1. If we just think about the bball skills and abilities of Ming at this moment, I will say #7 pick is a reasonable position for him in NBA draft. He is lack of the strength of upper body and experiences of high level competition. But his size can attract many teams. He will need a few years to develop. So he will not be the first five or six picks, but still stay in top ten. (New York will be very happy then). 2. If we add the personality and character on the skills and abilities, Ming will be the first two picks. He is smart, humor, good to get along with the teammates. He works hard and likes to learn. No smoking, no drinking, no p*rn......The most important thing is: he is confident and has the desire of striving for victories. Wang Zhizhi is short of confidence and desires, although he is a skillful player. That's the reason why Yao Ming will be more successful than Wang in NBA. Most Chinese fans will agree with this. Ming has the "character of champion". He will adapt to NBA sooner and dominate because of these personalities and characters. 3. If we add the Asian market to the skills and characters, Ming will absolutely be the first choice. Not many Asian players can join NBA and play an important role in it. Ming might be the one in a very long time. I know NBA is very excited about this. Many bosses of the NBA teams are drooling for this. I understand that many fans don¡¯t care about the marketing. Some of them don¡¯t care about the personality of the players either. They just want the wins in the next season. From my heart, I hope Ming is not in the first five picks this year, although it¡®s a great honor for Ming and for Chinese. Then the pressure of him and the expectation from the others to him will be much lower. This will help to his development in the future.
I disagree. He is a #1 pick on basketball skill/potential alone. And what does p*rn have to do with this.
I just say the skills of him at this moment, not his protential. I know he has the protential. You can check his stats from 1997. His improvement is amazing. I just wondering whether the Rockets fans want to wait one or two years to see his protential.
Windandsea- You have gained credibility on this board very fast. I agree with your assesment of Ming. I can't say it enough that big skillful players are hard to come by. What kind of player would Cato be if he was skillful? Ostertag? Jake? I could go on and on about the stiffs that occupy the center spots in this league. The reason why this is because most guys who should play center don't want to because of one person, Shaq. I see guys like Wallace,Duncan,Webber to name a few doesn't play center. Imagine the team Portland would have if Rasheed moved over to the 5 spot and they still had O'Neal? Imagine if Webber had played center with Howard at the 4 when they were in washington? Imagine Duncan telling pop he'll play center so they can aquire a player like Wallace,McDyess or someone like that. In that scenerio, who could Shaq relax on then? Those opportunities is why i like Ming. Ming will have a advantage most nights because of the lack of good players in the pivot, even in his first yr. He's as polished and as skillful as Gasol was last yr. Teams wondered how Gasol would play against players who were much stronger than him. What he did was show how a highly skilled, atheletic big guy can be a major factor over just a strong non skilled player. In my opinion, Ming can do the same.
Windandsea, Thanks for your insights on Ming. Heart and attitude are often some of the hardest things for talent scouts to judge. ....and that is why we will take Ming with the #1 pick. - one more thing: do you think the Chinese government will so control his schedule as to preclude his full participation in training camp and the regular season schedule? I would think they would want to showcase him and facilitate his success for many obvious reasons. Dallas Rocket
Oh no,if he doesn't drink and doesn't like p*rn how will he ever fit in with today's "no redeeming qualities" NBA players? No wonder Cat and Steve want nothing to do with him. He wouldn't be with the Rocket posse at all the "Gold Clubs" on the team roadies. He's probably not going to want to spark up a dube with the fellas either,thereby ruining team chemistry. The only team where he might fit in is here in SA. They don't want any guys here with bad habits. It's the oasis of hope on an ocean of sin!
windansea, Great points! But you missed an important one: I would take him #1 based on comedy potential alone. The guy cracks me up more and more every day. No smoking, drinking and p*rn..., yet Barkley is his favourite? Imagine the comedy potential of Ming meeting his idol and Chuck taking him for a night on the town!...
You overestimate the NBA Draft #1s lately. Let me rephrase, then. Ming is a legitimate #1 on skills alone. I've seen enough. The only thing that makes him not a #1 are intangibles that have nothing to do with his current skills. My main issue is that Asian's tend to love tattoo's. If he goes crazy with wearing tattoo's and watching p*rn, then I don't want him.
