LeBron James or Yao Ming?

IT would have either have been Borchardt and JAmes or Ming and Nachbar. I take Ming and Nachbar, I don't think James is as good as people say, ever heard of Kwame Brown? The super high schooler that came out, and has done nothing even in the Sumer leagues. It is all hype, JAmes is not as good as they say.

 

I would take James over Ming in an intant. I believe all of the hype about James. I remember one NBA coach saying that there only are 5 players in the leauge that he wouldn't trade for James. He is going to be a superstar. There is no doubt about that.

 

if they both became stars i'd take yao, but based upon odds of who turns out better i'd take james. But man i can't wait to see yao play. And i really hope all this ball he plays doesn't end his career early.

Man james is the most hyped player i've ever seen. I can't wait to see him in the all american game. James better be the **** of i'll be pissed. But his work ethic could be the diffrence between him being good and great.

 

Once again, have u heard of Felipe Lopez? If not, do a little research on the net and see how he was hyped up back then.

 

Whether we know how Yao will turn out makes a big difference in this equation. If we KNEW both of them would be two of the greatest players and have fairly long careers, I'd take Yao.

But Yao is a bigger risk.

1) Very few scouts have actually seen Yao play extensively, whereas James has been scrutinized for some years.

2) The cultural gap could be a killer for Yao's career, and James has no worry on this count. (On the other hand, it is far less likely for Yao than James that would get into toubles such as drug abuse or character problems that might ruin his career.)

3) There is always that red tape thing with the Chinese officials and the political instability that looms over Yao's head.

So in the real world, I'd probably take James over Yao. But do we have to take Borchardt? I'd still take Nachbar at #15 and try to trade for a veteran center.

 

BTW, where is Felipe now?

 

I have counter arguments to a few of your points..

1. Most scouts have seen Yao play. Only the unknowledgible fans that have not. There has also been videos of him playing against European teams as well as our Dream Team. Scouts on the other hand have not seen James play in a real game against pros. Most of thier scouting is based on high school games.

2. The cultural gap is a disadvantaged but there are other intangibles that Yao offers such as his dedication. I think Yaos dedication and work ethic will make him much better than James.

 

I would go with Ming over LeBJ.....
Why?
I am not sure if any nba player out of high school succeed in their rookie year of b ball...
Last year, international player (pau gasol) won the rookie of the year award...not any high skool player.....
Ming has a great chance to win rookie of the year award this coming season.

We can all wait until LeBJ vs. Ming on the court after he gets draft. Then we can tell who is better.

 

Yes Felipe Lopez was hyped but he's very different from James.

1. Physique - Have you seen James? he has the body of a 25 yr. old. He's rock solid and he's got height. Lopez on the other hand was shorter and a lot skinnier. Lopez' body isn't NBA ready today so you know it wasn't back when he was in HS.

2. Skills - Like I said earlier, James can handle, slash and SHOOT. Lopez was strickly a beat his many and finish at the rim. He had no outside touch whatsoever and never developed one. ames can beat any HS player off the dribble but he can also stop on a dime and bust a J in their face.

3. Exposure - James has played during the past 2-3 summers w/ NBA players (including MJ) and from the reports he's held his own. The Cavs risked fines to work him out w/ the team this summer and Lucas was drooling over the kid. He was also reportedly killing Ricky Davis. Lopez balled against nothing but HS'ers and sucked in college anyway.

If Ming and James turned out to be the best at their positions everyone would pick the good big man over the good little man but who knows? I think Ming's a 17 & 10 guy max while James could easily one day lead the league in scoring. Its all good though b.c I'm cool w/ Ming and think he'll help us a lot.

 

Another Yao comparison thread? I guess I'm obliged to chime in on then.

It's not fair to compare Yao to James ya know, it's like comparing oranges to apples. Yao is in another class above James right now.

1.Yao is more proven than James. While James is a man playing among boys, Yao is a man playing among men. The level of competition of high schools is lower to the standards of CBA or international competition. James is an amateur playing among amateurs and Yao is a pro playing among pros.

2.Even if competition in high schools and the CBA was the same, has James averaged 40 points, 20 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in any stretch like Yao did in the CBA finals? Did James in any season average 70% field goal percentage? Did James shoot 21-21 in a game? Did James register over 10 blocks in one game? If he didn't do all of the above, then again, it's oranges vs. apples.

3.Big men are more valuable than sfs with the same talent.

4.Yao enjoys a height advantage no matter where he plays. Not so with James, at 6-7, James stats are inflated against opponents smaller than he is. In the NBA he'll face opponents at the same or higher height.

5.Yao has a chance to develop an unblockable skyhook. He already got his baby hook down. James, on the other side, can rely on a fadeaway jumper at most for last second shots. I prefer, as a poster said, shooting 10 feet above the ground to 13 feet away from the basket.

6.Yao has a nice personality and work ethic, James is reported to have serious attitude problems. He's portrayed as an inconsiderate,arrogant and spoiled brat by some reporters. Whether it's true or not, Jame's a question mark mentalwise.

7.It's more fun to watch Yao blocks James shot than James trying to dunk over Yao.

A no brainer, Yao in a second.

 

Wow, I can't believe it's even being discussed.

You want to know what I think?


There's not a team in the league that would've picked Ming over Lebron James. Not even the Lakers.


What's the difference between this HS'er and others?

This kid is mature beyond his years. He's brilliant. He plays leader in team-ball. He plays defense. He plays with his heart. He's not afraid to attack the rim, but if someone else has a better chance to score, he will make the pass. Not just any pass, Magic Johnson-like passes. He's got size and an NBA ready body. He can shoot, he can drive, he can hit the mid-range J consistently.

Kwame Brown was nothing but an atheltic 6'11 guys, with a body that had room for growth, and hands that could cross people over in traffic. His potential is amazing. What you fail to realize is, James is expected to average 20, 5 & 5 in his first season. All this pressure, does he buckle into it? I saw this one interview with him and he's so cool about it. He's a coach's player too. He says he has to have respect for his coach so that he can play under him, and he hopes to earn this coach's respect. He's not a dumb high schooler, he's very mature.


Where do I get all this from? John Lucas.

I'll tell you one thing. Next year's draft will either make Cleveland the next dynasty, or send them into mediocrity.

Can you imagine this:

C >>> Diop:
All I expect is that he becomes hard working, rebounds, blocks shots, and plays D in his 3rd year. He has the incredible body with the HUGE frame, but remains athletic.

PF >>> To be acquired:
All they need here is a veteran hard worker. Like a younger Tyrone Hill. Who knows, maybe even Stro Swift will do.

SF >>> Darius Miles:
this is where it starts becoming incredible. Ask any Clipper fan, and you'll know the potential on this guy. LOCK DOWN defense when motivated, freakish athelticism, rapidly improving shooting, and this is without mentioning his rebounding, shotblocking and suprisingly creative passing abilities. After one year on a rebuilding team to work on his game, he will finally rise into one of the league's superstars.

SG >>> Lebron James:
We spoke about him before, you get the picture.

PG >>> Dajuan Wagner:
James' skills make him all the more valuable. All he'll have to do is score and play decent D. James has Pippen-like ball handling, making him so valuable on this team. Wagner will probably average around 18ppg in his first year, and will probably hit 20 in his second.


Can you imagine?

I'd trade Francis for the rights to Lebron James. Even though Francis is my favourite player on the team.

 

All I can say is wow. I posed almost the exact same question over in the College Corner forum, and nearly everyone wanted Ming. What the hell happened?!?

BTW: I'd take Ming. A player that size is mor likely to dominate than a player James' size. Height, height, height!!

 

Its hard to say. How many great centers come along as opposed to small forwards or 2 guards? On a potettial basis, Yao has a higher upside which could be very deceiving. Although Jordan is probably the greatest player ever, if you polled the top 10, 7 would probably be larger players. You can start with Bird,Magic,Kareem,Wilt,Russell,Malone and thats 6 right there. The only smaller players on that list would probably be Jordan and West. If it was me , with the team i have now and the conference I play in now, I would still pick Ming. To put this in perspective, playing the 3 spot, who would Lebron dominante in the west? Turn that around and ask yourself who could Ming dominate in the west? I would think Yao would have an easier time to dominate than James.

 

Good post Leebigez.. You are absolutely right.. There are tons of awesome youong SG/SF in the league right now (ex. Kobe,TMac,
VC, Paul Pierce etc. etc)..

 

I have never seen James play so give me Ming

 

The Rockets have done it before, and that's why we have the current lottery system. The only way we could do it again this year is to trade for somone's pick and make sure it is unprotected. I haven't heard of an immediate unprotected pick trade in a long time. Usually for the first few years a pick is lottery protected, then top 3 protected, then unprotected. I'm not a pro on this stuff so I could be wrong.

B

 

No brainer, James

 

Last I heard he was with the T-Wolves

 

Didn't we hear all this about Kwame Brown????


Definately Ming over LJ. Like they always say if you make a mistake, make a 'big' one.