The preseason games are more revealing than most think.

Hahahaha.

Ladies and gentlemen, you're Houston Rockets...The Golden State Warriors + TMac. Championships, here we come.

Yao, no improvement.

This stuff is classic.

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If what you want to say is that Yao is no Shaq or Hakeem, go ahead and say it - those are top 5 all time centers and potentially top 10 all time players. Yao is definitely not them. He should continue to get better, but Shaq isn't even Shaq anymore. New defensive rules have hurt the interior post games significantly. Tim Duncan's stats (as a 2 time MVP) are worse than Hakeem and Shaq's were, and Hakeem only won the MVP once.

 

I have come to the conclusion that you either don't know squat about basketball or that you haven't been watching the same games that I have. Yao improved well in his second year and appears to be much stronger than last. He draws a double team nearly every time he touches the ball, which neither AK47 or Gasol can claim, and as such he will make his teammates better through passing out of double teams. In addition, the doubles on TMac will also open up passing lanes to Yao, as we saw several times in the first four preseason games.

Yao is certainly not the Hakeem of the '94 and '95 playoffs, but Akeem (as he was known then) was more of a locker room distraction than a leader in his first few years in the league. Time is the only thing that will tell us whether Yao has it in him to lead his team to the promised land.

Trade Yao to GS for the load of crap you proposed???

 

he did a pretty good job of leading China to the medal round of the Olympics (he even called out his teammates and stood up for his coach)

no one can lead a lineup of Zimmerman, Gaines and Boki... hell, they couldn't even get the ball up the court !

 

Yeah, but this ain't China. In America, Yao still sees himself as a foreign guest who must be nice, passive, and humble. He doesn't have the confidence to lead an American team. His excuse will be that he comes from a different culture where being agressive and standing out is frowned upon.

 

I am not a Yao hater... I just don't see him matching the "hype".

I am just afraid that in four to five years he will be like a Mark Eaton. Has an advantage because of his body and size... but slow and foul prone. The NBA game is changing and favoring small, quick line ups. Look at all the trouble that Yao has with Brad Miller. The only center that he does well against is Shaq and Shaq is the only big, slow, bruiser center left in the league that gets any playing time.

He has not been that great of a passer up to now.
He is slow to rotate on defense.
He gets beat by quicker players.
He can not defend anyone outside of the lane.

That said... I love the guy and I love having him on the ROX. I would just be a bit worried about giving him the MAX along with T-Mac and being stuck with minimium wage journeymen as the supporting cast for the next seven years.

There is merit to the idea of trading him. Perhaps not the Golden State trade that I offered... but I think that all of us would have a hard time turning down some the of the packages out there we could get for YAO.

If Indiana offered J. Oneal and R. Artest for Yao and one of our powerfowards? How could you not do that?

If Memphis offered P. Gasol, M. Miller and B. Cardinal for Yao and change? How could you not do that?

If New York offered Marbury and Tim Thomas plus picks for Yao? How could you not do that?

There are alot of great options out there.

All of this said... the ROX will never trade Yao and that is prob a good thing. I just hope he is more like Hakeem than Eaton.

 

Flame this thread all you want, but I hafta say I agree with the issue raised here. Yao hasn't proven to be a leader. He hasn't shown he can take a team on his shoulders and carry it into the playoffs. Steve elevated his game substantially in last year's playoffs. While Yao seemed to be trying to catch his second wind.

I'd LOVE to see Yao become more of a leader. I haven't seen him lead this team yet though ...

 

All this because of preseason basketball. Quit jumping the gun. We will see how he plays come regular season.

 

If Yao is to be traded due to a regressed third season, it will be because he is asking for the max when he is not deserving one especially in a local marketplace that is not demographically geared for him. My gut feeling is that the Lakers will throw everything at the Rockets except Kobe for Yao. That means the Rockets can have Odom, Mihm, and whatever else they want. Golden State has roleplayer talent galore. My guess is noone is offlimits for that team (Murphy, Dunleavy, etc). A California team would be the most aggressive in terms of offering talent in exchange. If Yao is asking for a contract that is below max, that will be a consideration.

Of course, Yao could make all this moot by progressing at a pace that shows promise for the rest of his career. It's up to him.

However, I honestly think that only a combo of a very good Yao and some other dominant wing player could win a championship. I don't think TMac and some other very good player could win. It's tough to win championships without a very strong offensive presence on the inside. Detroit Pistons looked like garbage before Rasheed Wallace, who is an immensely talented player, arrived on the scene. Go replay the the conference finals when the Lakers played the Blazers if anyone wants evidence that Rasheed is a dominant player when he wants to be. This means odds of a championship ever coming back to Houston falls on the shoulders of Yao more than TMac.

 

He was born under a mango tree and now he has 1 billion people following him. If he isn't leading, why are so many people following him. He was born a leader.

 

Thats what we call, PwNaGe

 

Yao has trouble with Brad Miller when the guy is on fire from outside and doesn't miss a jumpshot. He hurts a lot of teams that way through the pick and roll with Bibby. Of all the scorers on that team, someone has to be left open more than others, and it's usually Miller. My feeling is that if the guy is consistenty making every jumpshot, hats off to him. Nothing you can really do against that lineup. If we had a 4 or a mobile 5 guarding him, we'd still have problems with the pick and roll because we'd have to trap Bibby or let him shoot open 18 footers all day long. If a team runs a pick and roll well, they are gonna get a good shot everytime. That's why i want Yao and Tmac to run it more.

Also, Marbury and Thomas? You went waaaay too far with that one. This is a thread about leadership and you think Marbury and Thomas would be better for the team than Yao? Talk about head cases and underachievers...

 

That's the most possible trade. JVG loves knicks.
MoT for Anderson, Yao for Marbury and Thomas.

 

Here's a question for you. What young player, in his second year, in this modern era,HAS carried a team to the playoffs? It's no easy feat. Duncan obviously did it. I guess you could argue Melo did it, though last years nuggs team consisted of a pretty incredible team effort. Wade? Definately showed a lot of balls down the stretch and in the playoffs. But that was in the east. My point is that young players just don't carry their team into the playoffs at such an early stage in their career. It's a process that takes time and maturation. Would you consider Lebron a leader? or AK47, or Pau, or Randolph, or Amare?

It's too early to criticize a guy for not being a leader after 2 seasons and 5 preseason games. Hell, some would argue that Duncan wasn't even a leader when he won his first ring. It was AJ and Mario doing all yelling in the lockerroom. Duncan was just their best player. He hasn't really become a true leader until a few seasons ago i would say.

 

I think most people have a problem with the fact that after 3 preseason and 2 promotional games, you can conclude that your center can't lead.

I happen to think Yao should not lead the rox this season. He is not ready yet. First of all, he is one of the youngest on the team. It just doesn't work that way. If Bron is really the leader on the Cavs, they are going nowhere. Just my personal opinion, a good leader must lead all facets of the game. Somethings come only with age and experience.

Next, the language. A leader must be well spoken. This will take years to develop for Yao.

Also, the respect of your teammates. Yao is one of the 2 best players already. He seems to be a likable guy. With time and improved language skills, he will earn the respect of his teammates.

While writing this up, I think Yao should wait at least 3 more years before even trying to be a leader.

Having said all that, I do believe that it's not necessary for Yao to be a leader to win. A weathered veteran like JJ or Ward or even Deke is much more suited for the job at this point. Your leader does not have to be the best player.

 

What a logic?
You are an example of screwed up kid by by the media.
You think those gansters in the hood have quality of leadship. Then Harvard can move to south central L.A.

 

Perhaps his mother and father were also...sister and brother?

 

Wow, after a couple of preseason games, in which we are 3-2, you've already decided to give up on Yao. Al least wait until a couple of weeks in to the season or something.

Stuff like this makes me think I'm on a Lakers board.

 

PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON PRESEASON Its a time to watch third stringers play and get their mins not to see who can lead their team.

 

That's just absolutely brilliant. You don't want to offer Yao the max but you want to offer him and somebody else for Pau Gasol, who's already getting the max.

How is Gasol or AK-47 better than Yao? Is is because they put up better stats? Draw more double teams? Are better shooters? What?

And why the hell would we want Marbury? Even if you assume we aren't getting screwed by that deal (which we would be if we traded Yao), you want him here to fight for shots with TMac?

How old is JO'Neal? How old is Artest? How old is Yao? Not to mention you obviously don't know cap rules. If we trade Yao + any of our 4's for JO'Neal and Artest, we'd have to include somebody else.