that may or may not be true. but the centers and overall post play were much physical back then. the way yao struggles to fight for post position in today's game at times, it's hard to say that.
I doubt that for two reasons: 1. The quality of centers in that era. 2. The physical play of that era. Yao struggles NOW with physical play ,so imagine how he would play back then.
Trade Artest for Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and would this team be as good as the Spurs? They probably would be almost as good as the Spurs on offense, but they'd still get toast on defense. I make this example because Duncan is a unanimous franchise player who affects the game on both ends of the court. So no, Yao is not a franchise player.
