Panda, you consider 16 ppg, 8.5 rpg a solid starter? 16 ppg from a center=All-Star, regardless of conference. No hesitation on the Rockets part if that deal ever came up. None. C=B, the Spurs would probably pull the trigger on that deal...That would give the Spurs a pretty good lineup for the future.
There are a lot of rational posters here, but some of the comments made about this topic are some of the most "homeristic" **** I have ever heard. Anyone in the US outside of Houston knows that Rockets management would toss Ming and Griffin into the gutter like a 2 dollar crack w**** to get a shot at playing with Duncan.
I'd trade Shaq for Duncan in a heartbeat. The most dominating is not the same as the best. I am pretty sure if you gave Kobe to play with Duncan, they'd win a lot of championships too. Duncan was one of few people who can defend Shaq straight up. SA didn't want Duncan in foul trouble, so they put the undersized Rose on Shaq. But for the few times when Duncan was on Shaq, he did very well holding his ground. At the other end, I agree that Shaq gave Duncan's offense problems too. Obviously, they are both great players. The reason I prefer Duncan is b/c Shaq's game is based on his physical strength, and Duncan's game is based on skills. Shaq will be a big dud when his body can no longer hold the rigor of NBA season. I'll be surprised if he is still playing in 2007 as somebody hinted earlier in this thread. Duncan, on the other hand, will still be scoring even after his physical abilities starts to decline.
A Duncan for Shaq trade is actually debatable, and Duncan is the younger player and a class act. Ming and Griffin for Duncan is not.
The numbers definitely say otherwise... You can point to team victories all you want, but Shaq has Kobe on the perimeter... Duncan has Steve Smith. Real fair comparison. You can try to say that Shaq "stops" Duncan in the fourth quarter, but anyone who objectively watched the games knows that that isn't true either. Because the Spurs have no creators or athleticism on the perimeter, the Lakers entire defense sags down to play help defense on Duncan in the fourth quarter. The reason he's so hesitant isn't because of Shaq... it's because even if he gets by Shaq one on one, Fox or Horry will be right there to step in the way. They don't have to respect the other Spurs players.
Duncan is a Power Forward,he has different Offensive & Defensive skills than Shaq.who is a Center. When they play against each other, like the last playoffs Shaq was the Master! Ther is no way I am going to trade Yao & Griffin for Duncan! You of little faith, who would do this in a flash have not considered the chance of our YOUNG STARS developing and bringing us more than a single Championship. Duncan is good but he's not a great Super Star like Shaq, Hakeem Bird,Magic,Jordan etc.Have patience my friends, our leaders know what they are doing!
kidrock, you're being really difficult man. I'm positive that if a trade including Francis, Griffin, Mobley and Ming for Duncan, Terry Porter, and, say...Charles Smith, SA would snatch it up in a NY minute.
slyedm, you r a fool man. duncan always own by shaq. He aint a champ player. In the game with shaq, he just chicken out. what a fool you are. griffen and yao have greater chance to win the champ than duncan.
Well, Duncan already has a ring, so that kind of throws out that argument. And what game did he chicken out? The 26 and 21 game? The 27 and 17 game? The 28 and 12 game? The 30 and 11 game? The 34 and 25 game? Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe the problem might be that Shaq has Kobe Bryant, and Tim has no one?
If we could be assured Duncan would sign a long term extension, I would trade Griffin and Yao for him. But i dont think either side would do it, so this doesnt really matter all that much. Spurs wouldnt trade Duncan for two unknown talents.
This is stupid, no way do I make this deal. The Rockets are REBUILDING, you have a potential franchise center, and a potential franchise big man and you give them up for Duncan, who will suck up cap space thus you can't get him the proper help? It's not that simple, and no the Rockets would jump at that deal because it makes no sense. You don't have to be a "homer" to see that Griffin has a ton of untapped potential. This guy has the talent to be another Kevin Garnett, he has shown that. In flashes he can dominate, his rebounding and shot-blocking is unreal. His offensive game is developing. You could be quite possibly be asking "would you trade Kevin Garnett after his first year in Minnesota for Duncan". Garnett didn't look like anything truly special his first year and blossomed after that. Now why on earth would a rebuilding team give that up, along with a center that has the talent to be an elite center for Duncan who is older? Granted Duncan is a special player, but when you're building a young team you take 3 potential franchise players, you don't trade 2 of them for one. I keep Griffin and Ming without a doubt. Dude you need to get over yourself, nobody ever said anything about Duncan being a Rocket somebody just brought up a "what-if scenerio" of "would you make this trade".
RocksMillenium: Yes. Say that again. No way I'll give up the shot at the most dominating frontcourt in Yao and Griffin for being just a contender with Duncan, then to see our butts get whipped by the Lakers and the Kings. It's clear to see with Yao and Griffin patroling the lane teams are prolly gonna be forced to turn into jump shooting ones. Defensively the Yao-Griffin tandem is a two-headed monster waiting to happen. In a realistic scenario, I'd like to put Yao on Duncan and see what Duncan can do, while putting Griffin(he's bulked up a bit) against whatever scrub centers the Spurs can muster. Yao weighs 36 lbs more and is 5 inches taller than Duncan. How's Duncan gonna shoot over Yao or back him in? It's hard to predict the outcome right now but Yao has a fair chance to be a Duncan stopper, as long as his acclaimed "agility" suffices. If that comes true, the Rockets are gonna own the Spurs, instead of getting owned by the Spurs should we trade Yao and Griffin.
shaq 5 -- 39.0 8.4-18.8 .447 0.0-0.0 .000 4.6-7.2 .639 0.60 3.00 3.0 3.6 3.0 9.2 12.2 3.2 21.4 duncan 5 -- 44.6 9.6-22.6 .425 0.2-0.4 .500 9.6-12.4 .774 1.00 3.20 4.6 3.4 4.4 12.8 17.2 4.6 29.0 Shaq didn't dominate Duncan. Duncan is 26 and entering his prime. We might have to wait 4-5 years for yao and griffin to reach their prime. Duncan + francis + mobley will give us a good chance to get to the finals.
They won a ring because of a healthy david robinson. David robinson used to play better games than duncan. I won't blame that david is getting old. At least, he faced shaq in every game they played. Duncan should be place as a center, he is much taller than malik rose. shaq has kobe, duncan has parker?????? there
Not in 1999. Robinson in 99 was like Otis Thorpe to Hakeem in 94. Robinson averaged about 17 and 11 in the playoffs. He was a good second option, and took some of the pressure off of Duncan, but Tim was the MVP. He took over the games, he was the top option, and he took David to the title, not the other way around. Also, it's counterproductive for Duncan to guard Shaq, and it's also why you don't see Shaq guard Duncan. Why would the Spurs want to risk their star getting in foul trouble and not being able to play? It's the same reason the Lakers don't have Shaq guard Duncan except for a few possessions. Finally, don't ever compare Kobe Bryant to Tony Parker. Parker's a quality young point guard, but Kobe's arguably the best player in the entire game. Shaq and Kobe against Tim and Tony isn't exactly a fair way to determine Shaq and Tim's ability...
This has to be the biggest collection of so called NBA fans that are totally ignorant. I mean I usually hate to be insulting but this thread is borderline psychotic. Tim Duncan is better than ANY two Rockets. San Antonio wouldn't give you Duncan for Francis, Mobely , AND Griffin or Francis, Ming, AND Griffin. Duncan is worth more than Elton Brand and Jermaine O'neal together. Ming and Griffin might be pretty good but the NBA is a superstar driven league. 7'0+ superstars are even fewer and far between. Duncan won a title with Avery Johnson and Mario Ellie STARTING. Duncan+a FA scrub>Ming+Griffin. Now the original idea of the thread was smart, I think San Antonio would do the deal IF Duncan said he wanted to play in Houston with Franchise.
I don't know about that. Francis, Mobley, and Griffin could avg about 50 or 60 ppg, and could give SA 2,or 3 starters. Francis, Ming and Griffin would avg about 40 or more ppg, but would also rack up some rebounds and blocks too. This could also give SA 3 starters. Ming and Griffin have potential to be better than Duncan, but even if they weren't, they are pretty good. However, I wouldn't think Houston would do this because these are our future.
gosh man. the things that duncan can do in the court, Yao can too. Watch he will have a better game than duncan. wait till you see the spur play against the rocket. Yao owns duncan. i will be lmao when yao holds duncan scoreless. Then you will noe how good duncan is.
Yawn. The Bulls traded Elton Brand, a 20-10 franchise player for a NO.2 pick that grabbed Tyson Chandler. So what Duncan is more of a team leader and averages 5 pts and 3 rebs more than Brand. Ming is the NO.1 pick and is worth more than Chandler, Griffin is a No.7 pick. To think that 5 pts and 3 rebs worthes trading Griffin is insane. Bottom line is, Yao and Griffin are legit trade offer to the Sperms without Duncan forcing a sign and trade. There is no way I'd trade Ming and Griffin for Duncan without seeing them play together first, no way.