This is the NBA draft. It's all about potential, not proven players. The Spurs I'm sure got tons of calls about Tim Duncan when he was in the draft. They could have settled on some of those trades, to play it safe. I mean, no one knew that Tim Duncan was going to be THAT good THAT soon. It's easy to say it in hindsight, but at the time, it was unknown how he would do in the NBA. All people knew about him was: 1. He had talent. 2. He had skills. 3. He was 7 feet tall. Now, if you look at the list above, Ming has all of that, too. On top of that, Ming has won a championship in a professional league, albeit not the best league, but he still knows what it takes to get to the top at the level he's played at. Tim Duncan did not even get past the elite eight in the NCAA tournament. Yet, he was drafted #1 and there was no question. I think that, unfortunately, for most people who are against drafting Ming for basketball reasons, it is that they can't see someone Asian excelling in the NBA. Remember, that's what they said about Ichiro, even though he was one of the best baseball players in Japan. Then, he came over here and won MVP. Ming's got all the ingredients for greatness. The Rockets cannot afford to pass on that type of potential. This is a once in 20 years kind of guy as far as potential is concerned. And, remember, the NBA draft is about POTENTIAL. All you can do is take the guy with the most, and hope that he lives up to it. I think Ming has a good chance of doing it. Now, if we can just get over the hurdles of the Chinese system and get him over here... And, then, hopefully they'll leave him and us alone and just let him play ball.
"The Spurs I'm sure got tons of calls about Tim Duncan when he was in the draft. They could have settled on some of those trades, to play it safe. I mean, no one knew that Tim Duncan was going to be THAT good THAT soon." Everyone knew he was going to be that good that soon. Tim Duncan would have been the first player chosen in the 1995 draft and 1996 draft. After his legendary performance in the 1995 NCAA tournament, he was always considered the premier low post prospect in the world. The fact that he kept going back to school for another year and refined his game with each successive year made him that much more of a sure thing. Being a so-called winner or some one who knows how to get to the top is quite overrated in most instances. So what if Ed O' Bannon can lead his team to an NCAA championship. So what if Miles Simon can lead his team to a championship. Christian Laetnerr, Corliss Williamson, Ron Mercer, etc. Fact is, outside of an NBA championship, knowing how to be a winner at an inferior level doesn't necessarily translate knowing how to win on the biggest stage of them all. There are many reasons to pick Ming. Him winning the CBA championship is not one of them. Ichiro being the best player in Japanese baseball means infinitely more than Ming being the best player in Chinese basketball. Baseball is a part of Japanese culture. It's been played there since the 1940's. Basketball in China is still rather a recent phenomena (if you can even call it that.) There have been other players that have come from Japan before Ichiro that were All-Star players in baseball. There has not been a Chinese player that has averaged over 15 minutes a game over a season. A reason for skepticism should exist. "This is a once in 20 years kind of guy as far as potential is concerned." That is an erroneous exaggeration. Come on, Duncan came out only 5 years ago. Shaq, 10 years ago. Let's not overstate what Ming actually is and can be.
good point, i bet if rumors said we would pick gasol last year every one here would think that was stupid. I think these foregn(spellcheck) players are good. How many out of country players ended up sucking? I can't remeber. Even that guy for denver is pretty good. And yao will get better. I can't believe i want this guy.
I read an article saying that basketball has been played in China ever since it is invented. As a Chinese grown up in Mainland China, every school I've been to has basketball courts. Basketball has a long history in China. Last year, there is a player in the CBA went nuts. As a guard He scored 70 points by hitting 3s after 3s in one game. Too bad I can't recall his name. I don't think there's any high schooler or NCAA player in USA doing that. There is some real talent all over the world, or that Luthiania(spelling?) team wouldn't come close to beating the Dream team two years ago. As for no Chinese player ever avarage over 15 minutes a game, it's just a matter of circumstances, not a gauge on their capabilities. Wang Zhi Zhi is buried on the bench after Reaf Lefrentz, fighting for minutes with Shawn Bradley. Bateer is just a rookie for 1/3 of a season. The jury is still out on them. Skepticism is fine, but biased opinions are often found in anti-Ming posts.
Da Man, I agree that Ichiro's success really has no relevance to Ming. However, before his arrival, most people thought Japanese professional baseball was the equivalent to a double a team, at best. First people were skeptical any Japanese player could make the majors. When Nomo and Sasaki had success, many people were shocked. Then skeptics modified their original mantra and said that no Japanese "position player" could succeed in MLB. I remember very clearly, Tracy Ringolsby of Baseball America thought Seattle made the biggest mistake in the offseason by signing Ichiro. He had no power and there was no way he would be able to handle major league pitching. Of course in his 2nd season, he's only hitting .380. Yes the CBA might be the equivalent to a small Div 1 school just like Japanese Baseball is equivalent to double A. That does not mean, players who had success there will not be succesful here. All that means is its harder to guage because his competition is deemed weaker. The cream always rises to the top.
"As a guard He scored 70 points by hitting 3s after 3s in one game. Too bad I can't recall his name. I don't think there's any high schooler or NCAA player in USA doing that. There is some real talent all over the world, or that Luthiania(spelling?) team wouldn't come close to beating the Dream team two years ago. " That means absolutely nothing. It's called competition. Scoring 70 ppg reflects the competition level more so than the talent level. I do not question the basketball talent all over the world, especially in those old, Soviet eastern bloc countries. There is a track record of producing actual All-Stars there. So far Chinese basketball is producing 5.5 ppg and 2 rpg in the NBA. All I have to say is that Wang Zhizhi averaged 24.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.77 blocked shots per game in the CBA. He was the best player there at the time and even won the slam dunk competition in 2000. THE SLAM DUNK COMPETITION FOR CHRIST SAKE. REALLY!!! How good can the talent be when Wang represents the country's best dunker. As a disclaimer, I do acknowledge that Ming is infinitely more gifted than Wang. I'm just pointing out the the competition level there should bring serious question marks as to whether Ming will ever be a legitimate NBA force.
Those stats are disingenuous . In China, Wang probably played at least 5 times more minutes (hence 5 times better stats). It's very misleading when you compare the numbers without factoring in minutes played. Unfortunately for Wang, Dallas was a very good team and he didnt see very much playing time. Wang's strength is shooting and scoring and his weakness is defense. Of course Dallas has a million scorers none of whom play defense. If he played on a different type of team, Im sure Wang wouldve posted better numbers.
I agree with Axeman, the days of getting a superstar player at number 1 who can contribute right away are long gone. Occasionally you will get a Gasol or a Battier that is ready now, but for the most part you have to draft on potential. Yao has the biggest upside, so you take him. DaDakota
Yeah, and if Yao was in a U.S. High School, was over 7', averaging 32 points, 19 boards, 4 blocks, and 72% FG shooting, he would be the unquestionable #1 pick. He would be "considered the premier low post prospect in the world", which IMO, he is at this point. But, because he's Chinese he is being treated like it's a fluke, he'll never do anything.... Whatever. I for one believe that the numbers speak for themselves. Anyone who can get those kind of numbers, even in an American High School, should be a top prospect.
The only time people were skeptical of Ichiro was during the pathetic spring training he had. Of course, Ichiro was just playing possum so that MLB pitchers would be taken by surprise. I doubt people were skeptical before that though, how could Seattle pay 13 million just to negotiate with the guy if they weren't sold on his ability? One of the reasons I think the jury is sill out on Ming is basic stuff like his strength. You see those muscular legs and you assume he has that kind of strength all over, but then you see his arms and they are almost boney. I mean, Francis, who is smaller, has bigger guns than Ming. Look at this picture from nbadraft.net, that smaller guy next to him looks like he could easily bench more. Ming could become a good player, but I hope people don't believe he is going to light the league up in his first year. He has to go through the school of hard knocks first. Hopefully, after getting his ass kicked for a year, he'll be convinced that it's time to start lifting. I just hope all the allstar or beating the Lakers now talk will stop, because if you get your hopes up that high, your gonna be disapointed and probably regreting we took Ming and not giving the guy a chance to develope.
How can the Rockets draft Ming #1 if not for the same reason. I agree that Ming will not be a dominate player in the first year. I think if everything they say about him is true, we will be more than happy if he demonstrates potential. It doesn't matter what people's expectations are right now. All the talk will go away once he steps onto the court. Eddie Griffin was not "dominate" in his first year. Neither was Chandler or Curry or most rookies. However, there were flashes that gives everyone hope. If Ming can just show that same type of potential, most Rockets fans will be happy.
One time I put my reputation on the fact that Derrick Coleman would be a huge bust in the NBA. I didn't think he had any potential. I'm still not sure if I was right or wrong. I guess sometimes it's from what perspective you look at a player. Was Robert Horry a bust or not? It's all about perspective. Maybe he was and maybe he wasn't. You can't even rely on hindsight most of the time. So I know you can't rely on potential either. You just have to go with your gut. It's kinda like picking a wife. She might be perfect for you, but your friend is thinking what an ugly dog, so what do you do....
the level of competition means absolute nothing. before dirk came to usa, he was playing in a German DIV 2 basketball team. now what's your point?
Dirk absolutely dominated the likes of Stromile Swift, Al Harrington, Dan Gadzurik, and Rashard Lewis in 1998 at the World v. U.S. Game. He lit them up for 30 plus, 15 rebounds, and led the world team to victory over the US.
Jay Williams is a #1 pick candidate. He wouldnt be picked based on potential. Williams would contribute right away.
Brand, Iverson, webber, shaq, and Duncan were not selected because they had "potential". They were very solid players.
Sure, it's easy to say that now. But, before they played an NBA game, the same was expected of Michael Olowakandi, Harold Miner, Sam Bowie, etc... and there have been many other examples of #1 picks that didn't exactly "pan out" as people expected. My point is this: People expected Brand, Shaq, Duncan, and Webber to do well in the NBA because they came from the "traditional" path for basketball players: 1. African American 2. NCAA 3. American born I remember when Divac first came into the league. Everyone expected him to be a bust. He's been a solid NBA player for years. It has taken close to 10 years for the stigma to be lifted against European players (can't play defense, can't run in the open court, can't bang etc....). Now, the NBA is heavily scouting Europe because these guys have proven themselves. I think that going outside the mold takes guts, and the Rockets are willing to do that because they see Ming as an extremely gifted athlete with HUGE upside. Until someone plays their first season in the NBA, I don't care if it IS Shaq, Iverson, Duncan, etc... that is all you can say about them. You have to wait three or four years to see what they actually do with their potential. I don't know why everyone thinks Jason Williams is going to come into the league and dominate right away. Duke didn't even get to the Final Four this year. Then, look at Bibby. He led his team to a championship, and it has taken him this long to emerge as a solid player. I personally think the bigger risk for a bust is Jason Williams, NOT Yao Ming.
He couldn't do this because he is Chinese. He would need to be Dominican to be in an American high school at the age of 21.
