What's the big deal about Yao -- besides his size?

You have a point. But I was speaking from my opinion from a buying perspective. If I was a buyer ... this is how I view things.

 

Yes. And thats right at a 50% F/G shooting. Anyone would take that. Yoa barely avg'd 50% last year prior to his injury and by most accounts he was having his best season as a pro. So yes Jefferson takes 19 shots a game to average 23 points a game...pretty damn good in anyones book.

What does Yao do better than Al Jefferson exactly?

- Better defense? No. Yao is completely incapable of transition defense. Yoa is a huge liability when he has to guard someone on the perimeter and Jefferson is a better defensive rebounder. Yao is a better post defender against the bigger traditional centers and Jefferson a better post defender against the more athletic less traditional centers. Advantage Jefferson.

- Better all around rebounder? You have already answered that. Advantage Jefferson.

Better Transition offense? Yao has no transiton offense and this is not even close. Advantage Jefferson.

- Better half court offense? Yao shoots at a higher percentage and is harder to keep out of the paint. Advantage Yao.

- Better passer? Yao averages 1.7 assists per game while Jefferson averages 1.6. Advantage? Even

- Better shot blocker? Both players average 1.7 shots a game. Advantage? Even.

- Better health? Yao struggles to play half a season over the last few seasons. Jefferson is the model of health. Advantage Jefferson.

- Who has more upside? I think Yao has basically toped out. He may improve small pieces of his game but at his age I don't think anyone will see major improvements. Jefferson is only 24, many players are just starting their careers. Jefferson has a chance to be a true superstar which is something Yao will just never accomplish.

- Who has the better salery? Yao is at 15 mil a year an looking for more by 2010. Jefferson only makes 11 mil a year and is locked up for 4 more years after this current year. Advantage Al Jefferson.

Why would the team loose any more? With Jefferson you are very likely going to get many more games a year out of him. A lot more. Prior to this season Yao had missed 86 games in 3 seasons! Thats 86 games that the Rockets did not have any help at all from Yao. Just based on that how do you think the Rockets loose more with Jefferson?

Many people could say that all Yao has accomplished in his time in the NBA is put up stats. Has he managed to lead the Rockets to any play off success? No. Will Jefferson? No one knows at this point. He could very well turn out to be a paper tiger but to play like he is at this stage of his career his pretty damn impressive and I like his chances to take his game to the next level.

Is Jefferson better than Yao? I guess that is debatable but certainly Jefferson is as good as Yao and has a much higher ceiling...I really don't think that part is debatable. Jefferso certainly outplayed Yao by a large chunk in their last head to head meeting and that was a game where Yao played good.

I would trade Yao for Jefferson or a number of reasons but Minny would not touch that trade with a ten foot pole.

 

Maybe you would like to show everyone With FACTS when was the last time Less did not spend the entire amount allowed by the NBA salery cap rule. As a matter of fact, when was the last time Less did not excede the cap?

 

The truth is we can't get anyone that is better than Yao. So Yao is all we got and he should get paid.

 

Idiot? OK maybe you're not too bright yourself...

http://media.www.dailygamecock.com/...To.Get.Half.Of.Yaos.Nba.Contract-245913.shtml

"Under regulations issued by the China Basketball Association, the 7-foot-5 Yao would be forced to hand over half of his income to China's government and sports authorities."

I rest my case.

 

sorry to break your bubbles, Yao had to pay about 1M buyout fees to the local basketball association. The rule you mentioned does not apply to Yao Miing.

Don't trust everything you read on the internet.

 

not to argue with you, but aj is out for the season on a torn knee acl.

just a reminder that you should get your facts str8 before you post.

 

yeah, I was gonna say the same thing. Also, although Yao isn't a good defender, Jefferson doesn't defend anybody well.

 

i guess i have to keep reminding people an important fact until it's realized and accepted as a fact -

right now yao is the most heavily and most often double-teamed player in the league.

and when i say "player" i don't just mean centers or bigs, i mean all players. and yao is not "one of" these guys, he literally is THE guy that's most doubled.

that fact alone should kill this thread.

assuming 1 1/2 years from now yao's healthy and his game is pretty much as it is today, marketability aside, for that simple fact he'd deserve the max. and i bet he'd receive offers from outside of houston.

 

Maybe as an individual statistic. But in evaluating his performance in a team concept, I think there is concern that he needs to work on utilizing his teammates better.

You use health as an advantage for Jefferson yet he is starting to show signs of knee problems. He sprained his medial collateral ligament in his right knee in preseason and is now out with a torn acl in the same knee. When both healthy Yao makes his teammates better. You replace someone who makes his teammates better with someone who is still learning to do that ... that is how you will lose more.

Do you even watch Al Jefferson outside of the few games he plays Houston? You give Jefferson an advantage in some of your evaluations simply of because of potential not because he is doing it. Like transition offense? Defending more athletic less traditional players? He hasn't done neither consistently.

I get you ... you like the youth, skill, and potential. I can't say I don't agree with you.

 

You will understand what happened if you can read Chinese. Yao just paid some fee to his club in shanghai, not the China Basketball Association. That was a final payment, no following installments. By the way, Yao was already 7-6 at that time.

 

Look at how "yao's uncle" DM was signed last year. They waited, waived and worried just for a couple of million dollars.

 

How did this guy even become a writer?

There is not worth discussing anything about his article.

I'll say this, every sigle team in the NBA will offer Yao MAX. and that would be the case even if he was from El'Salvador.

 

I can pretty much guarantee that won't happen.

 

You're an idiot, seriously. Amare is a mansion because other NBA teams would pay mansion-level money for him. A player's value is determined by the market, not what one team does with the player.

 

Wow, you have been spitting foul words all the time. You are really an Amare fan. Years ago, people like you were worshipping Amare like a god, the same way some fans look at AJefferson.

Amare doesn't deserve his max contract. he can do nothing without steve nash. A player's market value is determined by the market. A player's basketball is all about what the team does to him. If you are not dumb enough, you should be able to understand that. Even on his market value, just wait and see what kind of scrubs Amare can get for Suns.

 

This thread is just odd...plain odd.

One article from ESPN has Yao retiring in 2010, another one, like this one claims he will be one of the highest paid players in the league.

Thing is Yao has already said he wants to stay in Houston, also, he doesn't seem like the type of player that is going to ask for maximum deal, he'll settle for less to play here.

Some of you posters seem like you're full of hate or just plain ignorant about the circumstances.

2010 is not even here, yet....there's alot of basketball to be played.

We can't make any logical conclusions until we're near 2010 or the end of 09-10 Playoffs.