Pass on Yao...here's why

crash:

I respect your opinion, but a couple of your statements are way off-base. I read a David Aldridge column (I know ESPN ) that said that Ming has already learned English. There will still be some trying times in communicating to him, but I don't think it will be as bad as you and others might think.

You honestly can sit there and tell me with a straight face that Ming has the same skills as Bradley???

Mmmmmkay...you believe that, then I would like to see the license plate of the turnip truck that you just fell off of.

The bottom line is that a player like Ming doesn't come around very often with those type of skills. He is THAT good and is more than worthy, IMO, to be picked #1. Just imagine...the Twin Towers II with him and Eddie.

The only question is what does the Chinese government feel about him playing with us. If there is any reason to believe that they won't let him play for us, then I would think about trading the pick for an established veteran and their pick, so we could get Caron Butler.

 

Interesting, in the Chronicle article two weeks ago on Ming, CD seemed to believe he could be in for workouts.

Dawson said he might like to have Yao in for a workout in Houston, likely depending on the lottery, but that nothing has been arranged. Rockets scouts and coaches have seen Yao in China and in international competitions.

Also, you just said the biggest myth that will have to be dispelled over the next two months. Bradley has nowhere even near the skills of Yao Ming. First of all, Ming's over 60 pounds heavier. He's light years ahead athletically. He has about 5-6 feet more range on his jump shot. He has significantly more post moves down low. Because of his athleticism, he has greater potential in shotblocking, Bradley's main strength. There's very few simularities between the two, outside of the extraordinary height. Ming is in a totally different class.

 

I disagree Crash.


The NBA center position sucks now. Since Ming has talent comparable to Jay Williams or Drew Gooden but is 7'5'' you take him and draft a sf at 15 or add Thomas plus the pick to trade up for Mike Jr., Butler etc.

Ming isn't can't miss, but neither is anyone in this draft. We need a center and Ming fits, esp considering his talent is worthy of the selection.

On the chinese government,

Houston has a large asian population and I believe it's just a lot of posturing. Look at Tskalidis in Phoenix. I think that won't be a big issue.

Overall, Ming is talent wise worth the pick, and fits our needs perfectly at a position of weakness for most teams in the NBA, thus unless CD is wowed and I mean "WOWED" you take Yao in my opinion.

 

I'm with you Crash. I don't think we should draft Yao for our own purposes. I still remember Ralph Sampson (another 7'4" center with guard-like skills). IMO, HE WAS A BUST, and Ming is far more of a contract and cultural risk. If we want a 7 footer to play outside, we already have one named Collier. If we want an upgrade to Collier, lets draft Jay Williams (who will bring alot more in trade because alot more teams would risk trading for him) and trade down for Borchardt and a 1st rounder next year (to pay off the Grizzlies). We could still keep the 15th pick and pick up Jeffries, Gizzard, Rush, T****kicker, etc.

At least we can do something tonight other than debate the merits of Dunleavy for a little while. Furthermore, no matter what the Rockets do, at least we are in the drivers seat!!!! YAHOO!!!

 

But crash, as Cat pointed out, Ming is heavier and I would say stronger than the human toothpick in Bradley.

Plus I think Bradley was a little overhyped by the Media because there hadn't been many guys to come out for the draft of his size before. He wound up being a victim of hyperbole.

But most importantly, I think Bradley only played like 1 or 2 years at BYU before coming out. I don't think he was as developed as he could have been if he had stayed longer. I definitely think that Ming is more developed and more polished than the human toothpick was when he was at this stage of his career (fixing to be drafted).

Plus what DVauthrin said...(well said, DV)

 

Crash,

How do you know Ming doesn't have skills comparable of JWill and Gooden. Every report I've seen says he does.

Because we do not need a guard so cross out Williams and Gooden doesn't seem like his game will translate great from college. Although he'll probably be solid.

Also, Wang Zhi was a late 1st and nowhere near as publicized as Yao.

China gains nothing by not letting Yao into the NBA and consquently global marketing they receive of him immediately.

Thus, while for Wang his publicity outside of the US was small thus they could hold out for top dollar, Ming provides more money to the country if they make it easily possible for him to be in the NBA.

Think about the media exposure, the global marketing, etc.

That's the difference between Yao and Wang in terms of the Chinese government.

The risk is there, but IMHO I bypass it for Yao unless I get wowed in a trade or he suddenly isn't as good as we thought he was.

 

I don't care what scouts saw; I know what I saw of Bradley, and he never had the athleticism, ball handling, and shooting that I've seen from Yao in the clips on TV. Furthermore, have you ever thought about how good Bradley could've been had he been an extra 60-70 pounds heavier? One of the main things that has always held him back was his lack of ability to establish post position on offense and hold post position on defense.

 

Umm, see my signature. Their skills are similar, but no one ever claimed Bradley could shoot threes. No one ever claimed Bradley was 285 pounds. But most of all, Bradley didn't have monster numbers in college. People talked about Bradley's potential numbers way down the line in the NBA. Yao's numbers are good now. Granted those numbers are from the Chinese league, but it is a pro league, not a college one, so it's not as far from NCAA level play as you might think. Bradley never lived up to expectations, while Yao has already met expectations (to a degree).

 

You can't compare Bradley and Ming. First of all, Bradley didn't play basketball for 2yrs before being drafted because of his mourmon mission at BYU. Bradley never dominated in the WAC either for the 2 yrs he was there. Even though the competition was not at the nba level, but it was probably better than the college game we have and he dominated. He's 21 and has been playing pro ball for what 5 yrs playing against men, not boys. If any of some of those other players were either a 3 or 5, it would be easier to pass on him, but they are not. Supposedly he's the best center in the draft and one of the few players worth taking with the number 1 aside from williams of duke and we don't need a pg. The Bradley comparison is way off base.

 

Didn't bradley do two years of missionary service before
coming to the nba .. . some skills dimishment may have
occurred there too.

Rocket River

 

The biggest comparison I see betwen Ming and Bradley, is that both refused to do regular workouts for teams. Bradley had just come back from that Morman walkabout, spread-the-word thingee*, and used the excuse of not being in shape now.

There is a body of Ming's work. I am guessing there is tape of International and Chinese leagues. Also I am sure that scouts have been to see him. Donnie Nelson if nobody else. But I still go back to the fact that he basically hid when it was time to show off. That really, really scares me. I hope that was the Government's choice and and not Ming's. Because that is not the heart I want our center to have.

Also, am I the only one concerned that a second round pick could back him down for the dunk. I love the twin towers idea, I see a high number of blocks, and even a few rebounds, but I fear we can have all of that and a defensive liability. For those of you who think blocks = good defense, I offer Cato as my evidence. Better than average shot blocker blocker, worse than average defender.

I would rather get something good and be remembered as the team that passed on Ming than be forgotten entirely because we just didn't improve.



* Hope I did not insult any Mormans. I am just not smart enough to know the correct word. Could it be "mission".

 

One of the commentators during the Nets and Celtics game asked PJ Carlisimo who would he compare Ming too, and he he replied an athletic Shawn Bradley.
I found that to be a very scary thought.
However after seeing the clips from his tryouts he looks a lot better than Bradley.

 

Oh man, first I type to slow to get in a timley response. Then Bigez shows me that I have misspelled Mourmon. Somebody please get a spell checker in here. My IQ will jump about 30 points. Jump to what... I'm not telling.

 

A couple of questions Rocket Fans should ask themselves before they dismiss Ming.
1. What is the most difficult postion to fill in the NBA?
2. What position are the Rockets most in need of?
3. In what areas of play do the Rockets most need to improve?
4. What conference do we play in again?


I think this is a no brainer. I'm not at all against listening to trade offers, and if the right offer comes along.... but in the end the questions I have listed above must come in to play. He isn't a "can't miss", but I think it's chance we have to take.

 

This trend we, as basketball fans, have developed lately is driving me nuts. We seem to have a need to constantly compare Prospect A to Player B, in order to classify them in our minds, and it is not only unfair, it' s highly innacurate. Look at this year, where virutally every one of the top 20 propsects in this year's draft are compared with All Star level players by NBADraft.net...Hilaro is going somewhere around 10th, but is compared with Hakeem and Kenyon Martin, 2 1st overall picks...Someone quotes someone else saying Q. Woods is like Tracy McGrady, and all of a sudden that's all you hear, despite the vast majority of people having never seen the guy play...I could say, er, LeBron James is Felipe Lopez, and make some comparisons, but what basis in fact would it have? None...

And this is especialy true of Ming, whom no one here has EVER seen extensively...People throw the name Bradley around, and summarize that that means the guy is going to be a stiff...Others will say Smits, and then actually get into debates about how much better worse he is than Smits, whther he'll have foot problems too, etc.. and it's all silly. We have no idea, period. I am quite willing to contrast my opinion with Rockets management on guys like Jay-Will and Gooden, as I've seen them both play several times, but how the hell can I suggest that Ming will be a bust because he happens to have similar physical characteristics to Bradley? What is that about..so if the last tall guy down the pike had been Kareem, that would have meant that Ming would be a keeper?!!?

And that's another thing...we are all willing to concede that franchise big men almost always are a risk, but when one of the "risk" doesn't pan out, some of us use that as a reason to condemn the whole lot...Yeah, Bradley was a risk, and yeah, he didn't work out..ok, great..But Garnett was a risk too, and so was Shaq, and Hakeem, and Stanley Roberts, and Allen Iverson, and Eddie Griffin, and Kwame Brown, and Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady, and Joe Smith, and..well, you get the idea. Some risks will work out, some won't...That's why they're called risks...There are no guarantees, and the more you look for the safe bet, the more you'll be mediocre. That was probably the greatest criticism of guys like Stu Jackson in Vancouver, always making the safe pick...

I know it's fun to compare guys, and there is some merit it to it, but when we use it to the point that we're labelling guys we've hardly seen do anything busts because the guy they most remind us of, or whose hype is most similar to was a bust, we've gone way too far, and it just gets silly...

 

Ummm...Mormon is not spelled Mourmon.