Not quite. Yao has a player option for the 2010-11 season. There's a possibility (although unlikely) that he could opt out of his contract following the end of this upcoming season and resign for a lesser amount. The only way we make the playoffs with our current roster is if one of the western playoff caliber teams experience significant injuries. The following teams have better rosters than us: Mavericks, Hornets, Spurs, Nuggets, Trailblazers, Jazz, Clippers, Lakers, and the Suns.
I think the Suns and Hornets will definitely do better than us. The Clippers are questionable, but they do have a better roster than us.
The Clippers have more times than not had a better overall roster than we have, but you add in the injury factor, bust elements, and them not being as disciplined (or as good on defense). We still somewhat better than they are.
No chance Yao declines that option now that he is missing a full year, and the 2nd part you admitted there is a chance. I also don't consider the Clippers better than us, until they show something on the court. They were horrible last year, and though talented, they need to show it on the court. The Suns aren't good enough to run away with the 8th spot, so it really all depends on how good the Rockets will be, and we won't know that for another couple of months.
I wasn't aware that they had any significant injuries right now. Discipline and good defense can be learned. Natural talent cannot, and they have more natural talent than we do. It's both premature and unfair to think we're better than them, especially since a bulk of our minutes will go to recent acquisitions. With the Clippers, you pretty much know what each player will bring except for Griffin. With us, there's a lot of uncertainty. We really don't know how Ariza, Andersen, and the rookies will adjust, and we don't know how effective McGrady will be when he returns.
Would you trade yao for kwame brown and 2 low no .1s. I don't think we are wining a ship with Yao or Gasol being a no.1 option. Maybe Gasol plays more games, but neither is really a franchise player.
When Yao is in our team, all we can see are his weakness. When we lost him, we will know how much he values.
Sorry, but if there's a possibility, then there's a chance. Barkley, Duncan, and even Arenas took pay cuts in order to help the team. Is it really so farfetched that Yao would do the same thing, especially since he's missing the entire upcoming season and getting paid? Pretty presumptuous considering we haven't shown anything yet. With our revamped roster, our uncertainty is greater than theirs. I'm not sure if you're being serious here. In regards to the starting 5, they're superior in almost every position. Nash > Brooks Richardson >= Battier Hill >= Ariza Stoudemire > Scola Frye > Andersen
It's not only about the talent level we're talking when it comes to Yao... But also about the money that the Rockets are getting for having Yao... I honestly don't see Alexander trading him for just talent alone...
I've seen this done hundreds of times on Clutchfans. Would you agree that games aren't decided on how individual matchups seem on paper? The Lakers series proved a lot of these cute little diagrams wrong.
Exploiting mismatches is basic basketball.... How so? Our advantages were with Yao (vs Gasol) and Brooks (vs Fisher). When Yao/Brooks exploited their mismatches, we won.
Pau may be a good player, but after seeing Kobe use his head as a rag doll in Game 3 last year, I lost all respect for him.
Only time the clippers were near the Rockets was when 2/5s of their starting line up was Former Rockets Rocket River
Nobody said in this thread that either Yao or Gasol would be N°1 option. We're trying to find out the best fit in center position under Rick Adelman's system and with the current roster that's all folks
