep with Megan Fox over my current life? Yes. But dreaming doesn't get you anywhere. You want the Rockets to build around a true superstar? You know the answer to that? TANK! TANK! TANK! You get a top 5 pick every year, and guess what, you'll eventually find that mythical "franchise player". But if you don't want to go through years of Clipperdom, if you want to win now, you build around the pieces you have. Life is not perfect. The Rockets team is not perfect. We can't swing deals to get a Kobe with the 13th pick because we're not a historical franchise. We can't lure the likes of Shaq in FA because we couldn't give him a rap career. We didn't have the luck of getting a #1 pick the year Duncan or Lebron came out. Instead, we ended up with two often-injured semi-superstars. Well, that's life. If you really want to root for a superstar franchise? Go be a Cavs fan or a Lakers fan. But if you're truly a fan of a TEAM, then you take what you got, and root for that. /rant
Bingo...I think Morey/Les realize Yao can no longer be counted as the be all end all but he is still a key piece on a championship squad. Like Clutch said this morning on 1560, the Rox will go after the Bosh/Amar'e PF to be the new leader of the team. Essentially Yao will be become a dam good complementary player along with Martin and Brooks.
Agree with you the first half. But Bosh is not a centerpiece for any contender teams. He is very soft as a big man, and remember that his team has been a scrub for many years, and the supporting cast of his team is not bad at all. If Yao and Martin are healthy next year, what we really need to be a contender is a good veteran PG that can run the team well. Brooks is a great scorer, but does not fit Yao and Martin. Lowry's stype fits the team, but he is not good enought. But very likely next season we still have to live what we have now because that kind of good PG, just like capable big men, is the asset of any team.
I find it curious that Bosh and Stoudemire are in the same sentence as "leader of a championship team", especially Stoudemire, and there is no negating word in that sentence.
Yea that makes sense. Al horford was quoted on the radio yesterday saying that Yao Ming is the hardest player in the NBA to guard. But hes not good so, Horford was probably lying. Or Yao must have asked him to say that. Sarcasm.
I dont recall saying he "wasn't good". I said that come playoff time, teams will front him, which is true. He hasn't shown that he can seal off his defender so the ball can be reversed and dumped into him. I'm not as concerned about his offense as I am his D...he's too slow guarding the PnR
Outside of the true superstars in the league, Lebron, Kobe, Durant, Paul, maybe Carmelo, who would you rather build around other than Yao? Howard is nice but he's not dominant, he can't consistently score for you and he definitely can't in crunch time because of his free throw shooting. Do you wanna build around a faux franchise player like Gay, Iguodala, Granger, or Devin Harris? That will get you nowhere and have you spending a ton for nothing. Also, what team since 1990 has won a championship with a PG as clearly its best player? None, its all been shooting guards(Kobe, Wade, Jordan) and bigs(Hakeem, Shaq, Duncan). Even more interesting, 6 out of the 6 players I listed above won their championships with the team that drafted them.
I don't get many of these posts. If Bosh and Stoudemire are so great as first options, then why have their teams so underperformed? This is particularly odd in the East, where the teams are so much weaker. If the answer is the supporting cast, then why doesn't Yao get the same consideration? Last season, effectively Yao had Brooks (whose perimeter shot improved a great deal this season), Artest (whose perimeter shot is unreliable), and Battier. Of the 3, the only one who could penetrate reliably off the dribble in half court sets was Artest. That's why teams fronted Yao. With a slasher on the court, fronting the center is suicide. It takes 5. Having Ariza and Martin on the floor will punish defenses for fronting Yao. Having Brooks/Martin/Budinger/Battier on the wings, perimeter shooting will improve because of the double teams Yao commands. Scola working off the ball and at the elbow should be very productive. Bosh is not necessary for success. Having a true PG with Lowry is. I like Brooks a lot, but he is more like Jason Terry than he is a point guard.
