Number of Ming's children? 0 Number of children per family allowed in China? 1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kind of off the line because they are not yes/no statement but still interesting, actually it reminds me of something about Yao's family I read long time ago. since Yao's family has a 'tall' tradition down at least from Ming's grandfather, after Yao was born and showed greate basketball potential, there was a rumor that Chinese government permitted his parents to bear the second or more children. But it didn't happen. The reason I read was that since Yao and his parents ate too much and their income could hardly buy enough food for them!!! What a sad story, or New York would rather stay at the bottom of the NBA for another 4 or 5 years just waiting for another Yao!!
I may be wrong, but I think the Rockets assistant coaches would go to China for a short period of time (4 to 6 weeks) to work with Yao Ming and their compensation would be paid by the Rockets. If it is required (agreed upon) for the Rockets assistants to help with the entire team, perhaps the Rockets and Chinese government would share in the expense. This is how most American businesses would be run. But the entire Yao Ming situation is one without precedence. Can any insiders back me up on this?
OK there is no sure thing like Duncan, but there are gradients. Some drafts are pretty weak up top and in depth. What I am saying here is JW and Ming are much better #1 pick prospects--higher ceilings with fewer risks--than most recent drafts (01, 00, 98). This is an exceptional drfat to have the #1 and it gives us a lot of leverage because of the close to sure thing explosive PG and the completely intruiging 7'5" guy who knows the game and can shoot. I wasn't bringing up JW because I want him for the Rockets. I was bringing him up to show the value of the #1 in this year's draft plus the fact if all the other teams are talking about Ming it means they think he may be beyond special, because if he goes #1, the #2 (JW) is a pretty special relatively low-risk player as well. That said if I were the Clips, Grizzlies or Warriors I would sure think hard about trying to jump over Chicago and nab JW with our #1. Further, I have to admit if we are talking fantasy league (where we can ignore personalities and loyalties) it is awefully tempting to consider taking Ming 1 and trading Francis to Chicago and drafting JW at #2 with it. Again, the more I hear the more I like taking Ming at #1 and then seeing what we can do with our #15 and KT to get a plum of a SF prospect in the draft if not one who already is a player (Odom, Lewis). We would have to get an incredible offer for the #1 in my mind not to draft Ming and work on aquiring that SF prospect/player (e.g., Brand + [#8 or Odom] with the Clips; Battier + 4; Richardson or maybe Jamison + 3--all essentially for the #1, KT and filler).
So, all the calls are coming in for Ming and not JW, eh? I add another question to the mix: Who's evaluation of talent do you trust more? 31 GMs/head coaches/scouts who's job it is to evaluate NBA talent 24 hours a day? Or a bunch of Yao haters who have formed their opinions based on reading articles on the Internet?
Baqui99, I seem to remember a lot of people thinking Dream was a reach at number 1. A lot of experts never thought he would develope the offensive game that he did and a lot of people thought that he would mainly be a rebounding, shot blocking defensive specialist. No one considered him the next great player like they did Ralph Sampson when we drafted him the year before.
Will Ming do for the Houston Rockets what Ichiro did for the Seattle Mariners?.... Yes! Will people be offered $1,000,000 by a "reputatable" Chinese magazine for a nude picture of Ming?.... Probably! Will I buy a Ming jersey once the Rockets get their new uniforms?.... Yes! Will everyone else, too?.... Yes! Will the Ming jersey become the most popular NBA jersey ever?.... Yes! China is a very big place!
BSB8532: Yes Dream has come along way, and he was still very raw coming into the NBA. But we're talking about a guy who more than held his own in college, where he battled against guys like Patrick Ewing. He dominated the NCAA tourney two years in a row- and led the Cougars to 2 Final Four appearances. Yao Ming has played in a semi-pro league similar to the local Jaycees squad, or AAU league. Of course he has had appearances in international play, but did not dominate on the level that the Dream did. Possum: Someone speculated that if Odom were in this draft he'd be considered for #1. That may be a stretch with Jay Will in the mix, but he'd definitely be given strong consideration at #2. We're talking about a guy in Odom who has all the tools: passing, rebounding, scoring, and shot-blocking. There's no risk with Odom's game, which is proven. Rather there is some risk in keeping him in Houston when he becomes a FA. Not to mention that he is a pothead. But hey, I'm sure even Yao Ming enjoyed a fattie after a big win over the Bayi Rockets. Crash, I refer to the above post. Hakeem dominated the NCAA's and was a proven leader. Since we can't even get the guy to work out at Westside, much less in some pickup games at Fonde, we have no idea how he'll respond to tougher physical competition. As a side note: I'm not a Ming hater. I just have a sick feeling that it could end up being one of the worst mistakes in franchise history.
Baqui, Do you remember the scouting report on Lamar Odom when he entered the draft? He had questions. You know what the questions were? Guess. It certainly wasn't his athletic abilities. It was his maturity. Now that he's been in the league a few years has he answered those questions? Hmm, yes, he's much more mature now after being busted twice for pot. What does that tell you? It tells me that he's an incredibly dedicated and focussed individual. It tells me this man is as brilliant as Einstein. It tells me that his talent will be maximized and all his potential fulfiled. It tells me that his game will improve exponentially. It tells me that he will avoid injuries, learn to play defense, practice his outside shot and actually shoot better than 65% from the free throw line while turning the ball over less than 3.3 times a game. That's what it tells me. Lamr Odom is a F******* basketball genius. He's Pistol Pete andMagic Johnson rolled into one. Rolled.. ha ha... I think its incredibly stupid of people to say a person who has the same question marks that he had before he was even drafted (the mental acumen of a rock) is a sure thing.
So Doc, Are you saying that either Odom or Lewis will be playing the three for the Rockets next year? Does it depend on the draft, in particular, the 15 pick? Y'all are right. This is exciting.
RIET, You are wrong. Odom has been busted FOUR times by the NBA. The first 2 times are kept confidential and carry only fines. You are not suspended until the THIRD time.
Does a person named "Kalvin Cato" exist? No Can any human block his outside shot? No! So THIS is where that whole X-Files angle comes in. Doc is telling us Christofferson is an alien! GATER-I'd say Ron Artest is a "good" SF. If Odom gets his head on straight (mind you, he's 22), he probably becomes a perennial all-star. Pure and simple. 17-7-6, and nowhere near his potential at just 22 is unreal. That's why I wouldn't be against getting Odom, possibly getting Kandi, and 1 or 2 more lotto picks. heypartner- Do we know if those first 2 were positives, or were they missed testings? It may sound like I am, but I am not against drafting Ming... Can MING average 14, 10, 3 his first year? YES! If the Rockets feel confident that's the case, and that he'll move up from there, then it's not a bad deal. The thing about a Ming-Griffin front, is while it's got unreal shot blocking potential (like best ever type of potential), neither of them are great body-up defenders that can bang and board with anyone, and we don't have that "bad and dirty" type of guy that can get physical. THAT is what worries me. How confident are the Rockets going up to China that they'll get what they want (Ming free and clear)?
Doc, You brought be back with that outstanding post. Your so true, if we had any other pick we'd be screaming to build a pkg to get Yao. If we can just work out the politics, then this is a done deal. What an awesome thought to have a 7' 5" guy who can pull 5s from the basket with his mid-range game. He'll be a solid rebounder also. With him an EG undeneath, our zone will be unstoppable. Yao will also be a great marketing tool for Houston and definitely get us more national exposure. If we can trade or draft a decent SF, we'll be looking very capable next year...barring serious injuries. QUESTION: Can u speculate on who front office ranks SFs? Its good to be back.
This is the second time you've said this. This isn't missing a test with an excuse; this is missing the test without an excuse. By the way, this would count for all 4 tests, not just the first two. So, if you really want to believe your logic, you could say that he never actually submitted a piss test. If you are seriously trying to give Odom the benefit of the doubt, then you are really stretching it. People in any testing environment do not get "positives" without the tester having a legally defensible reason to claim "positive." They aren't farting around here. That Medical Director better be absolutely positive he can prove this in a court of law, because these things go to court...especially when $100s of thousands of salary is riding on a false accusation, not to mention liability. Odom has 4 real pissing positives, or he 100% refused to take a test with no just cause; otherwise, he would be contesting this, with the Player's Union right behind him.
So I take it that means Mo Taylor tested "positive" 3 times... Since the third one (the one that was made public) was relatively soon after his new contract, then at least one, possibly two tests were positive before the contract... Wierd the Rockets coudnt use that as leverage...
<I>GATER-I'd say Ron Artest is a "good" SF. If Odom gets his head on straight (mind you, he's 22), he probably becomes a perennial all-star. Pure and simple. 17-7-6, and nowhere near his potential at just 22 is unreal. </i> I'd have to agree that Artest is a good SF and if Odom gets straighted out he could become a perennial all-star. That being said, Artest makes the Rockets a better team than Odom does. He would give us a lock down defender, added toughness and decent scoring. He's exactly the type of role player that we need, he could fill a Mario Elie type role on the team. Not an all-star, but an integral part of the team.
Kayman, MoT was "positive" 3 times. The first two are only fines. By the rules of "Confidentiality" only the Player's Union, Medical Director (and admin staff), and the player know. The League Office staff and employees, teams, etc don't know until they need to know, as in the case of a suspension. Even then, confidentiality prevent the public from knowing. by my reading, the teams (especially a new team) would not know about past positives. Look at it this way, everyone is given a second chance in life. Pot is not that big a deal to warrant losing millions and millions of dollars or being black balled from work, no matter if it is the entertainment industry or not. People make mistakes, and drug programs are there for them, at least that's the selling point. The Players Union and Team's negotiated for this "Program." If each first positive were to go public, that neither benefits the league, the player, or the team. The league gets a black-eye everytime a player does...and the team gets hurt as a result.
