I think a lot of hating for yao stems from unrealistic expectation. To be frank, picking yao and trading for tmac are still great moves in themselves. Of course a lot of other things could be done much better afterwards. If I'm Les or DM, I'll look back and regret not investing big money on a quality big man to give yao some breathing room. Remember as good and durable as DWH is, Magic paid excessively to his backup-Darota. That maybe a bad financial move, but if gives DWH good rest to avoid injury and extends his peak years a couple more, it's actually money well spent.
Yao is already wearing basketball shoes (still not sure how happy management was about that) and definitely off the crutches. I think if this team was to somehow get into contention, we might have even seen big fella in a very limited role (say 15 minutes a night) THIS season. But yeah, next season is 8.5 months away. He will be fine and if Big Z is any indication of what he can still be coupled with what we've learned over the past 8 years of how to handle the big fella, I'm extremely optimistic.
Yeah, you can't teach size... Yao never had those great numbers in blocking but he sure as hell plugged up the middle and changed shots.. we miss the big guy terribly!!
The Rockets cannot afford another injury from Yao. Sure Yao is a good center but when he comes back, his ranking in Centers will drop a bit. I think Dwight is no. 1, Brook Lopez at no. 2, Al Jefferson at no. 3, Al Horford at no. 4, and Yao should be at 5.
Yao's return offers the Rockets' best chance at a championship. That's very simple. They won't win one in the next few years without him. There is zero chance the team parts ways with Yao, so the team must build around him and hope for good health and a little luck. This much is clear. So what exactly is your point?
