Here's something to ponder which I've seen discussed before due to the hype that both players received/are receiving during their rookie campaigns. What if we switched Bron with Yao? Put Yao in a Cavs uni and Bron in a Rox uni, who would make the bigger difference? What direction do you think Cavs/Rox would be headed? My thinking here is that the Cavs would probably be significantly better than their current 27-36 record. With a lineup featuring Yao, Boozer, and D Miles (before the trade, since I think D Miles woulda stayed if the Cavs hadn't sucked), they woulda owned at least been 5 games over .500. Add Bron to the Rox with Franchise, Cat, MoT and Cato, and you're looking at a 45 win team, essentially the Phoenix Suns with Marbury, with Bron playing the role of the Matrix. Not a knock on Bron or anything, whom I feel is a real talent. What's your guys' opinion?
I think the Rockets would be worse, and the Cavs would probably be better. Rockets would have no inside presence whatsoever and the Cavs would have a dominant center next to Boozer.
Put LeBron in this team and you have nothing but street ballers jacking up 20+ shots per game to average 20ppg and care about NOTHING but highlights.
lebron is very good as a rookie. but yao is obviously in better shape to be next champ team leader. when we look back in ten years, it is more likely that lebron will regret being at the same era w/ yao.
The upcoming Era is a repeat of the Jordan/Hakeem Era.[In reality the Jordan Era ] This time LeBron is not in a Major Market City and Houston has become so much more of a Media focal point than it used to be. So If LeBron stays in Cleveland then there is a good chance that the next Basketball Era will be remembered as the Yao Ming Era.
the Cavs would have J with the 1st pick (or traded it) - they are the ONLY team in the east with a real center already on the team (Z) If they took Yao and we took LeBron- they would have two centers & we would have a Shotting Guard playing the point, a PG playing the Shooting Guard - and a 6th man (Cat) playing at small forward... and people would still be complaining abotu Cato (since without Yao, he wouldn't be a "great backup")
Both teams are better off with their current guy, because the pre-existing rosters already have some of the strength these guys provide. The Cavs have Ilgauskas, who is a legit but injury-prone center. And the perimeter strength the Rockets have in Francis and Mobley would lessen James' impact. It works out well that we got what we needed in a good inside player and they got what they needed in a good outside player. The Cavs would probably profit more from a switch because of the injuries Ilgauskas is bound to suffer. But, I think it may be a stretch to say that Yao will be a more important player than James in championship runs. That's still up in the air.
True. If you switched it up to say, what CLE had Yao and Francis and/or Mobley swapping with Houston had Lebron and Ilgauskas and/or Boozer, you could make a credible case that each team could be better off.
easy guys...Lebron has all the makings of a champion so let's not sell him short. First of all, he would never play with the current group of rox players because any decent GM would recognize that a roster change would have to be made that would result in lebron being the focal point of the offense, which would mean either cat or francis would be shipped out or made a bench player.
It's hard to predict which team will come out a winner in this swap but one thing for sure is that Yao's presence on Cavs team will make them immediate contender in the Least Conference.
I dont give a crap how good James may be one day... in this league....when you have two players with the kind of skill that both Yao and LJ have.... you always take size! very talented guards comeup all the time...but how often do you find a big man with the skillset Yao has? you can keep "The King"...I am personally not ready to annoit him as MJ's successor yet.
Very ignorant comment. And what exactly is "Street Ball"? Have you ever played it? Have you ever been to Rucker Park to witness it? You obviously live in a vacuum. One of the reasons LeBron recieves so uch attention is his willingness and ability to pass - his vision of the entire floor. So LeBron is not a "street baller". If Yao jack up 20+ shots will that make him a "street baller" too?
If pick again, Rox will still pick Yao, Can will still pick Bron. You cant swith them. Different teams have different needs. You cant say Melo is not as good as Darko either.
If the swap is done as the orginal post suggested, both teams go straight to lottory: Rox will have no post presense, and Cavs will have no ball handeler. How interesting to see that after a great week for Yao, the only time Juggie showed up is in this thread supporting such an idea of shipping Yao out. Juggie, it was not a coincidence that so many people called you a troll a week ago. What you have done in the past justify that calling, and what you are doing will only further prove that you are a troll.
I have to agree with you. As much as I hate to say this, whenever I see Z and Yao play, they look to me like the exact same player. I'm probably understating the differences, but Yao's D is slightly better, as is his FT shooting and a certain reliability late in the game. Other than that though, it seems like a player swap would leave both teams worse off. Both teams would be losing one of their best players in exchange for a player with skills they already have.
