..billsimmons.espnpage2.. sorry if its been posted... http://sports.espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/020627.html One more thing: Years from now, we will remember "Yao Ming over Jay Williams" the same way we remember "Bowie over Jordan," "Traylor for Nowitzki," "Carroll for McHale and Parish," "Aguirre over Thomas" and every other great draft day blunder in NBA history. I'm not just predicting it, I'm guaranteeing it. Think about it. At best, Ming develops into a bigger, more athletic Rik Smits. Fine. But then you throw in Yao's adjustment problems (going from China to the United States -- yikes), his laid-back demeanor (what happens when NBA players start pushing him around, elbowing him and intimidating him?), his inability to play in the low post, and the way he'll struggle fitting in with his teammates, as well as lofty expectations, inevitable problems adjusting to a higher level of competition, the fact that NBA players will go out of their way to dunk on him (just like they did with Shawn Bradley -- and they ruined his confidence, too), the isolation of playing here, the meddling Chinese government ... I mean, did Smits have to deal with any of those things? Can't you picture Shaq rubbing his hands together and saying, "I'm going to dunk on that Chinese guy as much as humanly possible next season"? This is a disaster waiting to happen. Repeat: This is a disaster waiting to happen. I feel very strongly about this. Just wanted to get that heard before the jury. ------------------------------------------ this is more of a fan/quasi-writers point of view.. i really do wonder, if chicago or new york had had the number one pick if people would be responding like this. does it have anything to do with the fact that its houston?
I put Simmons in the same boat as Kornheiser and Wilbon. I definitely find them entertaining, but they're pretty bad as far as sports analysis go. They're comedians more than they are sports reporters.
This guy reminds me of the Sporting News writer who said that Nachbar was from the Czech Republic and that neither he nor Ming speak English!
I'd have to agree with Simmons. Ming is going to have a horrible time adjusting to the NBA. From what I've seen, he may make a good high-post scorer or even perimeter player (if he is mobile enough), though his shooting release is slow and flat - but that isn't the problem. He needs to gain strength - plenty of it - if he's going to take advantage of his shooting touch down low, which Rik Smits was able to do. His defensive game is a different story. I don't know whether he can close-off pasing lanes, play face-up defense or knows when to leave his man. It's even been said that he isn't an agressive rebounding threat. I'm sure he'll block a lot of shots, but Bradley once led the league in blocks (with New Jersey, I think). Though the Trailblazers drafted Bowie to satisfy a team need, wanting a pure center so that Mychal Thompson could be moved to power forward to realize his offensive potential and keeping its all-star backcourt intact, I think that they wanted him because he reminded management of Walton - a rebounding, high-post player who, though not being a big-time scorer, had plenty of offensive skills. Bowie did resemble Walton... but chiefly in his injuries. All the same, he was an above-average center who could do everything but run the floor. Ming, I feel, is going to disappoint. If a mobile Rik Smits - Ralph Sampson, our long-forgotten franchise player - is all that you have in mind, however, then perhaps not... but I feel that the team brass wasted a #1 overall pick on a project. You've relentlessly made it clear that you don't share my sentiments, but many of you are thinking wishfully. I would've resolved to trade the pick - not to draft Butler to start at SF! He's the second coming of Lamond Murray! --- Oh, and I do remember reading articles from way-back-when that proclaimed Leon "wrong-way" Wood to be a better guard than Michael Jordan, how Kenny Walker would become an excellent player, how Ed O'Bannon was a draft steal, etc. Sportswriters are often wrong - perhaps more often than not. I think that these outlooks on Ming's future should be archived somewhere.
Holden posted the following from Bill Simmons: "One more thing: Years from now, we will remember 'Yao Ming over Jay Williams' the same way we remember 'Bowie over Jordan,' [...] Think about it. At best, Ming develops into a bigger, more athletic Rik Smits. [...] what happens when NBA players start pushing him around, elbowing him and intimidating him?), his inability to play in the low post, and the way he'll struggle [...] This is a disaster waiting to happen." This is something Rudy T should keep and post on the bulletin board the first time Yao gets discouraged.
The article is hilarious. Seriously though: How long has it taken Kandi to make the progress he's made? Why will Yao be different?
Simmons points are actually pretty valid...Yao MAY only become "a more athletic Rik Smits", but hey I'll take that with our team in a heartbeat. We already possess one of the best 1-2 punches in the backcourt, our frontcourt is the problem and if Ming becomes a bit better than Rik Smits, Hell....Championships will be coming our way!! Then we'll start hearing all the praise and laughing at all the doubters!
What I am saying is that Yao will not flop like Bowie or Bradely. He is not just some tall guy with no skill, the only similarity between these three are their height, and people tend stereotype that when you are this tall, you must be a stiff. Yao's Chinese team will play Bradely's German team in the World Championship this August at Indiana, just watch Yao dominate him on the court. A bigger, more athletic Rik Smits will dominate the center position once Shaq is gone, I don't see that as a failure, especially considering at his best he would be better than that. He is entitled to his opinion, just that he looses credibility when he guaranteed the readers that Yao will be a failure when he has yet to play a game. His article gives me a good laugh though. -G'day-
8:23 - I begin reading a Bill Simmons bit about how it is his last bit since all the jokes have been done. 8:24 - After reading a few jokes, I begin wondering why he didn't make his previous journal his last one. 8:26 - I start to read his Yao comments, which smack of boring cliche cold-war flavored sounding jokes that I haven't heard since "Perestroika" rendered Yakov Smirnov irrelevant. 8:28 - Begin wondering if, years from now, Simmons will remember Ming over Williams the same way he remembers Hakeem over Jordan. Some (Im not included) may say that was a wrong move by the Rockets too. But it certainly isnt regarded as a horrible mistake. I for one think the Rockets could have taken the Bulls in 7 games in the mid-90s. 8:29 - I lapse into utter boredom until the "Manute Bol's old three piece" reference, which garners a hardy chuckle. Actually, that was pretty funny. 8:30 - a seemingly endless run of Simmons' so-so jokes become about as interesting as a Minnesota Timberwolves playoff run. 8:31 - I finally finish Simmons' journal. And though he said he doesnt like it, I think I will call him "BS"
Guys - maybe a better way to guage yao is versus a player with North American experience. There aren't many, but here's one that I have some info on: Garth Joseph played NCAA Div II ball and in the minors here. He made the Raptors roster 2 years ago after a decent summer and training camp but the team could not justify giving him any minutes. He's a 7'2" 315lb player who while very strong just wasn't able to keep up in the NBA. He was traded to Denver in the Willis for Keon deal and was subsequently waived after a few weeks. He then ent to China and played in the same league Yao did. He led the league in rebounds and dunks, ranked second in blocks, and ranked fourth in points. His numbers were 28.5 points, 19.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game and it has been reported that he schooled Yao Ming in head to head play. It's hard to draft import players since their level of competition is different. It takes time for the player to adjust and it takes a long time to know whether that player is a bust or not. Considering Garjo's experience vs. NBA, CBA and USBL players and then his dominance in China - it only serves to show just how poor Yao's competition has been so far and that you can only expect him to be better than Garth Joseph, who was a bust. I really, really hope that wasting a #1 pick on him won't come back to haunt the Rockets and that he DOES develop into a Smits level player. That's pretty good by current C standards but still not worth a #1 IMO. Cheers.
Here's what Davis Aldredge had to say about this: Personally, i really agree with Dave. Sorry Bill, I usually love your articles, but you're way off on this one.
