no one is trading yao, all a thread like this does is gives us a reason to hope, i sincerely doubt DM and Les are looking at info like this to decide not to trade yao, they are already not going to trade him...
You're missing a broken foot. Toe bone thing 2005. Broken foot 2006. Broken knee/leg 2007. Broken foot 2008. Broken foot 2009.
the 2006 bone break was because Okur kicked him in the foot. That could happen to anyone. If Okur kicked you in the foot there is a good chance your bone will break too.
From a durability perspective, the comparison is valid. It should also be noted that Big Z only had one year where he played "big" minutes per game, the year where he got injured after 5 games - 34.2 mpg. Outside of that, Yao's played more mpg each of the past 4 years then Z has every put up for a season. Plus, early in his career, Z never made the playoffs. Though Yao never got far, when he did play in the playoffs, it was always a long series and the playoffs are just a different level of wear and tear. Finally, and this is important, Yao has his offseason commitments. I'm not with Yao ever, so I don't know how hard he works in the offseason, but my guess is pretty hard, especially in big years (Olympics, Olympics qualifications, Asian world tournaments, whatever). It's just a lot of extra wear and tear. You never hear about Z doing anything in the offseason. I'm sure he's exercising, but how and to what degree. Frankly, to even have a chance of being relatively injury free going forward, Yao has to pretty much stop all offseason playing with China - can he do that? And, while primarily about durability, skill does have to come into play. Big Z doesn't "bang" down lown. Heck, he's only grabbed over 9 boards a game once in his career. Check out his hotspots - http://www.nba.com/hotspots/ The guy shoots a lot of jumpers. Finally, check out his salary: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/cleveland.htm - he gets paid, but not Lebron, or Yao paid. And he shouldn't. He needs Lebron James to win. Point being, can Yao put in some healthy seasons, deep into the playoffs? Maybe. But will he have to sacrifice his game to do so. Undoubtedly. But at that point, he needs to definitively get paid less, and, will we need to then team him up with one of the 2 best players on the planet to even have a shot at a championship?? Well, yes...the best players are the ones playing in the Finals...but I guess the point is that Yao wouldn't be that level of player to ride to wins. You can't figuratively "jump on Yao's back" and have him carry you. Even if he had the talent to do so (which he does, IF not fronted), he doesn't have the durability. OP, good points brought up. The stats are interesting. You've been called out on the 99 season repetitively. It should be ignored because it skews the stats in Shaq's favor. Plus, as has been pointed out, Shaq had different types of injuries. I don't think it's time to give up on Yao. But I do think some things have become clear: 1. Yao has to play less minutes - both during the season and during the playoffs. Going into the season with the hope of signing Deke (which happened, but...) as the only legitimate frontcourt player with size behind Yao was a huge mistake. 2. Yao should not be paid at his current levels, and when his contract is up, if you resign him, it is at a lower amount. If he wants $17 million plus, he should find another team. 3. Yao needs to "quit" the national team. At least not play for them anymore. I think he'd be a great coach / consultant and very beneficial to the team, but he can't take the 365 days of wear and tear. 4. From a pure talent and team capability perspective (ignore Yao's marketability), exploring the idea of trading him at some point as his contract comes up does make sense. If you can get a lower level all-star and another starter for him...well, that's compelling.
I think people forget that Yao did play in 75 games this year, a couple of games he missed just to be careful. He just broke down at the worst possible time.
Agreed. He pretty mcuh was healthy all season, if he truly does stop playing in those pointless Chinese games. I think he will be able to play a full season including the playoffs, that is if we limit his minutes to under 36 and we get a legit back up center. People are honestly freaking out a bit too early.
Heck Shaq has 4 championships and 3 in roll early in his career. SHAQ WAS NOT INJURED WHEN IT COUNTED THE MOST YAO IS BOTTOM LINE.
I wouldn't trade Yao though... I would focus on trading McGrady I would just get a fierce pitbull center/pf that's 6-10 to 7-1 that can get you a consistent 15 and 10 a game.
I am a fan of Yao, but I will never compare Yao with Shaq. Shaq is probably the most dominant big man ever plays the game so far. Yao wouldn't come close when Shaq was in his prime. However, the purpose of this thread is to remind you that even one of the greatest Centers ever plays the game has injuries from time to time. When T-Mac is down, Yao carried the load the lead the team passed the first round of Playoff. His body needs rest, especially after the long season and DM clapsed. It's shocking that some of the fans here does not have any sense of "gratitude".
The point of this thread is Shaq did all of that after his 7th year. If the Lakers traded him after year 7, they wouldn't have won 3 championships in a row.
Dumb thread. It doesn't take into account that 98-99 was a shortened season for Shaq. Shaq also played an additional 66 NBA games, because of the playoffs.
Most people are forgetting Yao's foot injuries suffered before even arriving in the NBA. Yep. But Z is the exception when it comes to reoccurring foot injuries. He responded well to a pin surgically implanted, and JayZ makes valid points about Ilgauskas' less demanding playing style compared to Yao. Add to that, Ilgauskas weighs far less than Yao. The rule for reoccurring foot injuries remains, unfortunately, Bill Walton . Walton really only played one full season after his foot problems began, and that was playing backup minutes on the fabled Boston team in '86. Extremely large guys who lasted in the NBA are few and far between. With the exception of a Shaq or two (massive, but not as tall), those that did were usually whippet-thin (e.g. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Shawn Bradley, Manute Bol), and didn't carry Yao's burden with every step.
How many times did shaq get hurt and never came back for the rest of the season? Its not really a matter of injuries, its more of shaq was missing games but was playing big minutes. Yao is playing 33 mins and when he goes down, he's down. Plus you're comparing a good player with a great player.
Walton had a manganese deficiency from his improper vegetarian diet. He would have also lacked fat for proper Vitamin D absorption, which helps with bone formation. Yao should be fine as a meat eater, though he might need more "Vitamin D and K" for his special needs.
You Fail too! 1. You fail to mention Shaq has Kobe and his team can easily make playoffs even when he sit out. 2. You fail to mention another superstar of Rockets quit during the first half of last season and during the second half of this season. 3. You fail to mention Rockets had been strugling for the playoffs in the much tougher western conference during the past two seasons. You fail, Looser!
i don't think the problem is if Rocekts want to resign Yao, but if Yao wants to stay in Houston. i believe Yao is hesitate and curious about his value when he choose to eliminate the last year with Houston. and see how much his contract will be.
I seriously cannot believe that there are people here that are seriously arguing that Yao's injury history isn't serious cause for serious concern. If you want to argue that it's against our best interests to trade him, there is atleast some logical justification for such a premise, taking all things into consideration. but if you are seriously positing that this pattern of lower body injuries to our 7'6, 300 lb. center isn't an alarming circumstance, you are completely delusional.
I know if my rig keeps having motor problems and breaking down, i'm going too get rid of it. As long as he keeps playing summer ball, he's going to keep breaking down. Manu was hurt at the end of last yr, got hurt in the olympics, started the nba hurt, and got hurt to end his season. Yao stayed healthy for the whole yr, but broke down at the end. If he insist on playing summer ball and not resting, he can get gone.
It's alarming but it might not be as bad as people are making it out to be. Yao might play the next 7 years relatively injury free. Some of his injuries could have happened to anyone like Okur kicking him in the foot or Hayes falling on his knees. Shaq also seemed injury prone in years 4-7. People use to say Shaq is too heavy to play injury free. Shaq is heavier than Yao. In any case, Yao will be a free agent in 2010. I think he will decide if he wants to remain with the Rockets not the other way around and we really can't trade him since no one wants to give up their good players for Yao for just 1 year before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Without Yao's blessing and agreement to sign a long term contract with another team the most the Rockets could get for him are some role players.
