Lack of knowledge is not a bannable offense. Besides, Clutch is in charge of the site, not me. I've never banned anyone.
My guess would be: a.) The financial aspect of including Gooden instead of Juwan would have complicated the trade even more. Care to devise a cap-happy deal similar to the one that occurred that would be palatable to Orlando? b.) The Magic wanted to draft Dwight Howard (or Okafor, doesn't matter, both are 4s). If their plan was to trade Juwan Howard and Drew Gooden all along, who is it easier to trade later- the veteran with 5 years and 5+mill per year on his contract or the player coming off his 2nd season still on his rookie contract and attached potential? Gooden was Orlando's 2nd best asset after TMac last year.
Everyone has his merits and weakness.Let yao do what he want to do.Nothing is impossible. Never say never!
Obviously Gooden would have been easier to trade and he was traded. However, he was traded for a Kelvin Cato-esque player so Orlando didn't think much of him in the first place, especially considering they were drafting someone who played the same position. Gooden was cheap and Orlando just wanted to dump him.
He is not a Hakeem or Robinson type player. His closest comparison is the old Kareem, who was still a top 5 center of all-time.
But not by much. He regressed last year as minutes began to decrease as he was replaced by Howard as the starter. Likewise, he was even worse than most statistics indicated (his "adjusted" plus minus & efficiency ratings consistently ranked among the worst of all regular players). His lack of value showed when it took him, Draft pick Anderson Varajao, and Steven Hunter to land a scrap heap veteran like Battie and two future 2d rounders. I'm sure he could have been had by anybody if the price were right as he was in doghouse city, but the Rox might not have had the tools to get him. isn't gooden shockingly similar to Taylor/Howard though anyway? Who cares, right?
Steven Hunter was a cap throw in. He was cut immediately. Battie is a decent platoon center. I'll grant you that the Magic weren't looking for the world; however, we pretty much lacked all tradeable assets outside those already in the trade. They had no use for Nachbar with the thought of Grant Hill returning, and clearly an eye on Hedo Turkoglu. Basically, they may not have wanted much, but we had even less. Gooden is a much better rebounder (when he wants to be) than MoT or Howard. Gooden practically epitomizes the Rockets, in fact. He had back to back games of 2 and 4 rebounds, and then busted out with 21. I liked Gooden's game when he was with Memphis, but with as inconsistent as this team already is, I'd stay away from Gooden.
He had a worse reputation than Howard, was unproved (this is his 3rd year). The knock on him was that he is undersized for PF, he complains too much about his shots.
What you guys lack is a point guard who can distinguish his ass from a hole in the ground. Geez, you guys can use Matt Maloney or Emanuel Davis right about now. Some of you have discussed who Yao Ming resembles. The winner is whoever said Rik Smits. Smits was a skilled shotmaker, a good (not great) shotblocker, lacked footspeed and stamina, and as a result was a subpar rebounder. Yao is a lot like that, except he's better than Smits as a shotblocker, post defender, and passer. Yao can really pass when needed. Don't be stupid and trade this guy. How many good 7-footers are playing basketball right now? Let's just say that anyone who is better than him isn't available. And don't discount size just because Yao is slow and needs to have his minutes watched. You need size to win in the NBA, period. I can't think of a single team in history with a bunch of 6'6"-6'8" guys who motion-offensed their way to an NBA title.
Wanting to see Yao on another team is traitorous. However, If Yao is not happy here when his contract expires, then he should go where he's happy. There's no way we can lose Yao, we'll end up like the Bulls or Orlando of last year.
