Yao has skills, if not, he wouldn't be drafted by Rudy!

Look at it this way, Yao gets traded for the same stuff Shaq or Kobe gets traded for.

Vlade Divac?

Well anyway, jokes aside, anyone not named New York would be trading up for Jay Williams. I think Yao will be a joke of a number 1 pick. He'll bust like Olowokandi. In his prime I can see him getting 14/10/3. That might be decent, but its not number one pick decent.

 

A 14/10/3 center is good enough stats for me. Those are probably good enough to make him a top 5 center. Hell, if all he does is average double digit rebounds and 3 blocks, that would be enough for me.

 

Vlade Divac is a top 5 center in the NBA today.

Which means he is anywhere from 40th to 60th in overall league rankings. Please, don't even try to say he's worth Kobe, it was a joke, keep it that way.

I guarantee you that Ming won't be able to handle the ball at all in the NBA. He'll be a dribble dribble shoot player like the Wanger. I believe Jerry West.

 

Whatever happend to Zwikker anyways? Did he just quit basketball all together? I seem to remember him having a shot out to the 3 point line and someone that tall who can shoot that well seems like a precious commodity today, especially to Rudy. Does anyone know anything about him once he was waived?

 

The thing is, yes he will fit the Rockets' needs in his 3rd season. I have serious doubts that a 7'6" center with no strength can handle the ball without getting stripped an awful amount of times in a game. Its just basic odds.

He will not slip into the 2nd round. He will just be a bust at the top pick. Just like Pervis before him. Its not a prejudice to a Chinese player. If he was American I would feel the same way. There is no such thing as a dominant 7'6" player (or #1 pick worthy). Never will be.

I know people might bash me for this, but hey, none of us has seen him play, and I'm going by gut feeling. Atleast put me on the record of Ming=Bust, and shove it in my face when he is an all-star. Because I sure will remember when he doesnt.

 

Yao has some experiences to compete with good American players.



Yao Ming One-handed Snaps 46-Game Winning Streak of U.S.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xinhuanet 2001.08.30 21:54:21

BEIJING, August 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese sensation Yao Ming cracked down the United States one-handedly with a powerful block with 0.2 seconds left to give China a 83-82 win on Wednesday in the semi-final of the men's basketball competition at the Tsinghua Stadium.
Yao, a 2-25 meters center, who had 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in the hard-fought win, slammed American Lonny Baxter's hoop jumper away to the back court to secure the victory.
The United States, who had 12 Universiade titles under their name, kept a record of 46-game winning streak before Wednesday's game during a period when they won six successive gold medals in the biannual games.
China will face the winners of the other semi-finals between Germany and Yugoslavia in the championship game, vying for China's first gold medal in the men's basketball in the world level competition.
"We're well prepared for the game and determined to win the match," said Chinese head coach Wang Fei. "We tried hard to rely on the inside on offence and gave pressure on American's outside shooters on defence."
"China has some extremely big guys and they did a good job to execute their inside game," said American head coach Jerry Dunn. " I'm disappointed of losing the game. The U.S. always expect to win the title."
American Juan Dixon had a game-high 26 points with Baxter adding 12, and Andre Barrett, 10; Melvin Ely, 10 and eight rebounds.
Shooting guard Zhang Jinsong buried 10 out of 11 free throws to lead China with 18 points, while NBA's Dallas Mavericks player Wang Zhizhi chipped in 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Menk Batere, who is dubbed as the "Walking Great Wall" alongside with Yao and Wang, contributed 11 points and six rebounds, stamping China's domination inside the key.
China started energetically with a 11-0 run when the American missed their first seven shots and Ely's two free-throws.
Haywood Owens made the first basket for the U.S. 5:51 minutes into the game, but could not held the run-away Chinese before Batere's jumper made it 25-10 with 1:08 minutes left in the quarter, the biggest gap in the game.
Americans came back in the second quarter with a 18-6 run to take the first lead in the game at 32-31 with 3:39 minute left, and held onto the lead at 42-40 at the break.
The third quarter witnessed the best part of the roaster-and- coaster game when the two sides exchanged the lead for dozens of times before China had the better of the game at 69-66 to enter the decisive final 10 minutes.
Dixon's last-breath efforts fell short when he drilled in three 3-pointers, added with Roger Mason's one, to close the game at 82- 83.

 

NYKRules, Since you trust Jerry West, I thought you would be interested in comments on Yao Ming, prior to the draft.

So, how many NBA teams are willing to endure the extra aggravation for a chance to reap the rewards? Where will he fit in?


According to Jerry West, the Memphis Grizzlies' new president of basketball operations, talent outweighs logistics. “You never turn away talent,” he said.


When I asked him about the opportunity to take Yao, his response was quick and simple: “Nothing wrong with thinking big and learning to speak Chinese.”



Jerry West

 

NYKRules, Since you trust Jerry West, I thought you would be interested in comments on Yao Ming, prior to the draft.

So, how many NBA teams are willing to endure the extra aggravation for a chance to reap the rewards? Where will he fit in?


According to Jerry West, the Memphis Grizzlies' new president of basketball operations, talent outweighs logistics. “You never turn away talent,” he said.


When I asked him about the opportunity to take Yao, his response was quick and simple: “Nothing wrong with thinking big and learning to speak Chinese.”



Jerry West

or Jerry Again:

"For a guy this size, he can shoot the ball. He has a wonderful feel for the game," said Jerry West, the Memphis Grizzlies new president of basketball operations. "This is not a kid without talent. He has talent."

erry West Again

 

I totally agree with you about Ming, he is the classic lottery pick bust. He is all hype and nothing more.

 

We don't need a center that's going to cancel out Shaq every game...........the center position in the League is weak.
The only other center out there is Vlade.
Sorry Zo, but you haven't been the same since the illness.

Of course he isn't going to be a Tim Duncan, and make an immediate impact, but I do put him on the Dirk 3 year plan.
Not saying he'll be as good, but he has a very good chance of being a very solid player.
I guess I assume this because I really do want him to succeed, plus I like the fact that he isn't a "goofy Shawn Bradley" 7' 5", but an athlete that supposedly understands the fundamentals and is already 30 lbs heavier than Bradley.
Can't forget about the shot.

With cap space from players like Rice leaving after next year, we'll have room to pick up a good SF/SG.
Continue the development of Ming, Griffin, Stevie, and Mobley, and in 3 years you have a team again, all the while having a chance to make the playoffs with teams like Utah on the downslide and Phoenix not looking to go anywhere.
Then imagine Seattle's situation if we get Lewis off of them.
And who knows what will happen to Portland.


Who knows what will happen: will we get Lewis, will we have problems down the line with the Chinese, will Griffin and Stevie continue to develop?
I would love it though if the Rockets took this risk.



On a side note, did Shaq really say that......from NYKRule's signature?


Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece: "I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to."

 

<b>windandsea</b>: Some here see Ming Yao (I'm Americanizing him!) getting off to a slow start for the first couple of years while aclimating to the NBA's more physically demanding game. What do you think?

Secondly, if he does struggle, are the Chinese likely to want to pull him back to China?

 

Wow, I think NYKRule's arguments about Yao were pretty soundly stomped by several people so I won't go there.

Just to chime in with my 2cents.

Only thing I agree with NYK about is the vast majority of uber tall NBA players have never made an impact.

I just think its likely Yao doesn't fall into that category. I think he is worth the risk.

 

Another Yao Ming story


from the April 23, 2002 edition


TALL: The 7-ft. 6-in. Yao Ming could be a No. 1 pick.
KATSUMI KASAHARA/AP



NBA beware: Here comes China's 'walking wall'

By Robert Marquand | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

SHANGHAI – Ever hear of the winning Shanghai Oriental Sharks? Probably not. But as NBA playoffs hit their stride and as the NBA draft this June approaches, you may get an earful about their 7-ft., 6-in. center – a 21-year-old phenom named Yao Ming, who could go as high as the No. 1 pick.
Yao is the last of the "great walking wall" of 7-footers China fielded in the 2000 Sydney Games. The other two, Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer, joined the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets in the past year. Along with being the first Asians in a league hunting talent from Lithuania to Turkey, they have boosted backyard hoop dreams in a country already so basketball-crazy that rice farmers in Wuhan know "Maike Qiao Dang," or Michael Jordan, who played for the Washington Wizards this year.


But in Yao, say scouts, China may have saved the best for last. It is not just Yao's rim-scraping size, which, in the Chinese league, makes him the only giraffe on the Serengeti.

A rare combination of agility, moves, intelligence, and a wicked outside shot could, in time, make him not just a franchise star, but a dominant force in the NBA. Drilled in Chinese team play, he actually likes defense. His forte, shot blocking, demoralizes opponents more than scoring, Yao says. Add to that, the giant can dribble.

"Yao has a chance to alter the way the game of basketball is played," Hall of Famer Bill Walton was quoted as saying after seeing Yao in the Olympics. "I left Sydney dizzy with the possibilities."

"He is definitely a new kind of player," says David Benoit, a former Utah Jazz small forward brought in by the Sharks. "He needs more upper-body strength, and to compete against big men. But, with coaching, he will pose a challenge in the NBA. In a year, he will give Shaq trouble. He catches on very quickly. When he starts hitting those 18-foot jump shots, that's going to surprise everybody."

Yao wanted to play in the NBA this season. His parents, friends, Chinese sportswriters, and most of Shanghai wanted him there, too – since NBA games are now broadcast in China. But until the Sharks beat the Army Bayi Rockets last week in the Chinese championship, it was unclear if Yao would be released. After winning the title, including a game where Yao hit an unearthly 21 of 21 shots, Shark officials gave the nod.

"Yao is one of the top three picks," says Miami Heat scout David Pfund, after watching him play in Shanghai.

Nearly 50 overseas players are now on NBA rosters. Nor are these any longer just imported wide-body practice-team drones. Predrag Stojakovic of the Sacramento Kings and Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks are top scorers. Mr. Wang of the Mavericks is shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line.

Overseas talent is entering the NBA, say analysts, because the players are drilled in fundamentals. In the streetball culture in US cities, what turns heads is the open, leaping air game and the pyrotechnic dunk. But now disciplined foreign players who can hit "nothing but net" from the outside are also signing contracts.

"There's certainly a trend to look for big kids who can shoot the ball," says Dale Mock, who runs an international scouting service. Mr. Mock says foreign players are often taught to play away from the basket. "We encourage our big kids to stay close to the basket," he says, referring to US players.

Yao first caught broader American attention in Sydney when he rejected the shots of high-flying Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors and Seattle Supersonics point guard Gary Payton on the opening play of the US-China game. He has been a counselor at Michael Jordan's basketball camp, and at the foyer of the Sharks office in Shanghai, there's a huge photo of MJ giving Yao a pat on the back.

Still, whether the young giraffe can mix it up under the basket with the high-speed elephants in the NBA is a question. Yao does not have the upper body physique and absolute power of Mr. O'Neal, or the big-cat nimbleness of a Hakeem Olajuwon. He's a bit more of a Vlade Divac or a young Bill Walton.

In a brief interview in the Shanghai dormitory room he shares with another Sharks player – a room strewn with size 18 sneakers that is tinier than the walk-in closet of an NBA salaried player – Yao says he will work to develop his strength.

"I have determination like Charles Barkley," says Yao, referring to the former Sixers, Suns, and Rockets player whom Yao regards as his model NBA player. "Even if Barkley never won a championship, he never lost his fire to win one. I also like his slam-dunks."

Born in Shanghai to a mother and father who are both basketball players, and both more than six feet tall, Yao's prospects for the NBA – and the additions of other Chinese to the league – in some ways close a historical circle: Basketball was first introduced to China in the 1890s by YMCA missionaries in Shanghai.

Yao speaks passable English, is a computer-games addict, sometimes inviting reporters to his room, not for interviews, but to find competitors for his new Sony game machine. He loves the international food scene in Shanghai, has a contract with Adidas tennis shoes – and carefully studies the fashions, music, and images of the West.

Friends also say Yao has a kind of critical distance on himself. When he was younger, he didn't even like basketball and felt forced to play due to his size. "He is clever, and would succeed in whatever he did," says a friend.

"He's a special kid," says Mr. Benoit. "Off the court, I haven't seen many like him."

Even Sharks fans seem to understand. Outside the locker room at one championship game, after Yao scored 26 points with 23 rebounds, one fan said: "Yao Ming belongs to the world!"

At the same time, Yao, with his square jaw, confident grin, open face, looks like a model for a Chinese Army recruiting poster. His own hero, someone he reads and talks about constantly, is the famed Chinese adviser to kings, General Zhu Geliang.

"Ge didn't use power," says Yao. "He used his head."

Yao's parents who sit in the most honorable front-court seats under the home basket, both say Yao is not only ready for the NBA, but that their son's "development requires it." Yao's mom, unable to play in the Olympics "due to special historical circumstances in our country" – her words for the Cultural Revolution in China – coaches him daily. They talk about his defense, his offense, and his attitude

 

The thing that Ming brings to the game right away is the big time ability to knock down 12-18 foot jumpers with accuracy that compares to Peja. Worse case scenario for this coming year, he can spread the D with a mean jumper at 50%. We have not had this kind of shooting, well since, never!

Bradley and the other comparisons out there are no where near the skills of Ming at this point. Ming also has a unique ability to pass and run the pick (something the rockets are desperately in need of). Bradley could not hit an 18 foot jumper on a consistent basis if his knees depended on it.

Let's look at his overall skills and understand that if he were in the college ranks right now, he probably be the number pick still on this alone.