I think ya'll overstate the rule part, and the degree it would impact Hakeem. It is true he had a lot of trouble with Seattle, but for one if he saw that defense all the time he would adjust better, and two, few teams had the length and quickness in the 1-4 spots (and bench) that they had. It was as much as product of their phenom athleticism and commitment to D than any scheme. Think about it, offensively he is really a more dynmaic and explosive version of Duncan, and Duncan still is the key on one of the best teams in the league. Plus, the new rules would only make Hakeem even more effective defensively because opponents could not park his man 25 feet away from the basket. As for Yao, he was the guy I wanted. I was really scared all we were going to come away with was Dunleavy prior to landing the #1 pick. I do have to admit after my initial impressions of Yao I thought he would be a little more dominant now, I have been surprised how slow it has been to develop his stamina and upper body strength--which I think is really holding him back from being a top 10 if not top 5 player.
After watching some footage of Kareem in his day, I've become convinced that if Yao played in the 60's, 70's or early 80's, he would easily be a top 5 center of all time. It seems like all the rebounds went to guys that were tall. There wasn't a whole lot of explosive jumpers and very few rebounds were taken above the rim. There weren't many 7 footers either. They were mostly 6'10" guys and they weren't nearly as quick and agile as the players of today. And have you seen how Kareem could get the ball unmolested pretty much whenever he wanted. If Yao could get touches without getting mauled on the block, he would easily be a 30 ppg scorer. It's all about timing. Stick Kareem in the NBA today and I don't think he'd be nearly as effective. Hakeem OTOH is more like the new breed of long, athletic big men. Think Amare with much better defense.
I underestimated the extent to which his poor jumping ability and slow step would negate his height advantage. I also underestimated the limits imposed by his personality. Remember when somebody here posted stats from a China game where he shot 21 of 21 for 49 points? My eyes bugged out. I just didn't realize you could post stats like that without the will to dominate.
I thought Yao would be more of a Bill Walton/Sabonis type center. I thought he would be a better passer, able to find people for easy layups instead of three pointers. He had a lot of creativity passing earlier in his career, but you don't see that much anymore. I also thought he would be more injury prone. People over 7'5" usually seem to have leg or foot problems. People over 300 lbs also seem to have chronic foot or leg problems if they play heavy minutes. I thought the combination of Yao's height and size would prevent him from playing full seasons. I'm satisfied with his development so far.
When we first got the #1 pick, I thought we should have traded it. Of course, I don't know what we would have got in return; a lot of GM's were so full of sh!zn!t about the draft pick (Jerry West saying Yao should be about the 7th pick; who the hell you kiddin, Jerry?) I'm glad we got Yao, and can admit that I was wrong. Although he wasn't the best player in that draft (yet), he might still turn out to be. Here's to hoping that a summer off will work wonders for Apocalypse Yao. He needs it. Working on his game? Finally getting the chance! And I prefer having a player with some humility to a pose-for-the-camera "I should be MVP" sort of guy (*cough* Amare *cough*)
I will reserve judgement until we can get someone who can consistenly get the ball in his hands....you ever notice he plays very well when they involve him in the offense early and often. Until that time, yes, he has been short of expectations. But I don't think it's all his fault.
Let me revisit another player in the draft that year... I have to admit, I underestimated Amare's abilities after his rookie season. I really thought that the guy was just a "dunker" and can't continue to do it if you put a big body on him that blocks the lane. However, Amare s an incridble talent. No one could have foreseen that this guy would be this good. It is only his third year and he is arguebly the best low-post offensive threat in the game today. He has the ability to rebound like crazy (I am talking 15 a game) IF, and I mean IF, he wants to. Sometimes he plays lazy on defense and doesn't aggressively rebound. But again, this guy is only in his third season. Once he commits himself to defense (which he has shown flashes of) he is an incredible defender, because he can leap so high and block the shot. And he is definitely capable of getting 13-15 rbs a game during the season. He is just a monster player who is only going to be better. I don't think there is a better young talent in the league today than Amare. I think his attitude needs some adjustment, but you can't question his hunger for success; I heard his coach saying on radio once that Amare's biggest trait is that "he is impatient with success, he wants to be the greatest player ever yesterday!" I think this kid is going to be the best front court player in the league for years to come, all teams pretty much missed out on him, but that is just the nature of the draft. This guy is outright scary, how good he is at such a young age. He hasn't even come close to his prime yet and he is a 27-10 guy. Although I hate to say it, that might have been the steal of the decade in a draft.
